COVID-19: Incidence of rape highest in Kaduna — Study

Experts exploring the pattern of rape and femicide in Nigeria during and after the COVID-19 lockdown using reports from digital media say that Kaduna State has the highest incidence rate (9.5%), and have called for urgent measures by relevant stakeholders to curtail rape in Nigeria.

In a new study, experts had investigated a total of 48 rape cases, of which 12.5% resulted in femicide, and found that more than half (55.6%) of the rape victims were aged 11 to 20 and were predominantly female (97%).

According to the study, a large percentage (42.9%) of the rape perpetrators were between 31 and 45 years of age and were all male. The incidence of rape increased steadily from 5.1% in March to peak at 33.3% in June and declined sharply by the end of August 2020 to 5.1% with rape being more prevalent in northern Nigeria with Kaduna State having the highest incidence rate (9.5%).

The 2021 study, published in Journal of Gender Studies and entitled ‘Pattern of rape and femicide during COVID-19 lockdown: Content and discourse analysis of digital media reports in Nigeria’, focused on all cases of rape and femicide reported in Nigeria via digital media such as online newspapers, Twitter and Facebook between March and August 2020, excluding reports on gender-based violence.

A total of 224 rape stories were reported in the digital media during this research time frame, out of which 48 (21.4%) were confirmed incidents of rape curated from the digital platforms of registered/conventional news outlets.

Many of the rape incidents (83.3%) were without accomplices, and 12.5% of the rapes resulted in femicide. A large percentage of the rape victims (55.6%) were between the ages of 11 and 20 years while most of the rapists (42.9%) were aged between 31 and 45 years.

Also, the rate of rape increased steadily (5.1% in March) to a peak of 33.3% in June and declined sharply by the end of August to 5.1%. The occupation of the rapists was diverse, ranging from religious clerics (Christian and Islamic), lecturers, and politicians to undergraduate students, artisans and the unemployed. The rape victims were mostly without occupation.

Noting the need for strategies to be implemented by relevant stakeholders to forestall rape and femicide in Nigeria, the researchers recommended that the incidence of rape cases across cultural divides in Nigeria should be investigated.

as it appears that such data are not available or under-reported.