LEGAL PROTECTION FOR RAPED VICTIMS: IMPERATIVES OF DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL LAWS

Abstract

Rape has a history that almost equaled the history of man’s creation. Culturally, it is an offence which
stands on the same pedestal with the offence of murder since a suspect accused of rape is expected to go
into hiding while his people make efforts to cleanse the shame on the face of the family of the rape victim.
Despite all these, the offence of rape in Nigeria seems to be on the increase and the question on every lip
is what the cause is? Does it mean that the punishment stipulated for it in the extant laws is no longer
heavy enough to deter would-be rapist or are there factors which ostensibly offer more incentives for
rape than the risk of its punishment. Furthermore, there is the fact that women have always been
perceived as the weaker vessel, and so have been subjugated and oppressed by culture in most African
societies. Rape is simply an unlawful sexual intercourse between a man and a woman, vice versa, without
the consent of the victim. This paper uses a doctrinal research methodology to explore the meaning of
rape and consent in different jurisdictions, types and elements of rape and of course punishment for rape
in different jurisdictions and further discussed the legal and institutional protection for raped victims.
This paper therefore recommends among other things for some review of some of the laws on rape to
accommodate definitions of rape, consent etc. and recommends stiffer punishments.