Lockdown escalated the number of rape cases – Minister
Minister of Women Affairs Dame Pauline Tallen has stated that the coronavirus lockdown is the cause of the alarming rate of rape cases in Nigeria.
Tallen, disclosed government’s decision to State House Correspondents after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
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The minister said her Ministry presented the worsening situation, which she described as a pandemic, before the FEC, adding that the Council approved the action plan put together to fight the menace.
As part of the plans to beat back the rape crisis, she said all sectors of society, including the judiciary, media and other sectors would be engaged in the fight.
“There has been an outcry against rape epidemic because of the lockdown. I know we have always had rape in this country but with the lockdown of people in homes because of COVID-19, women and children are locked down with their abusers.
“The number has escalated three times of what we had seen. There is no state with an exception. The number has reached alarming rate.
“We are calling for legal intervention. From details that we have, there are hundreds of cases that are within our courts that have not been addressed and out of each one case, be sure that there are 10 that have not been reported.
