RIGHTS OF A PREGNANT WOMAN WHO IS A VICTIM OF RAPE
Pregnancy, also known as gestation is the time during which one or more fetuses develop inside the womb of a female adult.
It can also be described as the period between conception and child birth.
However, unwanted pregnancy may result from rape, incest or any other form of forced or unwanted sex.
According to Wikipedia, rape is a type of sexual assault that involves sexual intercourse or other form of sexual penetration against a person without consent.
Victims of rape experience rape trauma syndrome RTS, a psychological trauma that has negative impact on the behaviour of a victim.
Rape results in high rates of pregnancy than consensual intercourse which could cause difficulties during and after pregnancy with the associated consequences for both the victim and her child.
When a mother choses to raise her child conceived in rape, the traumatic effects of the incident and the child’s blood relationship to the rapist could pose some psychological challenges.
A victim six years ago who pleaded anonymity narrates her experience.
She said four men hijacked her and took her to the forest where nobody could hear her cry.
After the incident, she said, she reported to her parents but to her greatest surprise, the sad event resulted to pregnancy.
She added that she could not cope with it and thereafter had to terminate the pregnancy.
Two parents, Mr. Darlington Igwe and Dr. Nneka Marie however advised that parents of rape victims should change the environment of such a person in order to assist her overcome the challenges associated with the act.
The Bishop, Methodist Church Nigeria, Agbani Diocese in Enugu State, the Right Reverend Udo Meregini re-echoed that the church believed that human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the time of conception.
Bishop Meregini maintained that as long as man could not create life, he should not destroy it.
He emphasizes that the victim suffers from a crime she did not instigate and therefore should not be held responsible for any offence or crime.
An Enugu based Legal Practitioner and Human Rights Activist, Dr. Godstime Okafor cited section 33 sub section one of the 1999 Constitution as amended as stating that it provides for right to life as a fundamental right which is stronger than any other argument.
He added that some school of thoughts believed that instead of killing the baby, the victim should give birth and hand the child over to the motherless baby’s home.
On the penalty for the rapist, Dr. Godstime Okafor said that perpetrators of rape have fourteen years to serve in prison if reported or life imprisonment if eventually passed into law by legislators.
AMAKA UCHENNADIUKWU