Abstract

Rape in contemporary Nigeria is becoming prevalent in our society, and is fast becoming an epidemic with unimaginable consequences. Such a trend requires urgent intervention from stakeholders from both the public and private sectors alike. The offence of rape which is like any other forms of violence against women, is a serious offence and condemned by all known religions, ethics and cultural values. The offence calls for proactive measures and collective solutions from the government, NGOS, traditional rulers and the society to completely eliminate this grievous, heinous and brutal act. This paper looks at the nature of rape, its gravity, its negative impact on the victims and the society at large, and proffer viable solutions to curb it out of the society and the country at large. The method used in data collection is doctrinal/arm chair where the sources of information relied upon here are the combination of primary sources like statutes, case laws and secondary sources ranging from journals, workshop materials, internet materials, textbooks, contributions to edited books to complete this work. It is the view of the researcher that in order to curb the spread of the offence of rape, our laws need to be amended in order to impose stiffer punishment on the culprits of the offence.