Rape: Offering treatment, reducing stigma to victims in Bauchi State
In Mangu, village in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi State, residents are going about their daily routine in the sunny and hot day, under this unbearable temperature, a terrified teenage girl, Hauwa, accompanied by one of her peer ran into a small mud house.
Hauwa is sobbing uncontrollably and blood gushing out down between her thighs.
She couldn’t speak, but stood still in tears as an elderly woman in the house asked her the reasons for her flowing tears.
“Are you sick? Did you fall or is it a stomach ache?” asked Kande, the elderly woman.
“She was raped,” Mrs Auwa Yusuf, the victim’s mother answered.
Yusuf said that a 17-year-old boy forcefully had canal knowledge of the victim on Nov. 25.
“She was returning from Maulud celebration together with her friend, and on the way back home, the rapist grabbed her Hijab (veil), and forced himself on her.
Narrating the ordeal, Mr Yusuf Mohammed, the victim’s father said he took the girl to hospital for treatment and clinical analysis.
He said the case was also referred to the Bauchi State Sexual Assault Referral Centre (BASARC), adding that police had arrested the culprit.
“This is barbaric and the law must take its course on perpetrators of such acts. With this incident, I will engage with parents to dialogue on this matter.
“I will not allow my daughter to be stigmatised by members of the public over something she did not plan for. The boy is not even from our community, yet he followed and raped her,” Mohammed said.
Concern over rape cases in Bauchi
Hauwa’s case is ‘the tip of the iceberg’, as health and security agencies in Bauchi State have expressed concern over the spate of rape, abuse and violence cases against women and girls in the state.
Statistics by BASARC showed that 200 Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) cases had been recorded from February to November in the state.
The factsheet indicated that incidents of rape and homosexuality topped the chart.
The Head of the BASARC centre, Hajiya Hadiza Muhammad, said that most of the incidents occurred in rural communities involving mainly minors ranging from zero to 12 years.
She said the survivors presented health threatening symptoms such as offensive odours, rashes and discharge, among others.
Treatment/Rehabilitation
The Bauchi State government in collaboration with development partners has been providing free treatment and psycho-social support services to the victims through the BASARC.
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The programme is designed to treat and protect the victims against contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STIs), HIV/AIDS and other diseases as well as reduce stigma and facilitate victims’ full reintegration into the society.
According to Muhammad, SGBV victims are being treated with Antiretroviral Drug (RTD) to manage infections after clinical screening.
She said the Centre adopted proactive measures for proper mentorship, treatment and effective management to ensure completion of treatment of the survivors.
“Some of the survivors undergo treatment process from four to five times before they are fully healed.
“So, we avoid stigmatisation, this is the reason why the BASARC is within the Obstetrics and Gynaecology wards,” she said.
Muhammad said that mentorship and training of all staff in the unit has been prioritised to ensure effective management of survivors of SGBV, to enable them to enjoy a healthy living.
Challenges/Administration of Justice as solution to rape
Experts identified lack of jurisdiction of the lower courts to try rape cases as the bane of the campaign against the nefarious act in the state.
Justice Saad Zadawa of the Bauchi State High Court, said that: “the Chief Magistrates (1) has no jurisdiction under the Bauchi State Administration of Criminal Justice Law (BSACJL) 2022, to try any other offences; the punishment of such conviction is 14 years or fine of N1million thereof.
“The way forward in the trial of rape cases is to increase the jurisdiction of Chief magistrates (1) by amending the law”.
Similarly, Mrs Amina Garuba, Executive Director, Ikra Foundation for Women and High Development, advocated for amendment of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law to empower lower courts to try rape cases in the state.
She said that the VAPP law states that states that conviction of rape is life imprisonment and those who committed the offence against minors to be condemned to death by hanging needed to be implemented.
Mr Muhammad Usman, an official of the Bauchi State Ministry of Justice, also stressed the need for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to highlight such grey areas as contained in the VAPP law for legislative actions to fast track effective review of the law.
