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31.12.2014 Feature Article

Manasseh’s Folder: Victimising the victims

Manassehs Folder: Victimising the victims
31.12.2014 LISTEN

If you met her on the village path and did not turn to look back then you were either stiff-necked or blind. She was pretty.

In the picture I saw, she wore neither a smile nor a frown, portraying the image of a thoughtful young lady. She was adorable in her pink, white and black dress. Her hands and face, which were not covered by the dress, showed skin that was the colour of groundnut paste.

Then I imagined her without the dress. I imagined her walking naked and grimacing in pain, her intestines gushing out. Yes, that's how her last moment on earth was.

Three weeks ago the sixteen-year-old girl, a form two student of Asante Juapong Junior High School was seen emerging from the room of 70-year old Ben Addai; naked, with her intestines gushing out. She had been stabbed. A neighbour, Emmanuel Kesse, rushed the semi-conscious girl to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where she died.

Before she died, however, she told the man who tried to save her that the 70-year old retired teacher was her boyfriend (or rather manfriend) and he was angry that she was extorting money from him but would not give in to his sexual advances. Doctors at KATH found semen in her vagina, suggesting that that dawn there might have been sex. Whether it was consensual or rape, you and I were not there.

So why would a 70-year old man stab a 16-year old girl to death after having his way? When the beast, Ben Addai, was arrested by the Mampongten police after he tried to escape, he said he had mistaken the girl for an armed robber.

Ghana's Oscar Pistorius?

As disgusting as this story is, some of the comments that followed it on the Joy FM page on Facebook were heart-breaking. For some, it served the girl right. They asked why a girl of her age would date such an old man? And that tells you how they would react if this girl was raped by the man in his room and she reported to the police. The argument often shifts to what she was doing in the room of the man.

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Such has become the fate of victims of sexual assault or rape. Despite the level of violation of their right, they are blamed and asked the predictable questions: What was she doing in his room? Why did she not scream? How can you dress this way and expect not to be raped? Can a man ever have sex with you if you really don't want it?

These are among some of the questions I have heard since news broke on Sunday that Ghana's most fashionable man, Kwasi Kyei Darkwa (KKD), had been arrested by the Airport Police over allegations that he had raped a 19-year old girl the previous night.

Shortly after the news broke, lawyer for KKD, Nana Asante Bediatuo, told journalists, KKD admitted having sex with the lady in a bathroom of the Africa Regent Hotel but insisted it was consensual sex, and not rape.

The news gave President Mahama some respite on Facebook and other social media platforms because people were too preoccupied with this unfolding scandal to complain about Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan taking out their lights this yuletide. Yes, Afari-Gyan. Who announces our presidents? Anyway, let's get serious.

Before the police even charged KKD, the court of public opinion had held its proceedings and passed judgement. This became a source of irritation to some notable Facebook personalities.

Former Journalist Kwame Gyan could not hide his frustration when he wrote:

“I think we all should shush about KKD for a minute. We should. We haven't heard even half the story and here we are offering expert opinions and insights into what we don't know.

“Simple lesson for all of us, including social media celebrities: fact that you have X number of people following you and liking your posts doesn't mean they are your 'friends'. Same people can be malicious and help drag your name in the mud even before you get the chance to say Jack.

“Let the man breathe.”

As usual, Yaanom descended on the “Talk Chaw” Facebooker who was almost gagged by his employers for his views on Facebook. Why is he trying to gag others from expressing their opinion? Would Kwame Gyan have written the same thing if the accused wasn't KKD but Bishop Dr. Daniel Obinim?

A more reflective piece of advice came from Lawyer Ace Ankomah:

“I read social media and know what 'friends' would have said and done if this had been me. God, please protect us from friends (especially FB friends); as for the enemies, we know them.”

Lawyer Samson Lardy Anyenini was at his usual best, providing his followers free tuition of the law. It was he who pointed out that the sexual assault the police announced as the charge against KKD was alien to the laws of Ghana. But beyond the education, he ignited a debate that has gathered many opponents and proponents.

His initial post on the controversial topic was: “Let's know her [KKD's accuser] full name. Her complaint to Police is of rape. It means it's an affair with an adult and not a minor. So fair game - put all her details out. What's this 'unidentified' reportage from the Police Station?”

