By Isaac Asabor
There is no denying the fact that the blood curdling, horrific, sadistic, terrifying, shocking, cruel and brutal gang rape and murder of Miss Vera Uwaila Omozuwa at the Ikpoba Hill branch of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), in Benin City, the Edo State capital, on May 27, where she had reportedly gone to study at night has irked not a few Nigerians to be calling for chemical castration as an additional punishment for rapists across the country.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it is germane to ask at this juncture, “Should rapists be castrated?” In answering the above question, it is expedient to disclose in this context that several countries in the world that have authorized the mandatory use of chemical castration for certain convicted sex offenders include South Korea, Poland, Estonia, and States of California and Florida in the United States of America (USA) among others.
Despite the seeming absurdness that the law is characterized with in the eyes of human rights fighters and humanists in some of the aforementioned countries, some people consider it as a big step in the fight against sex crimes, saying it will act as a deterrent while others say it is a violation of human rights.
The latter group argues that crime cannot be prevented with another crime. They say that until the male-dominated ideology prevailing in the society is fought and overcome that the issue of rape cannot be prevented.
Back home in Nigeria, Mr. Daniel Etuk, in his view says he would fully support the practice of the chemical castration method for rapists whenever such law comes into existence, and wished such legislation is replicated in Nigeria.
Ostensibly buttressing his view, Etuk said, “Incidences of rape in the country are fast assuming a frightening height that requires punitive measures from the government. Rape, like other forms of violence against women, is an infraction on women’s rights, privacy, survival and self-worth. The media is awash with news stories that concern perpetrations of rape, and it is by each passing day becoming a serious social problem of epidemic proportion.” He explained that rape is no longer an isolated criminal act that is affecting just a few women in the society. “In recent times the incidences of rape have increased at an alarming rate”, he said.
As observed by this writer, few days after the raping and killing of Miss Vera Uwaila Omozuwa in Benin-City, Nigerians were hit with the bad news that an 18-year-old girl, identified as Bello Barakat, was reportedly gang raped and murdered by unknown men in Ibadan, Oyo state capital.
The incident was said to have occurred at her parents’ house in the Akinyele area of Ibadan in the evening.
Mr. Edwin Uwazuruonye, women’s rights activists, in his view on the issue said, “There is little or no policy or law that helps protect rape victims in Nigeria.” He said rather than helped rape victims, they are usually blamed for indecent dressing even as they are stigmatized and humiliated by the public if their plight is brought to the public domain.
Mr. Kenneth Mofunanya in a parley with this writer felt that chemical castration might sound barbaric but he opined that “Barbaric crimes should definitely attract a barbaric model of punishment.” Ostensibly sensing that his view would evoke condemnation, particularly on the grounds that it would be a violation of human rights, he said the perpetration of rape by those he described as miscreants is quite getting out of hand, and that it would require drastic measure to nip it in the bud.
It would be recalled in this context that in a petition to the National Assembly that Miss Precious Nwodo in 2018, who was then the reigning Miss Charming Nigeria Beauty Pageant, kicked against Rape and Sexual Offences as she wrote that rape was endangering the lives of females in Nigeria, and noted that Nigerian women and girls were living in fear of being raped or sexually abused. She explained in the petition that “A girl cannot pass through an isolated place without the fear of being raped, is it a crime to be female? If we don’t hear about someone that was raped or molested in the neighborhood, we hear about it daily on the news/Internet. It is increasingly getting dangerous to be female in Nigeria, larger percentage of Nigerian girls are scared of being raped. We all have sisters, girlfriends, wives, daughters, female friends, etc. at risk of getting raped or sexually harassed. We want the government to take appropriate measures to curtail this menace. We want you to sign this Petition calling for the CASTRATION of SEXUAL Offenders. It is on record that former Sexual offenders after being released from prison go back to sexually harass or rape another victim. But if they were castrated, nothing like that will happen”.
It can also be recalled that in March 2020 that the Senate considered two critical bills aimed at strengthening Child Rights laws and the protection of older persons in Nigeria. Both bills were sponsored by Senators Ibikunle Amosun (APC- Ogun Central); and Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi (PDP – Imo East). Leading debate on the Child Rights Act 2003 (Amendment) bill, 2020, Senator Amosun, said the piece of legislation seeks “To protect the Nigerian child by excluding certain categories of persons from being employed either as care givers, teachers or in any other circumstances that may expose or make such a child vulnerable or susceptible to sexual assault or sexual exploitation.”
It would be recalled that the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) reported in 2015 that one in four girls and one in 10 boys in Nigeria experience sexual violence before the age of 18. Findings from a national survey carried out in 2014 on Violence Against Children in Nigeria confirmed that one in four females reported experiencing sexual violence in childhood with approximately 70 per cent reporting more than one incident of sexual violence.
It means that of the 99.1 million estimated numbers of women in Nigeria, 24.8 million may have experienced some form of sexual violence. And for almost 70 per cent of that number, it was more than a fluke.
To further explain how grim the climate is, it is interesting to note that it was found that 24.8 per cent of 14,560,417 (3,610,983) females age 18 to 24 years experienced sexual abuse prior to age 18, of which 5.0 per cent (108,549) sought help, with only 3.5 per cent (126,384) receiving any services.
The criminal and penal codes of 1990 are the laws guiding rape justice in Nigeria. However, the code is deficient in many ways.
For instance, the law defines rape as having unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl without her consent, or with her consent if it was obtained by force or by means of intimidation.
This definition excludes other methods and orifices of penetration, save penile penetration of the vagina. Experts said such is not all-encompassing to help protect citizens. It is ostensibly on the basis of the shortcomings that are inherent in this law that not a few Nigerians are calling for a stringent law such as chemical castration.
According to Mr. Eric Nwakunor, “Many Nigerians will support any law that promotes chemical castration of rapists as incidences of rape are assuming a pandemic dimension. In my personal opinion, it is not wrong to say that chemical castration will help in nipping the problem in the bud.
As gathered from medical purview, “Testosterone is the major hormone associated with libido and sexual function, and several studies have reported that violent sexual offenders have higher levels of androgens than do nonviolent comparison groups and androgen levels correlate positively with both prior violence and the severity of sexual aggression. However, a clear cause-and-effect relationship between testosterone levels and sexual offending remains uncertain. Nevertheless, various comprehensive theories of sexual offending have incorporated hormonal factors despite surprisingly little evidence, and both surgical and chemical castration undoubtedly reduces sexual interest, sexual performance, and sexual reoffending”.
Medical experts were unanimous in their views that sexual crimes are a significant public health problem, and that efforts to prevent recidivism and protect the community are worthy, and public safety can take precedence over criminal’s rights. Chemical castration reduces recidivism effectively when offered to sexual offenders within the context of simultaneous comprehensive psychotherapeutic treatment. However, it is believed that chemical castration is vaguely positioned between punishment and treatment due to lack of informed consent by the recipient, and so remains a problematic issue for medical ethics. It is therefore agreed that physicians are obligated to very closely monitor any potential treatment complications in sexual offenders undergoing chemical castration.
Be that as it may, not a few respondents reasoned that the punishment would be too punitive for offenders in this part of the world even as equal numbers in the other divide insisted that punitive law will serve rapists right.
