SEXUAL VIOLENCE | Recurring Nightmare In Our Society

Sexual violence is not a new phenomenon in the human society. It dates back to prehistoric life. Indeed, it is directly associated and often, callously perpetrated by mankind, irrespective of gender.

According to Wikipedia, Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, regardless of the relationship to the victim. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations. In other words, Sexual violence is a serious public health problem and has a profound short or long-term impact on physical and mental health, such as an increased risk of sexual and reproductive health problems, an increased risk of suicide, or HIV infection. Though women and girls suffer disproportionately from these aspects, sexual violence can occur to anybody at any age; it is an act of violence that can be perpetrated by parents, caregivers, acquaintances, and strangers, as well as intimate partners. It is rarely a crime of passion, and is rather an aggressive act that frequently aims to express power and dominance over the victim.

Abuja Digest, in its recent publication with the headline 'Time to expedite action against sexual violence' indirectly portrays sexual violence as a crime one too many desirable of immediate attention by individuals, families, government, and the society at large “The Nigerian media in recent times is flooded with disheartening stories of rape and other various forms of sexual abuse against women and girls with defenseless minors including boys constituting the major victims; fathers raping their own daughters, Lecturers harassing female students, young men gang-raping teenage girls, minors sexually abused by older men, armed robbers gang raping innocent women during robbery attacks. The stories are endless and horrible.

Girls, of different religions, tribes, and age groups suffer different levels of sexual abuses during their lifetime. Sadly, these sexual abuses most times come chiefly from men who are supposed to protect and defend them, Women, teenage girls, and children (both sexes) have currently become the world’s endangered species.

Victims of rape and sexual abuses are usually left shattered, wounded, and humiliated.

Sexual intercourse in every decent society is culturally and ethically controlled. There are rules applicable for engaging in decent and acceptable sexual intercourse. The story is different today. Society is witnessing a disconnect, people no longer adhere to social norms and moral standards, a situation which invariably has hyped the incidences of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The society is being ravaged by moral decadence, some individuals have lost hold of good conscience and instead have condescended to animistic nature.

Rape is a forceful carnal knowledge of someone without his/her consent by threatening the person or using force. Jeno Mary, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Jos defined sexual harassment as an unsolicited advance on a a helpless and unwilling individual” It occurs when there is a power relationship that is, a superior person who uses his position to intimidate his helpless victim for sexual intercourse. It is disheartening that this is happening in the present civilized world.

Rape is a serious crime against humanity. It is man’s inhumanity to man and therefore all must rise to put a stop to this dastardly act.

Curbing this menace that has eroded our society is a duty every good-spirited individual must embrace. Parents have a lot to do in this regard. Sexual education should be mandatory for every child of school age, and the call from various quarters to integrate this into the school curriculum is in tandem with the quest by the government to stamp this evil from our midst. It is a foremost step to achieving a saner society, as this would keep them vigilant.

Parents and guardians should ensure adequate protection for their wards.

Parents/guardians should keep close social relationships with their children and as well as guide and control what they are exposed to on the internet and media. The Government and lawmakers have major roles to play in protecting the fundamental rights of the child and by instituting stiffer penalties/punishment for sexual abuse cases. Victims should be adequately protected and rehabilitated, this would not only give them some form of solace but offer the confidence to speak up”

According to Research Gate, “Nowadays sexual violence has become a social vice and “human weakness” all around the world. Offenses of sexual nature are sexual contacts where one of the partners does not voluntarily agree to it or is involved without realizing the meaning and consequences of the actions thus violating the person’s right to sexual self-determination, freedom and sexual inviolability.

“Sexual violence is a complicated and complex social and legal problem. Crime victims

of sexual violence can have psychological, emotional, and physical trauma. Sexual violence

affects people of all genders, ages, races, religions, incomes, abilities, professions, ethnicities,

and sexual orientations. Data of sexual violence show that people who sexually assault

usually attack someone they know – a friend, classmate, neighbour, co-worker, or relative.

