Lawyer urges Men to join fight against rape, defilement

Ms Funmi Adeogun, the Treasurer of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), has said that involving men and boys in the fight against rape will bring the concerns of women and girls to the front burner of interventions to end rape.

Adeogun, made this known on Wednesday, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

She noted the need for men to contribute to the development of the society by championing the campaign against sexual violence.

Adeogun also called for the entrenchment of effective penalties on those complicit in acts of sexual violence against women, so as to serve as deterrence to others.

”It is time for relevant gender stakeholders to check issues around cases of rape, defilement or indecent assault on women, with a view to nipping the menace in the bud.

“It is so alarming to note the rising trend of indecent assault on the girl child, with the most recent being a viral sex video of a student of Chrisland School.

“The narrative around the whole saga is even most worrisome to say the least and this ought not to be the case.

“The whole scenario including the criminal intent behind release of the embarrassing clip, goes a long way in further evidencing the dearth of empathy and value for women in our present dispensation.

“Let me therefore, use this opportunity to call for the inclusion of men as frontliners in both national and global response to the problems of rape and defilement.

“This is because behind every rape, there is a man.

“There are a plethora of similar episodes depicting women as being “preys” in the hands of male “predators”.

“I hereby, also advocate for a commitment by all, to greater protection of women from gender-based violence as it were in our today’s society,” she said

Adeogun also urged women in positions of authority as well as policy makers, to use their positions in amassing “a crusade” against sexual violence and other forms of gender abuses.

Besides, she stressed on the importance of women empowerment as well as girl child education, as being critical steps in combating the menace of gender violence.