At age seven when Ajoke’s father started having carnal knowledge of her, it was the dawn of another world, filled with hate and contempt. Her father had just lost his job and could no longer cater for the home. This forced her mother, Shade, to leave her and other siblings to their fate with their father.
And it didn’t take long before the dragon was unleashed. The father, one night tip-toed into the room Ajoke shared with her siblings, covered her mouth, and led her to his room. That was the first time. The incestuous relationship continued for seven uninterrupted years until Ajoke became pregnant and it became public knowledge.
Ajoke’s story is not new to many Nigerians, there are many Ajokes all over the country. It is the reason why we will examine the effects of incest on our society.
Last year, a medical practitioner, Alagbe Oyedeji, told an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court; how a father allegedly used his fingers to test his 12-year-old daughter’s virginity and then raped her. He also reported how the man would lace the girl’s drink with a drug to make her sleepy; then have carnal knowledge of her at their Oworonsoki, Lagos home.
These abominable acts have far-reaching consequences. First on the medical and emotional well-being of the victims, and ultimately on society as a whole. What would inspire a man to have sexual relations with his daughter? What does the law say? Let’s answer all these below, shall we?
Why Do People Engage In Incest?
Incest is as old as time itself. The 19th chapter of the book of Genesis in the Holy Bible records incest between Lot and his daughters. Lot’s children out of fear and desperation to leave a legacy for their family, had said: “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.”
Some experts identified the causes of incest. On their list were the following:
- depression
- emotional imbalance
- sex deprivation
- lack of confidence
- the economic situation in the country
- the government’s failure to safeguard Nigeria’s children
- repeated nearness
- body needs
- opportunity factor
- personal characteristics of the offender
- the effect of alcoholism
- high cases of divorce and
- leaving the girl-child in her father’s care
The Effects Of Incest On Society
Medical problems
Children are not physically or psychologically ready for sexual relations. The act of incest is damaging to their bodies. In many cases, these young girls get pregnant and are forced to get a quack abortion that further damages their already damaged bodies.
Also, reproducing with a close relative has some serious drawbacks. When people who share a large number of genes breed, there is a high chance they will pass on conditions known as autosomal recessive disorders. Conditions that they inherited through recessive genes, including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, and albinism.
Psychological Problems
It is common knowledge that incest leaves the victims damaged mentally and emotionally for years to come. Victims have to deal with feelings of shame and sadness, rage and distrust. How do you trust anyone else after your own father abused your trust so deeply? These feelings of isolation, shame, and guilt, often not associated with any specific activity, help to foster a poor self-image, which may lead to suicidal behaviour. There is also a tendency for victims of incest to suffer from other disorders, such as sleep disturbances, nightmares, depression, and eating disorders.
Trauma bonding
This is a situation in which survivors incorporate the aberrant views of their abusers about the incestuous relationship. As a result, victims frequently associate the abuse with a distorted form of caring and affection that later negatively influences their choice of romantic relationships. For example maintaining abusive or toxic relationships.
The ramifications of Incest: What does the law say about incest in Nigeria?
Apart from the fact that cultures and religions, science and medicine frown on incest. As products of incestuous relationships face a high risk of becoming imbeciles. Or worse, they suffer from chromosomal irregularities as a result of shared bloodlines. Incest is a crime in Nigeria by virtue of Section 3, subsection 1, sub-sub section b of the Matrimonial Causes Act.
Also, Section 33 of the Marriage Act forbids sexual relations and marriage among people who are related by blood. It is captured as “Prohibited degree of consanguinity.” Incestuous relationships or marriages are further prohibited in the 1st Schedule (Section 3) of the Matrimonial Causes Act, Cap 220, Law of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 1990, where it lists the prohibited degree of consanguinity to include that between father and daughter, mother and son, brother and sister, uncle and aunt, niece, and nephew.
Again, Section 214 (3) of the Criminal Code Act (a criminal law that is applicable in and covers all parts of Nigeria), Caption 77, Law of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) prescribes a minimum of 14 years imprisonment for those found guilty of incestuous liaison, which it referred to as “offence against morality.”
This article was first published on AfricaParent.com
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Though this article was quite informative it makes some erroneous assumptions and assertions, neglects to include important facts and so is misleading. For instance it only mentions one incidence of incest in the Bible, one that by today’s standards would be considered rape, since Lot was drugged with alcohol by his daughters and so was incapable of giving consent. The article doesn’t mention Abraham and his half sister Sarah or whether or not their marriage was mutually agreed upon or was forced on minors. As the marriage lasted for many decades, and in the end produced a healthy child who went on to create an entire nation, can such consanguineous relationships just be ruled out entirely as “bad” if they are between two consenting adults? There are no laws that prohibit relationships between other types of people who might have a higher than average chance of having a child with a birth defect, such as people who smoke and drink, and people over 35 years of age. Over 99% of people who have children with birth defects were not in incestuous relationships, and people who are in Adult Consensual Incest relationships probably make up lest than a small fraction of 1%. In fact it was the British , with ideas of world conquest and hegemonic empire based on Darwinian ‘perfect specimens’ who introduced these unfair, discriminatory, an ineffective laws against incest in the first place, when they, like the other imperial powers like USA and Germany were about to engage in state sponsored eugenics programs. There are already other laws to punish people who commit statutory rape ( sexual abuse of under aged children ). Those who harm their own children this way deserve what they get. But the law does wrong to punish adults who are happily engaged in a consanguineous relationship if the couple are both consenting and not in anyway harming anyone. To think that they might be jailed for 14 years, is quite frankly, shocking. It is quite uncivilized, and goes against the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Section 214 (3) of the Criminal Code Act Caption 77, Law of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) and Section 33 of the Marriage Act and the 1st Schedule (Section 3) of the Matrimonial Causes Act, Cap 220, Law of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 1990, need to be repealed and or amended to ensure that people in Adult Consensual Incestuous Oriented ( CIAO) relationships are no longer criminalized, and if there are such people already charged or being detained, they should be released immediately and compensated for the injustice that has been done to them by the state.