Recurring Cases of Child Rape in Nigeria: An Issue for Church Intervention

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In Nigerian society, there has been an upsurge in incidents of child rape and, to a large extent, the girl child is no longer safe. It is, therefore, that this paper – using the qualitative approach, literature review, and interview methods – examined what should be the Church responsibilities in addressing the matter. It is noted in the newspaper that number of reported cases are only a tip of the iceberg. Many are never reported, because parents would want to shield their daughters from embarrassment of the society stigmatization, or possibly the victims are threatened verbally or physically by the abusers. However, the newspaper also noted that the Bible speaks forcefully against sexual exploitation. Throughout Scripture, sexual relations are portrayed as holy, ordained of God at the time of creation, not to be indulged in frivolously, and certainly not to involve violent trampling of the rights and dignity of the female. However, rape is an endemic reality in Biblical time. The work noted that the Church need to admit that child rape happens. So the paper recommended that the Church has the responsibilities of finding healings for the victims of child rape through pastoral, theological, and ministry of support. Then, given the society we live in, the Church owes its members an educational program that facilitates awareness of rape and its personal, psychological, sociological, legal, and moral consequences.  

KEY WORD: Rape; Girl Child; Church Responsibility; Abusers; Victims. 

ABSTRAKSI: “Kasus-kasus Perkosaan Anak yang Berulang di Nigeria: Suatu Isu untuk Intervensi Gereja”. Dalam masyarakat Nigeria, telah terjadi peningkatan dalam kasus pemerkosaan anak dan, sebagian besar, anak perempuan tidak lagi aman. Oleh karena itu, makalah ini – menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif, tinjauan literatur, dan metode wawancara – meneliti apa yang seharusnya menjadi tanggung jawab Gereja dalam menangani masalah tersebut. Tercatat di koran bahwa jumlah kasus yang dilaporkan hanyalah puncak gunung es. Banyak yang tidak pernah dilaporkan, karena orang tua ingin melindungi anak perempuan mereka dari rasa malu terhadap stigmatisasi masyarakat, atau mungkin para korban diancam secara verbal atau fisik oleh para pelaku pemerkosaan. Namun, surat kabar itu juga mencatat bahwa Alkitab berbicara dengan tegas menentang eksploitasi seksual. Di seluruh Alkitab, hubungan seksual digambarkan sebagai kudus, ditahbiskan oleh Tuhan pada saat penciptaan, tidak untuk dimanjakan dengan sembrono, dan tentu saja tidak melibatkan kekerasan menginjak-injak hak-hak dan martabat perempuan. Namun, pemerkosaan adalah realitas endemik di zaman Alkitab. Pekerjaan itu mencatat bahwa Gereja perlu mengakui pemerkosaan anak terjadi. Makalah ini merekomendasikan bahwa Gereja memiliki tanggung jawab untuk menemukan penyembuhan bagi para korban perkosaan anak melalui pelayanan pastoral, teologis, dan dukungan pelayanan. Kemudian, mengingat masyarakat tempat kita tinggal, Gereja berhutang kepada para jamaahnya sebuah program pendidikan yang memfasilitasi kesadaran akan perkosaan dan konsekuensinya secara pribadi, psikologis, sosiologis, hukum, dan moral.

KATA KUNCI: Pemerkosaan; Anak Perempuan; Tanggungjawab Gereja; Pelaku Kekerasan; Korban.

  

About the Authors: Dr. Adesanya Ibiyinka Olusola is an Associate Professor at the Department of Religious Studies, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria; and Dr. Clement Ogunlusi is a Lecturer at the  Department of Religious Studies, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. For academic interests, the Authors are able to be contacted via e-mail address at: olusolaibiyinka@yahoo.com  

Suggested Citation: Olusola, Adesanya Ibiyinka & Clement Ogunlusi. (2020). “Recurring Cases of Child Rape in Nigeria: An Issue for Church Intervention” in INSANCITA: Journal of Islamic Studies in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, Volume 5(1), February, pp.55-72. Bandung, West Java, Indonesia: Minda Masagi Press owned by ASPENSI, with ISSN 2443-1776 (print) and ISSN 2657-0491 (online).

Article Timeline: Accepted (October 28, 2019); Revised (December 27, 2019); and Published (February 28, 2020).