Anti-Rape Cum Child Abuse Bill



                                     
Nothing gives away the Sexual Offences Bill, also known as the anti-rape bill, passed by the immediate past National Assembly, than the fact that it is obnoxious, exploitative and would further boost child abuse and the abuse of those considered by the society as fragile. Lamentably, these were part of the issues that the bill was initially enacted to fight. It is simply an encouragement for sexual perverts.
The private member bill sponsored by Senator Chris Anyanwu was one of the 46 bills hurriedly passed at the expiration of the seventh Senate headed by David Mark. The bill stipulates a life imprisonment for any one found guilty of rape or sexual intercourse with children under 11 years. It also stipulates 10 years for incest, 10 years for child pornography or a fine of N2 million and 14 years for sexual abuse.
                                         
                   
What the bill is simply saying is that a girl or boy from 11 to 17 years is an adult and must be treated as such. Yet the world over, the age for maturity is put at 18, but in Nigeria, Senator Ahmed Yerima and his co-travellers have been able to convince their colleagues that once a girl is married, even if the girl is not old enough to reason for herself, she is considered an adult. In some areas of the country, children are married out at very tender age when they should still be under the tutelage of their parents and in school.
                  
No wonder the rate of Vesico Vaginal Fistula, VVF, is common in Nigeria even though the country is not war-torn. It is even more prevalent in the northern part of the country than any other part. Currently, statistics from the National Demographic Health Survey has shown that more than 12,000 women develop VVF every year in Nigeria. The disease is an occurrence of abnormal hole between the bladder or Rectum and the Vagina, characterized by continuous and uncontrollable leakage of urine.
        
The disease mostly affects women not mature enough for pregnancy before experiencing it. In this case, they are affected by prolonged labour which opens them to the dreaded disease. It is also common with rape victims as well as ignorant women who engage in harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation among others. It accounts for 75 percent of loss of baby and is responsible for 55 to 60 percent of divorce rates in Nigeria.
We, therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to withhold his assent to the bill until the bill is reviewed, amended and passed without sentiment in favour of some of the paedophiles masquerading as lawmakers and their likes in this country.
 

                   



























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