**4. Conclusion**

*Psycho-Social Aspects of Human Sexuality and Ethics*

indiscipline, wickedness and idle mind.

*reported the matter to her sister" [27].*

victim in raping them. The rapist explains that:

and later became successful. After his arrest, he narrated:

aged (18–55) perpetrated highest percentage of rape within the period under coverage. With a percentage of 75.5% of the entire rape cases reported, these age categories constitute the deadliest in terms of rape. Reasons for its high prevalence among youths according to reports are unemployment, drug use, alcohol, coercive and sexual fantasies (resulting from pornography), peer pressure, hostility towards women (especially when the male advances are rejected), inadequate institutional support from the police and judicial system, vengeance, relationship conflict,

**Age Frequency Percentage** 13–17 (teenagers) 6 1.8 18–35 (youths) 151 45.3 36–55 (middle age) 100 30.2 55 and above (old age) 40 12 Unknown\* 34 10.2 Total 331 100.0

*Those in this category were not disclosed in the papers reviewed in our study. In other words, the age category was unspecified in the report which shows lapses in demographic reportage of age of rapists by Nigerian newspapers.*

Refusal to date may make an offender rape a lady. This was the case when a 35 year old lured his victim out of the location where she could find help to where he is more comfortable. At the destination, he used weapon to threaten his victim

*"Actually I have interest in her and I have been eyeing her for a long time but she refused to accept my proposal. It was since two years ago immediately we moved into that house and I saw her. I then told her that she should accompany me to Ikere-Ekiti that I want to pack some of my belongings there. So, we entered the same vehicle and when we got to Ikere, I told her that I wanted to reach my site, an uncompleted building. There was nothing much that happened there. I only held her hand and said she should let us have fun together. So when I was dragging it with her, mistakenly the bottle in my hand jumped up and wounded her in her head. She then fell down; I then had sex with her. And when we got home, she* 

Furthermore it is important to account for the increasing occurrence of rape among those aged 36–55. We found that midlife crisis which may make middle age men seek intimate relationship with a younger woman, boredom, work related challenges/stress (unemployment or sack), woman crisis (inability to attract the right woman) accounted for the reported rape cases among this cohort. For example inability to attract a woman owing to problem of finance made a 55 year old man impregnate a 13 year old girl. Again, the strategy is to explore the weakness of the

*They (the girls) sell petty consumable things and each time they come to my house, I will lure them into the house with the excuse that I want them to watch TV. Since most of them do not have one in their houses, they would be glad to come in. I would play one of my videos where people are having sex (pornographic films) and in the process convince them to have sex with me. I am so ashamed of myself* 

**26**

*\**

**Table 4.** *Age of the offender.*

> The study has examined the coverage of rape episodes in Nigeria. Specifically, we purposively selected two national newspapers with dedicated crime reporting pages for our study. Our goal was to sift from rape coverage by the selected print media, characterization of victims and rapists. In doing this we analyzed data around the age of the victims, sex of the victims and the age of the offender and supported this by victims' and rapists' narratives.

Findings indicated that females were reported more as victims of rape than males out of the 331 rape reports covered in the dailies. Although males were also victims of rape, the percentage was about 4%. This however should not be taken to mean that males are not victims of rape. What is most important is the socio-cultural environment within which rape occurs, ideological leanings of the reporters and the behavior of the criminal law in Nigeria with respect to male. We noted earlier that the law blinds it eyes against the tendency that a male can be raped in Nigeria which calls to question how male victims of rape will seek justice where their victimhood is not recognized. Furthermore, males were more prone to being perpetrators of rape than their female counterparts; however, females can also become perpetrators too. Concerning the age of victims, we found that the young adults and the middle aged were more susceptible to rape than any other age category. Conversely, the same cohorts of victims also featured prominently as highest perpetrators of rape within the 5-year period.

Characterizing victims and offenders of rape enables us the privilege of knowing that the perpetrators of rape were mainly "familiar-foes." Few were strangers. Family members, relatives and neighbors dominated rapists who exploited the knowledge of victims' vulnerability as well as familiarity to execute rape. Apparent from this study is an implied collapse of moral community and the limits of trust in social relationships between the neighbors, parents, families, associates and friends.

Arising from the findings, rape as recorded occurred owing to mastery of the routine activities of victims, their vulnerability and the absence of capable guardianship. According to the routine activity theories, crime occurrence is the convergence of three factors: the attractive target; a willing offender; and lack of capable guardianship. The routine activities of parents which makes the girl-child find "unholy solace" in predatory "guardians" must be broken. Informal social control, which starts from the family, must incorporate security training. Victims of rape covered are mostly from the lower social economic rung of the society and this speaks to issues of power relations between the victims and the offenders not only in terms of age differentials but the limit of resistance in the most vulnerable condition. Third-party guardianship may be predatory and parents of children in the susceptible category as discovered in this study must create and secure safe environment to reduce victimization of the girl-child. At level of governance, postrape therapy is needed for victims to aid recovery of their self-worth.
