In recent years, there have been open discussions on combating human/sex trafficking, pedophilia, rape, sexual harassment, and more. Well, there’s some great news coming out of Nigeria that I had to share with you all.

The following information is from The Independent and The Washington Post.

A new law passed in Kaduna, Nigeria, now states that men convicted of rape will face surgical castration, and women convicted of rape will have their fallopian tubes removed. Anyone who rapes a child under the age of 14 will face the death penalty, and anyone who rapes a child over the age of 14 will face life imprisonment.

This law follows a drastic spike in reported rape cases amongst Nigerian women and girls during the coronavirus pandemic. One in four girls are sexually abused before the age of 18 in the country, but in June alone, that number had tripled. Women’s groups then started calling for harsher punishment for sex offenders.

The governor of Kaduna, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, advised that “drastic penalties are required to help further protect children from a serious crime.” However, Nigerian lawyer and activist Chidi Odinkalu argued that the new penal code may backfire. Since many rapes in the country happen within marriage, this may lead to more women and girls not reporting the crime against their husbands.

I can only hope that this type of energy spreads throughout the globe, regardless of the backlash.

To check out the full articles, click here and here. If you have any additional information, feel free to comment below.

Until Next Time…