According to Amnesty International, Nigeria recorded at least 11,200 incidences of rape in 2020.
The figures were released on Monday, and Amnesty International expressed concern over the significant number of rapes in Nigeria, despite the country’s declaration of a “state of emergency” on sexual and gender-based violence.
It further stated that most victims were denied justice, that rapists were spared punishment, and that hundreds of rape cases went unreported owing to the shame of stigma, corruption, and victim-blaming.
The report highlights shocking examples of sexual violence, including the deaths of a six-year-old and an 11-year-old. It includes interviews with 14 rape survivors and is based on research conducted between March 2020 and August 2021.
In addition, seven parents of kid survivors were questioned. The majority of the interviews took held in the states of Sokoto, Abuja, Lagos, Kano, and Bauchi. Allowing damaging cultural preconceptions, poisonous misogyny insufficient support for survivors to take root in a society, and failures of law enforcement to investigate rape cases has resulted in a culture of silence and impunity, according to the research.
“A system that makes it increasingly harder for survivors to receive justice while allowing offenders to get away with serious human rights crimes continues to fail women and girls,” Osai Ojigho, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria said.
“The ‘state of urgency’ has proven to be a meaningless designation that has done nothing whatsoever to secure Nigerian women and girls so far.”