By Mary Olusoga
People lie to people to obtain sex and that in itself is a form of sexual violence. This reinforces why Nigeria needs to establish statutes and criminalize sex crimes that are not only rape but include the multiple forms of sex by deception. Criminalzing sex crimes that are not only rape ought to take a clearer stance within the legal framework of what constitutes sex crimes, sexual assault and gender-based violence.
What is Sex-By-Deception
Consent plays a very important role in the definition of rape. Consenting to a sexual act must be given freely, consciously and with full understanding. If consent is obtained through fraud or deception then it is sexual violence. Jed Rubenfeld, Professor of Law at Yale University argues that sex that is obtained by deception or fraud is non-consensual. “Fraud invalidates consent just as force does.” He continues, “if a “yes” procured through lies is a valid consent, then victims of fraud who enter into a contract on false pretenses are still bound by their contract (because they consented)….. When the law genuinely protects consent, it not only protects it against force; it protects it against fraud as well. When lies induce you to agree to something you otherwise wouldn’t have agreed to, you are differently situated.”
Lack of Adequate Resources
Many survivors of sex-by-deception in Nigeria do not like to admit that a form of sexual violence is happening or has happened to them. In the Nigerian social media space, it is called “taking your L” quietly and not discussing the trauma you just experienced. In the article, “Breaking The Culture of Silence: How Social Media Is Giving Nigerian Women A Voice In The Fight Against Sexual Harassment and Assault,” I shared how survivors of sexual harrassment and assault used social media as a tool to speak up and out about their traumatic experiences. However, when it comes to sex-by-deception, speaking up on social media or recounting your traumatic experience is seen as not as not taking your “L” properly. For instance, a young woman used her public social media account (@ianaa8g) to talk about her experience and she writes, “[he] slept with me last month and claimed he wanted a relationship but after sex he realized he didn’t want a relationship anymore. I had no idea he was even married. When I found out that he was married, he kept telling me that they’re getting a divorce….. He’s a predator and women should be wary of him!” These types of stories are quite common amongst women and girls in Nigeria. Not only did this tweet go viral, the comments following the tweet mostly mocked the trauma survivor. Shortly after, the tweets were deleted.
The psychological impact of admitting that one is a victim of such a crime in a country with minimal support services and little to no available resources to support one’s trauma may not be a worthwhile experience for survivors. The Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria reports that there are about 250 practicing psychiatrists and about 122 trauma-focused therapists for its growing population of over 200 million people. Thereby leaving severe trauma survivors to seek refuge and support from untrained religious personalities.
Low Conviction Rates
In Nigeria, sex-by-deception happens on a daily basis putting the lives and safety of women and girls at risk. Attempting to prosecute these heinous crimes will be a challenging conversation in a country that is yet to fully adopt the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP).
In a country of 242 million people and according to data provided by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), only 20 persons have been convicted of sexual and gender-based offences this year – an improvement from previous years. Of the 20, only 3 of those convictions resulted in life imprisonment.
Nigeria needs an expansive framework for criminalizing sex crimes that aren’t only rape. The lives and safety of women and girls in Nigeria are at stake if this framework is not expanded to include various forms of sex by deception. People are being taken advantage of, and robbed of their dignity and sexual autonomy on a daily basis. Every individual, regardless of their gender, needs to be empowered to ensure that they are making the appropriate decisions regarding their sexual conduct and act. One of the ways to follow through on this, is to ensure that people are held accountable for their criminal actions.
Olushoga is the founder of The AWP Network. Her work on Women and Girls in Nigeria is often cited by academic researchers. She has authored several articles.
