by By Efa Sunday
An Obubra high court has sentenced a man identified as Mr Ernest Odong Ayira to fourteen years imprisonment after being found guilty of raping a minor.
The victim, (name withheld) is the perpetrator’s niece and was eight (8) years old when she got raped.
Basic Right Council Initiative (BRCI), a non-profit organization focused on Human Rights abuses, Witchcraft Accusations, Rape, and other similar abuses spearheaded the legal processes two years ago. However, the sentence was suspended under tight conditions through a plea bargain.
As part of his punishment, Mr Ernest must compensate the victim’s mother with three hundred thousand naira (#300,000) only in damages.
Additionally, he is prohibited from having custody of any female child and from interacting with any child outside his own under supervision.
He is also barred from working in any institution caring for children. And he is to render community service, by actively sweeping the village market for the next six months and to also keep clean the Obubra High Court Premises.
Obubra is a Local Government in Cross River State, Nigeria.
PERSONAL ISSUES ARISING
While I commend the Judge for dishing out fair punishment to the culprit, to serve as a deterrent to others committing or on the verge of committing such acts, I would like to especially extend my gratitude to the parent of the victim, for speaking out until justice was served, considering the affinity between both parties involved in the case.
Silence has proven to be one of the major hindrances to such cases from being judged. A situation where the victims suffer intimidation from the perpetrator, family members and the society at large. The victims shy away from exposing their oppressors for fear of being stigmatized and labelled.
Again, special gratitude should go to BRCI for fighting for these young girls and rendering these services pro bono. You have not only won for this girl, but you have gotten justice for millions of young girls and women going through the same in silence.
But, on the flip side, most of these serial rapists, especially those who are attracted to younger girls suffer from a psychological disorder known as Pedophilic Disorder.
Pedophilic disorder or Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. In popular usage, the word paedophilia is often applied to any sexual interest in children or the act of child sexual abuse, including any sexual interest in minors below the local age of consent or age of adulthood, regardless of their level of physical or mental development.
While conducting a special report on this clinical case, I discovered that child sex offenders often exhibit concurrently other psychopathologies, such as low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and personality disorder problems.
SUSTAINABLE RECOMMENDATIONS
Although there is no evidence that paedophilia can be cured, however, therapy has proven to be the best remedy to help serial rapists and paedophiles.
- While I applaud the jail term slammed on Mr Ernest for his crime, I think it is very important to incorporate psycho-therapy in our correctional centres. This is to help people like him speak out on their problems and to also embrace solutions.
- Incorporate such offenders into “anti-pedophilia activism”. This is another form of therapy that has proven to help reduce this act among adults. And it has also proven to have worked up to 60% in the United States.
- Community Service, such as sweeping the market and cleaning the Obubra High Court is another subtle punishment that not only corrects but does emotional appeal for easy societal re-integration.
- Finally, families and society at large should learn to speak out when there is an issue of sexual abuse or any other form of social injustice. Keeping silent not only emboldens the perpetrator it also destroys the entire fabric upon which the society is built.
EFA SUNDAY IS A PRACTISING JOURNALIST, RESEARCHER AND SOCIAL COMMENTATOR BASED IN CALABAR
