How Some Mothers Support Rape – INCRESE

The International Centre For Sexual Reproductive Rights(INCRESE)based in Minna, Niger State, has said some parents, especially mothers, hamper efforts to get justice for rape victims due to cultural, religious and personal choices.

The Executive Director, Ms. Cesnabmihilo Dorothy Nuhu-Aken’ova , who spoke in an exclusive interview with THE WHISTLER‘, revealed how the efforts of the organization to prosecute rape cases were frustrated by the attitude of some parents and that of the police.

Nuhu-Aken’ova, while narrating an experience with a 12-year-old rape victim said, “One was the case of a girl who was living with her mother and stepfather and the man has been entering her room and trying to have sex with her. So, all the time she was escaping but on this faithful day he made his way on her.

“When she reported to us, we told her we would speak to her mother so we can take the case to the police. We invited the mother and she appeared to be calm , knowing what was right to do but when they got home, she began to beat the girl and the next morning sent her to the village, and that was how we lost contact with the victim.”

The activist said some mothers go to the extent of inflicting more pain on their daughters when they report a rape incidence to the organization.

Recalling another case involving a nine-year-old, she said, “As she went into the bathroom , the man went in and rushed her in there and the man rushed out when the girl’s mother entered into the compound.

“The man came out adjusting his pants while the girl came out crying and telling her mother that the man did something to her.”

But instead of assisting to get justice against the man who raped her daughter, Nuhu-Aken’ova said the mother went for raw pepper and inserted into her daughter’s private part while calling her a prostitute.

“The mother started shouting at her calling her a prostitute, asking what she was doing in the bathroom with a man. She went on to beat the girl and put pepper into her vagina.

“It was the children in the surrounding who came for our programs that came to report the case to us,” she stated.

She stated further that her organization documented the case and reported to the police.

“But by the time the police came to the compound to arrest the man , he had left so we told the woman that we will keep searching to follow up on the case, but she responded saying she doesn’t want her husband to know what happened because she will loose her marriage,” she said.

Nuhu-Aken’ova, who revealed that her organization gets up to 16 cases of rape every year, said some of the cases could be “tedious and problematic,” making it difficult to get justice for victims.

She said religion often plays a role in how some mothers react to rape.

“We handle an average of 12 to 16 rape cases each year and we get justice for only an average of few, like three cases because religion plays a very important role.

“When a Christian girl is raped and its a Muslim that is the preparator, everyone will remove their hands. Most times they put so much pressure on the family that they are forced to forget about the case and we are left on our own to carry the cross of the case,” she explained.

She said the rape victims are often overwhelmed, leaving them helpless because the social welfare of the organisation is not enough to carter for the needs of the children.

“The last time that we had a rape case, the police arrested the man but he refused to disclose if he had family members and the police told us that we will be responsible for feeding him and giving him medical care so long he was in their custody.

“For me the sense of injustice was too much so I just told the women in the police to beat him up and then release him. I also made sure that he was sacked from the school he was working,” she stated.

She however stated that there has been an improvement since the establishment of the Rayuwa Medical Centre because the medical experts there are good at preserving rape evidence including clothes , injury on the body and evidence of penetration.