Admin – Professor Aborisade

Barriers to Rape Reporting for Nigerian Women: The Case of female University Students

This article presents the key findings of a research project investigating perceived relevance among barriers to reporting rape and sexual assault for female university students. Existing literature suggests that the refusal of victims of rape and other forms of sexual victimisation in Nigeria to report have social underpinnings. Using qualitative information gathered from in-depth interviews of 23 rape victims, the study found that rather than social stigma, the fear of retaliation by their assailants dominated the concerns of the university rape victims. Other important barriers to rape reporting include lack of confidence in the criminal justice system, social stereotypes and prejudice against victims. Apart from the need for the government and private sector to intervene in the inadequacies of on-campus accommodation of public universities, campus-based rape and sexual assault prevention strategies could also be developed from collaboration among professional counsellors, students, faculty, health centre workers, and campus police.

Aborisade, R.A. (2014) Barriers to Rape Reporting for Nigerian Women: The Case of female University Students. International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, 7 (2), 1-14

Exposure and Vulnerability of Children living in Unregulated Red-Light Areas of Ibadan, Nigeria

Although the practice of commercial sex work is illegal in Nigeria, sex work activities and brothels still thrive in residential neighbourhoods across the country, leaving residents as proximate and direct victims of unregulated sex business. Yet, relatively little research exists on the exposures and vulnerabilities of young adults who spend their childhood in communities that host sex business in the country. To address this, a qualitative study was conducted with people who had children that grew up in the red lights areas, and the challenges of parenting by the participants in environments where prostitution thrived were explored. Fifty-seven interviews were conducted, and a thematic analysis of the narratives was carried out. Findings indicated that the activities of sex work and sex workers in these environments pose a threat to the physical, social, cognitive, moral and educational development of the children. The rate of children’s engagement in premarital sex, consumption of illicit drugs, alcoholic intake, stealing, street fighting, and school dropout was found to be a factor of their closeness to sex work and workers in red light areas. These findings have important implications for policy and practice if children’s welfare and developmental needs are to be recognised and met.

Aborisade, R.A. and Oshileye, T.A. (2020) Exposure and Vulnerability of Children living in Unregulated Red-Light Areas of Ibadan, Nigeria, Ibadan Journal of Sociology, 11(1) 5-28.

‘Voiceless victims’: Children living in the Red-Light Areas of Ibadan, Nigeria

Much research work on victims of sex work, including studies employing feminist perspectives, focuses on sex work as either being a ‘victimless crime’, or women as victims, leaving the victimization of children as direct and proximate victims relatively unexplored. The practice of commercial sex work in Nigeria is illegal; however, sex business thrives in most urban centres with considerable prevalence of red-light districts. Brothels, strip clubs and other sex-oriented businesses that constitute red-light districts are usually located in neighbourhoods where people that have no business with sex work live with their families. This present study, therefore, moves to expose the risks and vulnerabilities of children living in red-light areas. Drawing on social disorganization and learning theories, an analytical cross-sectional survey of residents of neighbourhoods where commercial sex work thrives within the city of Ibadan was conducted. Fifty-seven family men and women living in red-light areas with their children were purposively selected to provide data for the qualitative study. The rate of children’s engagement in premarital sex, consumption of illicit drugs, alcoholic intake, stealing, street fighting, and school dropout was found to be a factor of their intimacy with sex work and workers in red-light areas. The study concludes that children who grow up in redlight areas are more vulnerable to being physically, emotionally, sexually abused and exploited than children who do not live in such areas. Regulation of sex work activities and prioritizing of child protection issues were suggested.

Aborisade, R.A. and Oshileye, T.A. (2020) ‘Voiceless victims’: Children living in the Red-Light Areas of Ibadan, Nigeria. 3(2) 164-182. Journal of Victimology and Victim Justice. 3(2) 164-182 DOI: 10.1177/2516606920950564.

Two people and one Albino! Accounts of discrimination, stigmatization, and violence against people living with albinism in Nigeria

Discrimination against people living with albinism (PWA) has been reported to manifest in the areas of healthcare, education, and employment, while they are vulnerable to brutal attacks and murder in the name of witchcraft, superstition, and wealth. However, in the African literature on albinism, empirical studies that deployed victim-centered approach are scanty. Therefore, drawing from the theory of “othering,” the study used the narratives of 62 PWA in a qualitative technique, to explore the various forms of discrimination, stigmatization, and violence that PWA are exposed to in the Nigerian society. As against findings of earlier studies, this current study found family to be actively involved in exerting various forms of micro/macro aggressive behaviors towards members with albinism. Incidences of institutional discrimination and denial of human rights were found to be particularly high against the PWA in the areas of education and employment. The need for Nigeria to evolve social reform policies that will bring about social justice was established.