For example, the data from the US annual report show that every year, 834 700 thousand

men are victims of rape and/or physical violence committed by victims’ intimate partners

“According to data of Eurobarometer study on violence against women in Latvia has

the highest population tolerance level of violence in the private sphere and a tendency

to blame the victim (5, 2010). The author‘s opinion is that sexual domestic violence has

an extensive range of problems. Domestic abuse is a specific type of offense, as there is:

1) special relationship (kinship or partnership) between the victim and perpetrator.

2) the two share an emotional and often economic dependence;

3) domestic violence is rarely a single act, most frequently it is a pattern of behaviour, which over time will continue, and is difficult to stop. It is a cycle of a lasting violent nature, from a few months to several years (2, 2015).

“The concept of sexual violence is varied. Sexual violence is any sexual act or sexual

advance directed at one individual without their consent. According to Protection of the Rights .

“Sexual violence is related not only to satisfaction of one’s sexual needs, but also to the

desire for power and control, and to a variety of mental problems. Deviations and problems in

sexual life may determine the type of violent forms of behaviour. Perpetrator’s behaviour is

motivated by both sexual and nonsexual components. Sexual abuse refers to different sexual

acts different conditions and forms:

 

• Rape or sexual assault in order to satisfy sexual proclivity in a marriage or at the

beginning of relationship. Date rape which is a violent sexual intercourse during a

voluntary social contact. The victim and the offender know each other and spend time

together.

• Rape or other sexual activities carried out by a stranger.

• Systematic rape during an armed conflict.

• Sadism – getting sexual enjoyment by causing pain to and/or humiliating the other

person. The qualification of such acts depends upon their consequences. Sadistic

tendencies lie on the base of many sexual murders, which, however, sometimes have

been committed with a view to conceal other sexual crime (rape, seduction to lewdness,

etc.)

• Involvement in an unwanted sexual activity (undesirable experience).

• Sexual violence against a mentally ill or a disable person.

• Sexual exploitation. The term “sexual exploitation” means any real or attempted

abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power or trust for sexual purposes,

including but not limited to profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the

sexual exploitation of another. One aspect of the sexual exploitation of women the

objectification of women‘s bodies through the ‘male gaze‘ (the way in which men are

encouraged to gaze at a woman‘s body from male point of view) (7, 2008). According to

Laura Mulvey the male gaze can be characterised by voyeurism, fetishism and sadism.

• Sexual exploitation of children. Children sexual exploitation is a hidden crime. Young

people often trust their abuser and do not understand that they are being abused.

• Forced marriage or cohabitation, including a marriage with a child.

• Other actions (coitus per os or per anum), varyingly arousing a person’s body (object

insertion in the genitals, anus, mouth, imitating sexual intercourse).

• Prohibiting the use of contraception or other means to protect themselves against

unwanted pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted diseases, forced abortion, forced

pregnancy, violent sterilization.

• Any act of violence against a person’s sexual integrity, including female genital

mutilation and compulsory virginity tests.

• Forced prostitution. In Latvia, the average age of women engaged in prostitution is

25–35 years, although age is considered to be a secondary aspect in the provision

of sex services. A significant proportion has worked on the streets for a long time

(15–20 years). The majority of women in street-based prostitution are addicted to drugs

or alcohol, and HIV and other diseases are common amongst women in prostitution with

addiction problems: Very often they do not have safe sex [without a condom], because

by doing so they can earn more money.

• Human trafficking, sexual slavery.

• Distribution of child pornography.

• Sexual violence is also forcing someone to look at pornographic magazines, movies or

to engage in pornographic activities.

• A person is violated with sexual harassment, including undesirable and unpleasant

sexual comments. Sexual harassment can take different forms – it can be obvious or

indirect, physical or verbal, repeated or one-off and perpetrated by male and females

against people of the same or opposite sex (31). Sexual harassment also takes place

in case of any kind of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical – sexual behaviour,

with the purpose and consequence to disregard of other’s dignity, in particular when

creating and intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

Sexual harassment may include not only physical actions, but also verbal and written,

such as sending harassing e-mails or text messages to a mobile phone. The crucial fact

is that such and “advertence” is unpleasant.

• Showing one’s genitals (Exhibitionism) – denuding of the genitals, often with

simultaneous masturbation, within the view of a person of the opposite sex or naked

body to other(s) without consent.

