Open letter to Basket Mouth by Citizen Evelyn

Dear Bright Okpocha (aka Basket Mouth),

I am a very good fan of your comedy show including my husband and kids, I would rather have spoken to you over the phone or make time to see you face to face, but as it is the season of open letter in Nigeria, I would like to use this medium to express how disappointed I am over your comment or joke as you may call it on “Rape”.

First let me try to educate you about the meaning of Rape, maybe you did not check your dictionary for the meaning or you don’t have one at home.

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another without any consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or against a person who is incapable of valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, or below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.

Rape and sexual slavery are recognized as crimes against humanity and war crimes. Rape is also recognized as an element of the crime of genocide when committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a targeted ethnic group.

People who have been raped can be severely traumatized and may suffer from post traumatic stress disorder; in addition to psychological harm resulting from the act, rape may cause physical injury, or have additional effects on the victim, such as acquiring of a sexually transmitted infection or becoming pregnant. Furthermore, following a rape, a victim may face violence or threats thereof from the rapist, and, in some cultures, from the victim’s own family and relatives. More about rape and its effect of victims can be obtained for free from the Encyclopaedia.