Aborisade, R.A. (2022) Two people and one Albino! Accounts of discrimination, stigmatization, and violence against people living with albinism in Nigeria. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work 7 (2) 299–310 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-022-00214-3

Gendered Challenges in the Line of Duty: Narratives of Gender Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Violence Against Female Police Officers

Gender discrimination and sexual harassment of female police officers by their male counterparts remain areas of liability where police departments appeared to have failed to effectively confront the nagging issues. However, the appreciable level of research conducted on these issues in the global North has not been matched by the South, where issues bordering on sexual violence have cultural underpinnings. Drawing from the case of the Nigeria Police Force, feminist analysis was used to explore the lived reality of 43 female officers in a qualitative study. Participants expressed distress in abiding by structural discriminatory regulations against female officers which include non-admittance of married women into the force, forbidding unmarried officers from getting pregnant, and a stipulated minimum of three-year work period before a female officer can marry. Findings also indicated that participants suffer a variety of sexual harassment, intimidation, and, violence from their male colleagues, while they feel constrained in reporting their victimization. Important policy and practical implications requiring the Nigerian police to address hegemonic masculinity and promote gender equality were provided.

Aborisade, R.A. and Ariyo O.G. (2023): Gendered Challenges in the Line of Duty: Narratives of Gender Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Violence Against Female Police Officers, Criminal Justice Ethics, 42(3) 214-237 https://doi.org/10.1080/0731129X.2023.2275965

Emotional and Economic costs of Online Dating Scam: A Phenomenological Narrative of the Experiences of Victims of Nigerian Romance Fraudsters

Qualitative research on the experiences of victims of online dating romance scams is limited. Following a phenomenological framework, this study explores victims’ accounts of interactions with offenders from first contact, development of romance, patterns of exploitation, eventual revelation, and financial and emotional costs of dating fraud. Ten participants from six countries who were victims of Nigerian romance fraudsters took part in one-to-one, semi-structured video interviews and an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was carried out. Four superordinate themes were identified from participants’ experiences: i) online romance, ii) exploitations, iii) revelations, and iv) reactions. These themes highlighted the uniqueness of the experiences of victims of online dating scams and the depth of emotional loss suffered after their victimization. Findings suggested that offenders target middle-aged women with troubled marriages or widows with inherited wealth, engage in lengthy pre-dating friendships with their targets, and deploy different forms of emotional blackmail to exploit their victims. These were found to have severe financial and long-term emotional consequences on victims. Participants reported they sought legal redress as a recovery strategy from their emotional sufferings. These findings have important practical and policy implications if online romance dating scams, and their financial and non-financial consequences are to be addressed.

Aborisade, R.A., Ocheja, A. and Okuneye, B.A. (2024) Emotional and Economic costs of Online Dating Scam: A Phenomenological Narrative of the Experiences of Victims of Nigerian Romance Fraudsters, Journal of Economic Criminology, 3, 100044, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconc.2023.100044

The Victimology of Rape in Nigeria: Examining Victims’ Post-Assault Experiences and Adjustment Patterns

The secondary victimisation suffered by rape victims in socially conservative Nigeria is not only in the hands of their families, friends, and significant others, but also through the agents and process of criminal justice system of the country. Previous research into rape in Nigeria has often neglected the aftermath of forcible rape on the victims and coping mechanisms adopted. Therefore, this present study was designed to redress this imbalance and specifically, investigate the consequences of incidence of rape on the victims. Using qualitative information gathered from in-depth interviews of 23 rape victims and 4 key informants that consisted of medical personnel and counselling psychologists, the study found that the most critical effect of rape on victims are post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, sleep disorders, distrust of others, feeling of personal powerlessness, anxiety and emotional numbness. The adjustment of victims is remarkably impeded by social stigmatisation, lack of support, care and concern from families and friends, ineffective justice system and burden of proof. The victims do not seek for medical attention or counselling advice except when there are physical body injuries sustained from the incidence, which has serious physical and mental health implications. Therefore, a systemic approach to improving knowledge and altering attitudes regarding sexual offenses is needed. Specifically, education needs to focus on a woman’s right to consent and the overall eradication of stereotypical beliefs regarding rape victimisation, victims, and perpetrators.

