The Repercussions Of Rape

Arguably the most invasive and gut-wrenching crime is the act of rape, which can be defined as "unlawful sexual intercourse or any other sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, other body part, or foreign object, without the consent of the victim."

When it comes to the sentencing of those who are found guilty of this horrendous act their punishment can fall into several different categories, as the characteristics of this offence can have many sub headings:

Single offence of rape by single offender: 5 years custody - victim 16 or over 8 years custody - victim 13 or over but under 16 10 years custody - victim under 13 Rape accompanied by aggravating factor: 8 years custody - victim 16 or over 10 years custody- victim aged 13 or over but under 16 13 years custody - victim under 13 Repeated Rape of same victim by single offender or rape involving multiple victims: 15 years custody (Rape can carry a sentence of life imprisonment)*

UK Rape Helpline

So after breaking down the punishment do we still believe that it's harsh enough? Or should those who are sentenced be buried under the jail? Many would argue yes as despite the threat of long incarnation the numbers have steadily increased over the years: In 2017/18 there were almost 54 thousand rape offences recorded by the Police in England and Wales, an increase of over ten thousand when compared with the previous year, the largest year-on-year increase in this period.**

These numbers although staggering will not include any unreported incidents, which is a frightening thought as how many monsters might have fallen through the cracks and remain to go unpunished, as well as how many victims may still be suffering in silence, afraid to come forward possibly due to the fear of not being believed or even potentially being blamed for the circumstances leading up to how the incident played out.

The other ugly side of all this are the male parties who are falsely accused, this happens more times than we could actually believe and the system seems to handle these situations poorly, as more often than not the accusers are often protected by the system and the media and even when the accused is found to be innocent the aforementioned liars intendity is rarely made public. Even though they can be labelled with:

- Perverting the course of justice - Waisting police time

But unfairly they are usually not charged with anything and are free to go and wrongly blame the innocent down the road again if they so wish. Its important to remember that many false reports can come from malice towards the victim due to a soured relationship or a man wishing to move on from a particular female, which can often lead the female to harbor hateful feelings towards him, and go out of her way to make his life hell in one or another.

An incident of a female making up a false claim, recently befell Nigerian Izu Madubueze who was accused by Twitter influencer Nanichi Anese of rape as well as other males as use she published a list which she had compliled, with information which was provided by 'victims'.

Nani's List Of Assaulters

It is reported that Izu contacted Nani in order to get the bottom of the situation and clear his name, but she was unable to provide him with any substantial answers and instead went on to say that the said accuser wished to keep their anonymity, although she would go on to say that he was named in a "non physical sexual assault." Although he couldn't recall anyone he may have assulated he apologised to Nani as she was the messenger and even offered to apologise to the 'victim', to no avail. He left a final tweet on the 17th of July which read "Oh if your reading this, I'm dead lol", it was later revealed from older conversations that Nani had wanted to go out with Izu but he declined. Since his suicide Nigerians are crying out for justice and the hashtag #JusticeForIzu is trending. Nani has since deactivated her account after his suicide was made public.

Izu Apologies

Izu's Final Tweet

So for those who are found guilty of rape are they in need of more severe punishments? Or should they just be be burned at the stake? What about those found lying that someone is a rapist should they face the same amount of time that the person they accused would be handed down if found guilty?

But let me know your thoughts below

R.I.P IZU

* The Crown Prosecution Service ** Satista 2020