I want to share about an article I read in a local magazine, but I’m not quite sure how to present it. It is a difficult issue to even think about, much less try to express with words. The article was about gang rape. The most disturbing part of this whole article was the identity of the predators and their victims, and the general attitude surrounding the crime.
When interviewed, 1 in 5 boys between the ages of 14 -16 confessed to participating in gang rape. They not only confessed it, but also bragged about it as if it were a badge on their chest. There is a slang name for it that I cannot recall. According to the article, it is common for a boy to invite his friends over when he is planning to have sex with his girlfriend. They either watch or take their turn if they want. It is considered a favor to a guy’s friends to let them rape his girlfriend.
The girls have little say, in this culture, about what happens to them. Women are expected to be submissive, and it is taboo to talk about any of these things. If a girl even mentions that she has been raped, she is tainted, despised by the community, and often becomes a victim of repeated assaults.
Many girls are gang raped repeatedly, because their name gets out and they become a target. Some girls are so traumatized that they suffer extreme mental and emotional breakdowns, as well as physical injury. Many girls, as young as 12 years old, end up becoming pregnant as a result of these rapes. And on top of all of that, many end up infected with HIV.
The most shocking part of all of this is the way people keep quit about it. Many of these issues are swept under the carpet so to speak; out of sight out of mind. The general attitude seems to be that it’s just the way it is, it is “normal”, it’s just part of life in Africa. That is not okay!
Even walking down the street, the newspaper headlines posted for all to see are surprisingly vulgar. Corruption and immorality are so common that the people have been desensitized to it. It’s just everyday news. One of the reasons AIDS has reached the level it has is because of this casual attitude toward sexual depravity, and the denial and secrecy about such issues, as well as the stigma attached to those identified as victims.
I don’t know what the answer is, but clearly silence isn’t an option. I believe that only God is powerful enough to change the heart of a nation and convict it of such immorality, but God for some reason He chooses to use us to carry that message. Just like in the Old Testament when He chose to send Jonah to be a prophet to Nineveh. Are we willing to be the prophet that will stand up to corruption and speak God’s heart to a corrupt nation?
God redeemed the whole nation of Nineveh in one day, and I believe He can still work that way. The question is whether we will answer the call to go to Nineveh, or will we jump on a boat headed in the opposite direction? Not all of us are called to be prophets to Africa, but if you are, will you answer that call with obedience? If it is not your calling, will you pray to God to raise up the prophets that will go.
It is not only Africa that suffers from this depravity. There is an international business of human trafficking for the sex industry around the world. Many of these slaves are sent back to America, the land of freedom. We are just as guilty and responsible as any nation. We cannot hide under a veil of ignorance. We are not immune to this. The question is what are we going to do about it?
