The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) has advocated death sentence as a punishment for rapists in Nigeria.
Chairperson of the Plateau chapter, Mrs. Mary Izam, said this in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Jos.
Izam stated that death sentence would help to stem the tide of rape in the country.
The FIDA chief likened rape to homicide, noting that the rapist either kills the victim physically or emotionally.
She pointed out that the act in criminal law is considered as a capital offence and should be treated as such to stop prospective perpetrators.
The FDA chairperson said punishment shouldn’t be based on discretional powers of the judge in the various courts.
Izam observed that rape cases were barely reported because parents, guardians and victims wanted to protect themselves from stigmatisation.
According to her, social norms also impede people from reporting rape cases.
“Traditions do not permit the girls to speak when they are violated and there is this naive belief that if the case of rape is reported it would spoil the family name,” she said.
Izam identified that some victims did not have financial power to fail to report because the police would demand money for medical examination and others.
She added that coronavirus was another reason for the increase in rape incidents.
“With the lockdown, the courts are shut down so even when the rapist is caught there is no court to take the offender to, for prosecution; that is why there is a high rate of rape”, Izam said.