Aborisade, R.A. and Vaughan, F.E. (2014) “The Victimology of Rape in Nigeria: Examining Victims’ Post-Assault Experiences and Adjustment Patterns”, African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, 17(2) 140-155

“It couldn’t have been rape”: How Social Perception and Rape Scripts Influence Unacknowledged Sexual Assault in Nigeria

Empirical studies have established that the problem of rape aggravates if it is unacknowledged as a result of the influence of social perception and victim’s rape script. Such victims will be susceptible to psychological distress and lowered self-esteem among other negative effects. In Nigeria, the social perception of rape has been described as serving to perpetuate the sexual victimisation against women. This study therefore, examined how the social perception of rape impact on personal attitudinal beliefs of rape among female university students in the country and the extent to which rape scripts of young women lead to the growing rate of unacknowledged rape. Using a mixed-method victimisation survey that covered four universities in Lagos and Ogun states, Nigeria; the study recruited 206 female students who have experienced rape or attempted rape, while 12 of them were further engaged in in-depth interviews. The results of the study suggest that not acknowledging a rape is primarily a response to suffering an assault that is not consistent with societal definitions of rape and supporting script theory. The study also found that some of the strongly held rape myth among young female university students include; non-recognition of rape incidence between dating partners, non-recognition of domestic rape between husband and wife, rape is always for the sake of sex, rape is only perpetrated by stranger or mere acquaintances, women are mostly responsible for their rape victimisation and if the location of rape or sexual assault is the rapist’s house, then the woman is at fault. The key factors influencing rape script on sexual violence include; the use or unused of weapon, the venue of the rape event, the emotional attachment of the victim to the offender and the post-assault relationship between the victim and offender. The study concludes that the unacknowledged status of date rape by victims in the Nigerian society is mainly a factor of the acceptance of societal rape myth which impacted on the understanding of the women about what sex and rape is actually about. Consequently, appropriate measures need to be taken by the government, women rights organisations and other stakeholders to enlighten the women to understand not only the real meaning of rape and sexual assault, but also the health implications of sexual violence irrespective of the personality of the offender.

Aborisade, R.A. (2014) “It couldn’t have been rape”: How Social Perception and Rape Scripts Influence Unacknowledged Sexual Assault in Nigeria,” Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 4 (8) 125-134.

The Influence of Rape Myth Acceptance and Situational Factors in Defining Sex and Labelling Rape among Female University Students in Nigeria

Existing literature have posited that the problem of rape aggravates if it is unacknowledged as a result of the influence of rape myth acceptance. Being an understudied phenomenon, the present study sought to explore rape myths and examine situational factors that appear to differentiate women who experience various levels of victimisation. Through mixed-method victimisation surveys that covered four universities in Lagos and Ogun states, involving 206 respondents and 12 in-depth interviewees, the study found that emotions and societal perception of rape are strong factors in determining personal conception and description of rape-like experiences. The study concludes that young women should be enlightened about the health implication of nonconsensual sex, irrespective of their emotional attachment to the offender.

Aborisade, R.A. (2016) “The Influence of Rape Myth Acceptance and Situational Factors in Defining Sex and Labelling Rape among Female University Students in Nigeria”. African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies, 9 (1) 154-170

Sexual Violence at Music Festivals and the ‘Theory of Silence’: Unravelling the ‘Hideous’ Sexual Assault Problem in Nigerian Open-air Musical Events

This study confronts the prevailing culture of silence that trails sexual victimization in Nigeria to explore the scale of the problem of sexual violence at open-air music festivals. In-depth interviews involving 47 female attendees of musical concerts, who had experienced different forms of sexual violence, were conducted. Findings revealed high severity of sexual assault, low reportage, and strong influence of rape myth acceptance. Refusal to report sexual victimization is informed by the fear of isolation, stigmatization, self-blame and low confidence in the police. Cultural-shift that will change negative social perception towards rape survivors and women attending music festivals is suggested.

Aborisade, R.A. (2021) Sexual Violence at Music Festivals and the ‘Theory of Silence’: Unravelling the ‘Hideous’ Sexual Assault Problem in Nigerian Open-air Musical Events, Journal of Victimology and Victim Justice, 4 (1) 68-87 DOI 10.1177/25166069211031136