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.