Nigeria: Rape - the silent weapon

Nigeria: Rape - the silent weapon

Index Number: AFR 44/020/2006
Date Published: 28 November 2006
Categories: Nigeria, Africa

Rape of women and girls by both the police and security forces, and within their homes and community, is endemic in Nigeria. It persists because the state has failed to tackle discrimination against women or address the entrenched culture of impunity for human rights violations committed by the police and security forces. Amnesty International is calling on the Federal and State authorities in Nigeria to urgently address the legal and social systems that tolerate rape and sexual violence on a wide scale. The organization is recommending actions to give meaningful effect to the international treaties Nigeria has ratified.