Later Samson wrote, quoting a report on myjoyonline.com:

“Pray – 'Initial reports said the icon had been arrested for alleged rape but the Accra Regional Police PRO ASP Afia Tenge said they are investigating him for sexual assault and are yet to file charges against him. She admits the lady is not a minor but would not disclose her identity.'

“What joke is that? You readily disclose the ID of the accused but you won't disclose that of the complainant? Is she a minor? Best practice says DSK's accuser's ID was also thrown out there. Check the list of high profile sexual crime accusations through Clinton et al. When you are done with investigations and decide not to press charges, the damage to his reputation would not have been repaired. Not sure even how much changes if he is cleared after a trial. Both must bear the risk.”

Like seriously? If Samson's sister were raped and he went to a police station to report, would he want the whole world to know her full name and details?

It is true that sometimes women make up stories to tarnish the image of popular men. In some instances, they are contracted to do so. But it is also true that many rape victims suffer and live the rest of their lives traumatised because they are unable to report or share their ordeal with anyone. The stigma of being known as a rape victim is the reason many do not report. Will we not be compounding the already bad situation if because of some few wayward individuals with isolated cases of blackmail we want the police to disclose identities of victims?

In KKD's situation, the police did not hold a press conference to announce that he was arrested. The police were not those who disclosed his identity. If KKD were a palm wine tapper in Kete-Krachi, no one would have reported it until perhaps he was convicted. We see many such stories, especially from the Ghana News Agency, only after those accused are convicted.

However, KKD is a public figure and the fact is that the media reported the matter. This does not mean the victim's name should be put out there. Article 14 of the Ghana Journalists' Association Code of Ethics says “Journalists should avoid identifying victims of sexual assault.” Whether the lady is a minor or an adult is inconsequential. Once the person has been assaulted sexually or raped, their identity should be kept secret.

If there is anything we should be advocating, then it should be a way to get the police to preserve the privacy of all accused persons. When the police organize swoops and parade suspects before television cameras, their reputations will be dented even if they are later found to be innocent. This is what we should be fighting for.

KKD cannot have his reputation intact if this lady is found to have fabricated the story.

There is an old trotro vehicle which plies its trade between Mamprobi and Agbogbloshie with the inscription, “Sexual Traps. Only Few Escape.” What happened to KKD can happen to any man. Being accused of rape is not a joke, and knowing the power the supposed “weaker sex” wield with that which lies in-between their thighs, they can do anything with it. With that hole, they have managed to ruin the wisest man (Solomon) and the strongest man (Sampson). But we continue to call them the weaker sex, and there is no better definition of stupidity.

Being accused of rape is like wrestling with a gorilla. You may win the fight but you surely leave the wrestling arena with a dusty back. But even as this allegation against KKD is yet to be unravelled, let us not, in the name of exposing some vicious and malicious Jezebels, make it difficult for victims of sexual assault to report to the police. It will amount to victimising the victims.

Sexual assault against women is worse than often reported. And perpetrators often get away with it because of the victims' fear of being exposed. Asking the police to disclose names of rape victims because of suspected mistrust of their accounts will set a very bad precedent that will only “embolden and empower them [rapists] to continue”, as Kwasi Kyei Darkwa (KKD) wrote on his facebook page on June 13,2014. He captioned it: Tempted to touch? Think again. Your freedom ends where someone's nose begins.

In a prelude to that interesting piece, KKD wrote:

“To all the young ladies who have been violated by mates, employers, teachers, superiors at work and people higher up the economic ladder in your communities, know that you can be helped if you report it. For the many young ladies and gentlemen who are suffering same this day in silence, your unwillingness to confront those who commit these acts embolden and empower them to continue: You today, someone weaker and more vulnerable or more gullible tomorrow.
 Permit me to be base and state it as it is: Whether some creep is fondling your breasts at work, touching your bum, groping you each time you are called to their office or coercing you to attend hotels and private residences with them, know that you don't have to live with this. Report them at work and home; report them to the police and seek redress in a court of law. You will not eat stones if you don't let them have their way. You too are somebody's valued child and someone's respected present or future spouse. Our collective failure to confront those who abuse any of us makes them bolder. It is never too late to stop what's wrong.”

The writer, Manasseh Azure Awuni, is a Senior Broadcast Journalist with Joy 99.7 FM. His email address is [email protected].

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