Rape cannot be justified in anyway

The year started with a lot of rape allegations on social media with a number of women and a few men coming out to reveal experiences of rape and also name their alleged abusers. Some narrations have left many wondering what qualifies as rape.
Article 123 of The Penal Code Act Chapter 120 states that any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent has committed rape. A person who has unlawful carnal knowledge with her consent, but if the consent is obtained by force, means of threats, intimidation of any kind, or by fear of bodily harm also commits the felony of rape.

Needless to say although they are not mentioned, men too are victims of sexual assault.

There have always been stories of rape in the news and in some cases, the culprits are arrested but in others, cases are left unresolved, not to mention those that go unreported. This recent wave of revelations created a lot of controversy because of the nature of relationship between some of the victims and their alleged abusers.

A section of society has dismissed these allegations, saying the victims are to blame for their fate. That they should have been more responsible and that they triggered the incidents because of the way they were dressed or by going to secluded places with their abusers at odd hours. That they played with fire and got burned.

Yes, there might have been a case of poor judgment or poor choices but rape is rape and can never be justified in any way.

On Monday, Reynhard Sinaga, an Indonesian student living in Britain, was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in jail for 136 rapes against men in Manchester. Sinaga abused at least 195 men after luring them to his flat under the guise of being a Good Samaritan. He drugged them and then raped them.

So, pray tell, should these men now be blamed because they willingly went to Sinaga’s house and accepted drinks from him?

It is unfortunate that in naming alleged abusers, some innocent people might be spitefully accused but is this reason enough to silence everyone else? Shutting people up creates a society where victims of rape are afraid to report crime when it happens.

After all is said and done, remember; consent is key. Don’t take anyone against their will and then cry foul when you are accused of assault.

Practise restraint, respect yourself and others, do all you can to ensure personal safety and safety of minors, and authorities must also ensure that rapists are punished when found guilty.