Rape Cases Don’t Have to Become Headlines – Bimbo Oloyode
Veteran Journalist and Newscaster, Bimbo Oloyode, has urged authorities to put in place a mechanism that will ensure rape cases do not have to make headlines before victims are helped.
Oloyede stated this on Day 3 of the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) 16-day Activism Against Gender-Based Violence conversations which was held on X (formerly Twitter), on Monday.
Speaking on the theme of the event tagged: “Is prevention not better than cure for sexual violence”, Oloyede noted that sexual violence is usually heard when the rape and its devastating effects had taken their cause.
She also established that there are religious, educational and social bodies that are in positions to influence and give suggestions on methods and strategies to adopt to prevent sexual violence rather than curing it.
“The time we actually get to hear about sexual based violence, is when it has already become dramatic, when the devastation has already taken place.
“I wonder why it has to wait until it becomes headlines before something is done.
“There should be strategies that we can adopt and method that we can look into that would help to ensure that prevention does become better than cure.
“If you look at the society, well we are fragmented but at the same time, we are one cognitive body; you have the churches, mosques, schools, educational establishments, clubs, and in all these areas you will find that there are groups of people who are in position to influence, there are people who can give advice, suggestions.
“People only know about a certain type of violence so they don’t really see the other indices that something is going on somewhere or something is likely to happen if something is not done.”
BBC Reporter, Karina Igonikon, also stated victims of sexual violence, be they males or females, are scarred with the memories and traumas for life and not just the victims are affected but also everybody around them including family.
Igonikon advocated for prevention of sexual violence by enlightening and informing people, educating not just the girl child but also mothers, fathers, schools and even neighbors.
“When we cover issues around sexual violence, even the reporter is affected, you learn to separate yourself from the story but when you go back home in the quietness of your room, you begin to ruminate on what you heard and it’s never good for anybody.
“So, I’ll say we need to begin now, seeing the damage it has done on our societies even from stories we’ve covered, we see how traumatized the family, victims are.
“So, I think advocacy is key and we need to be deliberate with the information we put out there.” She said.
On his part, Mr. Akin Aluko of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church Movement, Surulere District Headquarters, stated that preventing sexual violence isn’t something to be left to activist groups alone or religious bodies, but a thing to be addressed from the grassroot.
“Every Christian leader has the pulpit and whether we like it or not, the pulpit is very strong, people attend church services and as such, have respect for what is coming down from the pulpit.
“In other words, Christian leaders should be carried on in seminars like this so that they can also add whatever is discussed on the pulpit too as.”
Traditional leader, First Lady Eucharia further highlighted one of the challenges of sexual violence as under reporting, as many victims often tend to not report abuse due to several reasons such as cultural values, stigma, educational awareness.
“Prevention is better than cure. We have to use preventive measures to stop this violence against the girl child
“Educational awareness system should be applied, traditional rulers too should be involved and we have to start from parents as they have a key role to play.”
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