The Nigerian Senate is Considering a Bill that’ll Ban the Stigmatisation of Rape Survivors

It’s unclear exactly how the bill will achieve that, but, according to Premium Times, the bill has passed a second reading at the senate.

The title of the bill is self-explanatory:

A Bill for an Act to Prohibit the Stigmatisation of Victims of Rape and Insurgency in order to encourage victims of rape to testify in court and victims of insurgency to be reintegrated into the community of his or choice.

The bill was sponsored by Niger State’s Sani Musa, and was first read in the House in December 2019.

The bill will “provide a new lease of life for victims of rape,” the senator said, but little has been said about how exactly this ban on stigmatisation will work.

Another senator, Sandy Onor of Cross River, added that the bill “is action not words.”

We must ensure that prosecution for rape and brutality against women is accelerated in our judicial process. Let justice be served in a way it should be served.

One would assume that an education, not a ban, would be the way to stop people from stigmatising against rape and insurgency. Still, it’ll be interesting to see what punishments this bill has for those declared erring.