Prevalence of Rape in Ekiti State Nigeria: Expectations from the Church (Published)
The article investigates the prevalence of rape and sexual assaults in Ekiti State, Nigeria. It reviews some pieces of literature on rape from scholarly perspectives; rape in the bible and its effects were equally investigated. The causes and effects of rape were emphasized in work. The article examined expectations from the church being the moral bastion of society. It is a concern that rape has become cancer that has eaten deep into our contemporary society. There have been reported cases of rape in Ekiti state, which calls for this article. It is no doubt that some men have thrown morals into the bin and defiled women of all ages, but children are not left behind in this contemporary madness. Some men have slept with children far below their children’s ages. The research shows that rape is not exclusive to the state under study; allegations of rape and molestation have come from different states in Nigeria using qualitative and interview approaches. The paper equally gives information on reported and cases of convicted culprits of rape in the state. Likewise, efforts of the State Government and the church to forestall rape were revealed in this work. Nevertheless, it was observed that despite the efforts of Ekiti State in curtailing rape in the state, it is still prevalent. However, this is due to the number of new cases reported daily. Consequently, the call for church intervention as the moral bastion of society to forestall rape is imperative at this juncture. It has been discovered in the work that cases of rape are underreported due to the stigma and shame associated with it. Ekiti state, just like every other state in Nigeria, is a patriarch in nature. Hence, men are always at an advantage in nearly everything. Therefore, the paper recommends that the church intensify efforts to enlighten society through radio, television evangelism, counselling, preaching and workshop on the danger of rape. Finally, rape victims should be given the moral and medical support needed for their healing from the physical, emotional and psychological traumas associated with rape.
Keywords: Church, Ekiti State, Expectations, Nigeria, Prevalence, Rape