• Masturbating in public.

• Watching someone in a private act without their knowledge or permission.

• So-called “honour crimes” (also referred to as, killings in the name of honour, crimes

of tradition, or crimes of honour). United Nations FPA estimated that 5000 women are

murdered by family members every year in the name of honour (36, 2000). According

to Human Rights Watch, honour crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed

by male family members against female family members who are perceived to have

brought dishonour upon the family. The misconduct in question may be actual or

alleged. A woman may be targeted because she has been raped, has been seen talking

to a man outside of the family, has refused to enter an arranged marriage, or even left

an abusive husband. Any acts by the victim that may have brought dishonour or shame

to the family can trigger attacks on the woman in question.

• Cyber-sexual violence: ‘Cyber-sexual violence is any remote activity of sexual nature

and intention in cyberspace violating the rights of another person’. For example, cyber-sexual harassment is a fairly widespread phenomenon. The research shows that on average, in EU, cyber-sexual harassment reaches 11%. Assessing the research results, it can be established that, in Latvia and Estonia cyber-sexual harassment ranges between 10–14%, compared to Lithuania’s 5–9%.

 

“The author provides a possible definition of sexual violence – sexual violence is diverse,

any physical, virtual, or verbal activity or a sexual assault, or an attempt to have sexual

contact, or remote actions in cyberspace, or any other activities against the victim’s will

involving physical force, power, deceit, coercion, or threats or using victim’s helplessness

or overcoming its resistance thus violating another’s sexuality, causing the victim a wide

range of concerns: physical pain, mental and physical injury, and material damage.

The author offers a possible concept of sex crime (sexual offense), defining it as an

intentional subject’s sexual action or actions containing sexual meaning in relation to socially-

accepted moral norms and values protected by criminal law – real or virtual disregard and

violation of victim’s sexual freedom and sexual inviolability”

According to Lydia Guy, in ‘Re-visioning the Sexual Violence Continuum’,  “Rape as a cultural phenomenon, or stated more simply, rape as a predictable consequence of the power differential between men and women has been a topic of discussion since the creation of the first rape crisis centers. Academics tended to use terms like patriarchy, misogyny and sexism and those words became integral parts of the lexicon used by the women who became the founding mothers of our current sexual assault service delivery system. The basic premise of this concept is that rape does not happen just because one individual chooses to rape another. Rape happens because there are attitudes, and norms that allow it to happen. ‘What is rape culture? It is a complex of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. It occurs in a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent. In a rape culture women perceive a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from sexual remarks to sexual touching to rape itself.

“A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm.

In a rape culture both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life, inevitable as death or taxes. This violence, however, is neither biologically nor divinely ordained. Much of what we accept as inevitable is in fact the expression of values and attitudes that can change.

“The continuum was designed as a visual aid to illustrate the concept of rape culture. The objective

was to provide a simple way to describe a complex phenomenon. The interesting thing about

portraying something as a picture is that even though we draw the picture to represent how we see

the issue, how we see the issue is affected by our experience of looking at the picture. In most visual

conceptualizations the image not only reflects our belief system but also shapes our belief system.

This is one of the things that make them so profound, and the main reason I choose to re-envision the sexual violence continuum”

According to Centers for Disease control and Prevention, sexual violence is preventable and we all have a role to play in its prevention.

 

“Parents, school staff, and other caring adults can:

·         Teach skills to prevent SV.

·         Help youth build positive communication skills, including conflict resolution and how to handle emotions in a healthy way.

·         Practice and model healthy, safe dating and intimate relationships to teach youth dating and relationship skills.

·         Create protective environments.

·         Improve safety and monitoring in schools by addressing areas where students feel less safe, identifying safe spaces and staff support for students, and creating an atmosphere of intolerance for harassment and violence.

·         Establish and apply proactive workplace sexual harassment prevention policies and procedures that include commitment from top management, zero tolerance, notification to applicants and new hires of harassment-free environments, regular organizational assessments, and consistent, specific training to reduce workplace SV behaviors.

“Everyone can:

·         Promote social norms that protect against violence.

·         Speak up against sexist language or behaviors that promote violence.

·         Offer to help or support in situations where violence may occur or has occurred.

