You might not be a rapist. But here’s how you are contributing to the menace
The past few days on Naija Twitter has been crazy. A university student, Uwa, was raped & killed in a church in Benin, a12-year-old was raped by 11 men in Jigawa. Victims have also been exposing Nigerian celebrities & even non-celebrities who are rapists. But this madness did not start today. Growing up in Lagos, victims of rape have always been silenced & shamed, while the rapists walk about freely.
However, some people claim they are not rapists, but they are actually enabling the rape culture via their comments on social media & even their actions/inactions in their day-to-day lives. Over time, here is a compilation of how I’ve noticed people around here have become enablers of the rape culture.
How?
1. You doubt the rape victims when they share their story. Saying things like “Let’s hear from the rapist too before we judge” undermines the victim’s story.
2. You post comments like “ what about boys that are raped” under posts of a victim telling her rape story. This way you are trying to water down the experience of the victim by playing “whataboutism”.
3. You tell the victims of rape to forgive and forget: That’s not in your place to do. You were not the one that was raped. Let them heal at their own pace.
4. You are in a position on authority & you connive with the rapist to hide the case. Eg, police officers, pastors, imam who convince & pressurize the victim & their family members to cover up the rape case & “let it go”.
5. You try to shift the blame of the rape to the victim by asking questions like “what were you wearing when you were raped”, “ why did you go to his house”, “ why did you accept a drink from him?”, “What were you doing outside at night?”, etc
6. You gossip to others about the experience of the rape victim in order to make them feel bad or shame them.
7. You tell your children not to make friends with a rape victim in order not to get “corrupted”.
8. You crack rape jokes. What’s so funny about rape that you are laughing about anyway?
9. You laugh at rape jokes either when comedians make them or when your friends do so too. You don’t check their behaviour and tell them to stop.
10. You use religion to justify rape by saying things like “A woman’s body belongs to the man, so he can do as he likes”
People like fkabudu on Twitter have started fundraisers for the recent rape cases, you can support them.
#JusticeforUwa
