Document #1063607
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to information provided in
Sisterhood is Global, rape is illegal under the Nigerian
Criminal Code and is reportedly punishable by life imprisonment
(Robin Morgan 1984, 496). A Nigerian professor of government at the
University of Texas, in Austin, with expertise in Nigerian affairs,
states that victims of rape are generally frowned upon. Nigerian
society assumes that a raped woman is to blame for her situation,
as a result she is ostracised and has no social support. In the
case of a married woman, getting raped is grounds for divorce. In
the case of an unmarried woman, her chances of marriage in the
community where she was raped are virtually non-existent. The
source states that the police do not take rape cases seriously and
consequently women are discouraged from reporting rapes. He also
stated that whether the police take action or not will depend on
the status of the raped woman and her social connections. The
police will take action if a woman has influential relatives but no
attention is paid to women without high connections.
This response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
Professor of government specializing
in Nigerian Affairs, University of Texas, Austin. 10 January 1994.
Telephone interview.
Robin Morgan. 1984. "Nigeria,"
Sisterhood is Global." Edited by Robin Morgan. New York:
Doubleday.