A Catholic cleric, Rev. Fr. Anthony Afariogun, has called for decent dressing by both genders as a strategy to reduce rape and defilement in Nigeria.
Afariogun, Chaplain, Our Lady Queen of Peace, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday following incessant rape and defilement case.
He said that it was necessary for mothers to ensure that their children would make decent dressing a lifestyle.
According to the cleric, home is the first place where a child receives moral training.
“Mothers are the first teachers and must train, discipline and bring up children very well, encouraging them to dress decently to avoid exposing themselves to danger – rape.
“Sexual molestation is getting too much and happening to both girls and boys.
“Sometimes, revealing dressing that exposes sensitive parts gives them away to the perpetrators.
“The Bible advises us in the book of Proverbs to train a child in the way he should go so that when he is old, he will not depart from it,” he said.
According to him, some people commit rape in order to feel big or get promotion in a cult, and they can go the extra mile to kill their victims to cover up the track.
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The cleric added that some men would lack self control after seeing any sensitive part of a woman or even girl.
“I give awards every month to girls who dress well in my parish to encourage them to be modest.“
He called on religious organisations to emphasise decent dressing and condemn rape through preachings, youth programmes and seminars.
“Schools should play major roles in fighting rape. Sex education and penalty for rapists should be in school curriculum,” he said.
Rev. Fr Pascal Ekechiegwu of the Saint Luke’s Catholic church, Awgu, Enugu, advised parents to promote effective communication with their children to enable the children to relate experiences to them.
“Parents should create a friendly relationship so that their children can let them know their challenges including threats from rapists.
On the penalty for rapists, Ekechiegwu said that imprisonments rather than death sentence should be encouraged to give offenders an opportunity repent.
Rape is punished in Nigeria with up to life imprisonment.
