The Nigerian state of Kaduna enacted a law mandating convicted rapists be surgically castrated and those who rape children be put to death.
“Drastic penalties are required to help further protect children from a serious crime,” Kaduna Gov. Ahmad el-Rufai said about the amended penal code he signed, which comes in response to public outrage over increased rape cases stemming from coronavirus lockdowns.
The law became the most stringent rape punishment in Nigeria, Africa’s most populated nation.
Men who are convicted of rape will face surgical castration, and women who are convicted will be subject to having their fallopian tubes removed. Rape crimes committed against children under age 14 will result in the death penalty.
Malam Nasir @elrufai has signed the Kaduna State Penal Code (Amendment) Law 2020 which provides stiff penalties upon conviction for the rape of a child, including surgical castration for male convicts and bilateral salpingectomy for female convicts pic.twitter.com/m86UXi4dEg
— Governor Kaduna (@GovKaduna) September 16, 2020
Frustrated Nigerians, specifically women’s rights groups, have been vocally pressuring the government to do more in response to a recent uptick in rape cases. The hashtag #WeAreTired began spreading on social media after a 22-year-old college student was raped and beaten to death in July.
Reports have surfaced across the globe of women and children facing increased vulnerability to sex crimes during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sexual abuse reports against children rose in the United States when lockdowns were imposed, and domestic abuse cases spiked in places such as China and Italy where some of the strictest lockdown measures were imposed.