·         Support Survivors to Lessen Harms.

·         Know where and how to get help.

 

In the United States, each year during the month of April, termed ‘Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM)’ state, territory, tribal and community-based organizations, rape crisis centers, government agencies, businesses, campuses and individuals plan events and activities to highlight sexual violence as a public health, human rights and social justice issue and reinforce the need for prevention efforts.

The theme, slogan, resources and materials for the national SAAM campaign are coordinated by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center each year with assistance from anti-sexual assault organizations throughout the United States.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).  This is a time for advocates, survivors, their loved ones, and the community to come together to talk openly about sexual violence to support survivors, increase knowledge and awareness, and identify strategies and resources to prevent sexual violence. 

As such, in commemoration of SAAM, United States President Joe Biden delivered a message titled ‘A proclamation on National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, 2023’. See the full text below:

“Freedom from sexual assault is a basic human right.  Yet tens of millions of Americans –- our family and friends, colleagues, neighbors, and classmates –- carry the trauma of sexual assault with them.  National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month is an important time to speak out, stand with courageous survivors, and finally change the culture that has allowed sexual violence to exist for far too long.

“Sexual violence affects all people, regardless of geography, race, age, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or economic background.  One in four women and 1 in 26 men have survived a rape or attempted rape.  Abuse can happen anywhere — at work, at home, at school, in other public places, or online.  It can lead to depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other physical and emotional wounds.  We must keep fighting to make clear how important consent is and how sexual assault can be a crime.  And we must help survivors access safety, justice, and healing.

“That is why I wrote the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 30 years ago, at a time when domestic violence and sexual assault were often swept under the rug.  We changed that.  VAWA has given us tools to prevent and prosecute sexual assault and provide support for survivors.  It has helped to save and rebuild so many lives, and I have never quit working to strengthen the law, including expanding protections when VAWA was reauthorized in 2000, 2005, 2013, and most recently in 2022.  These efforts have expanded support for survivors, especially for people of color, members of the LGBTQI+ community, and immigrants, and have broadened protections to cover online abuse, such as the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.  We increased VAWA funding this past year by 20 percent to a historic $700 million for 2023.

“Today, we are doing more to help survivors in underserved communities and rural areas.  We are working to reduce the backlog of untested rape kits as many survivors continue to wait for justice.  We are improving trauma-informed training for law enforcement and making sure that adult survivors of child sexual abuse can get help, including legal help and support for healing.  And we have ensured that Tribal courts have jurisdiction over non-Native perpetrators suspected of committing crimes of sexual assault, sex trafficking, and child abuse on Tribal lands.  Additionally, through the American Rescue Plan, we have delivered $1 billion in additional funding for rape crisis centers, culturally specific community support organizations, and other domestic violence and sexual assault services nationwide.

“We have also reformed how the military investigates and prosecutes sexual assault, sexual harassment, and related crimes, including by shifting authority from commanders to independent prosecutors.  I issued an Executive Order listing sexual harassment and the wrongful distribution of intimate images as offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

“I launched a Federal task force to tackle the rise in online sexual harassment and abuse, recommending concrete steps for prevention, accountability, research, and support for survivors.  And I signed laws ending forced arbitration and limiting the enforcement of non-disclosure agreements to ensure people who have experienced sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace can pursue justice.

“While we have made progress addressing sexual violence over the years, there is still much work to do.  As President, I have expanded funding for campus prevention efforts, building on the work I did as Vice President when we launched “It’s On Us”.  I signed an Executive Order calling on the Department of Education to protect students from discrimination based on sex, including sex-based harassment and sexual violence.  And I will continue to fight tirelessly to realize the promise of Title IX, which requires institutions to prevent and address sexual violence and harassment.  I have called on young men in particular to speak up and stand against abuse — because the real test of character is having the guts to do the right thing.  And I have been awed by the courage of countless survivors in every part of the country who have come forward to push for justice and have inspired many others to do the same.  It is on us all to stand with them.

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2023 as National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.  I urge all Americans to support sexual assault survivors, including when survivors reach out and disclose abuse, and to strengthen our efforts to prevent this abuse in the first place.

“IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-seventh”

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.