Nigeria's Kaduna state passed a new law dictating that men who are convicted of rape can be castrated, the New York Post reports. Child rapists face the steeper punishment of castration and then execution. Women who are convicted of raping a child can be subject to the removal of their fallopian tubes.
"Drastic penalties are required to help further protect children from a serious crime," Kaduna state governor Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai said of new legislation he signed after receiving Parliament approval.
The push for stricter laws for rapists was spearheaded by several women's rights groups following a recent spike of nearly 800 reported sexual violence cases between January and May in Nigeria. According to UNICEF, six out of every 10 children experience some form of violence, with one in four girls and young women being sexually abused before they turn 18.
Prior to passing this new law, anyone convicted of rape could face a maximum of 21 years in prison, while the rape of a child carried a life sentence. The punishment will only be administered if there is a conviction, which can be hard to come by.
The Telegraphnotes the country's trafficking agency, which publishes the sex offenders register, has recorded only 34 suspects that have been convicted out of 409 reported rape cases since 2019.
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