What should be the right punishment for rapists?

In the last two weeks, there has been outrage from various organisations and persons in Nigeria over the alarming rise in rape cases in the country.

Many have blamed the lack of an explicit punishment for this crime as the reason why many rapists walk freely in the society. Some Nigerians spoke to Daily Trust Saturday on what they think should be the ideal punishment for rapists.

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Ralph Madugu, Media Practitioner, Jos

The right punishment for rapists should be castration. Despite the existing laws, the menace is still on the increase. I know that some rapists have been charged to court and they have been sentenced by the courts yet it has not deterred others or it has not served as a lesson to others, hence the alarming rate of rape in the society.
Castration will probably checkmate this evil that is confronting humanity.

Bridget Dakyes, 40, Humanitarian, Jos

Rapists should serve a jail term of life imprisonment. They should never be allowed back into the society because from past experiences, when rapists are caught and taken to the law enforcement agencies, after a while they are released back into our communities. These rapists either remain with us in these communities or relocate to other communities where they are not known, hence continue in their evil act. Rapists do not deserve to live in our society. They should remain in jail for the rest of their life.

Hafsat Bello, 22, Journalist, Kaduna

I think the best punishment for rape offenders should be determined by the age of the person they rape. If an adult is raped I believe they should receive a minimum of 20 years in prison. However, when a child is raped, the offender should be charged with both rape and child abuse, therefore he should be given a more severe sentence of 70 years to life imprisonment.

Sabiu Ibrahim Musa, 52, Politician, Jos

I am in support of any harsh punishment for rapists so that it can teach them a lesson and serve as a deterrent to others. It is imperative to, however, follow the nation’s constitution in this respect so that the punishment should be by the law.
Nevertheless, I will advise the national assembly to quickly come up with one and pass it into law. This is because the increasing cases of rape is alarming. From infants to elderly women, they are currently being raped. A stern law should be made to deal with them. I also suggest that our religious books should be consulted in coming up with the appropriate punishment for rapists because I am sure they will have a perspective on that area in one way or another. On a personal note, however, I will suggest life imprisonment for rapists because they are not fit to live with others in the society.

Usman Kundili, Humanitarian, Borno State

Honestly, no punishment is enough for rape, because this is the most inhuman and most devilish act. The least we can hope for is life imprisonment; I may say castration if it was to consider the same physical effect. Mere imagination of the victim of rape as a sister, a mother, a wife, or a daughter is disheartening. This menace keeps rising by the day; we cannot even imagine the kind of trauma rape victims go through. When the rapist rips them from any form of dignity, they possess. You cannot console that. It is painful, that some of these people that rape are even close family relatives. I will suggest a full implementation of a dire punishment

Joy Dawi Mshelia, Entrepreneur, Borno State

The act of rape is inhuman and wicked. I strongly believe that a rapist should go to jail for life. Any other punishment that will make him stay amidst people can make him do it again.

Abdulrahman Alfa, 50, Civil servant, Kaduna

There is no punishment that is too much for a rapist. This act is appalling, what is a 70-year-old looking for in a three-year-old girl? This goes into the realm of madness and the perpetrators should be taken into psychiatric care before the punishment is meted out to them. For me, no punishment is severe enough, but the problem is our legal system, it has never addressed our problems. Unfortunately, it is supposed to be a sanctuary and hope for the poor, but the reverse is the case. So, it is not the issue of law, but the willingness, commitment and dedication of the legal system to carry out its work. The government should also introduce policies that will ban the indiscriminate sale of sex-enhancing drugs.

Maryam Ado Haruna, Kano, 27, Gender Officer, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)

In my opinion, the best punishment for rapists should be death or at least, cutting off the hands and feet of rapists. Looking at the Islamic Shari’ah, rape is one of the crimes in the Holy Qur’an described as corruption that may require capital punishment.
Rapists that were imprisoned for a year or two would repeat the same act upon regaining their freedom and wouldn’t mind serving another year or two years jail term again. If death will be the punishment or at least losing a hand and a foot, rapists wouldn’t have the guts to carry out the act, they will be scared of losing their lives. This is only if the punishment will be properly implemented.
Today, rape has become very rampant and is destroying our society, so we need to be seriously harsh to whoever perpetrates it in our society.

Haj. Aisha Dangi (KANO), Founder, Sustainable Dynamic Human Development Initiative

Enough is enough, we’re tired of being raped, molested and taken advantage of. Drastic and immediate measures need to take place. We need severe punishment like castration or injection of a deadly vaccine to make the organs inactive for a lifetime, then the person should immediately be arrested given life imprisonment and made to pay heavy fines to the victim.

Abubakar Aliyu, 31, Fashion designer, Kaduna

I do not believe there is any sexual satisfaction from sleeping with a minor rather an ulterior motive is in place for a full grown-up man to have carnal knowledge of a little girl. All kinds of rape is bad and the damage done to the victim should be weighed to determine the appropriate punishment. For instance, a person who rapes a three-year-old girl should be jailed for life because a good percentage of her life has been destroyed. Also, the government should give full disclosure of the perpetrator’s identity so the world knows who they are, to set precedence.