Miss Shola Shittu who reigned as the immediate past Queen Moremi Ajasoro(QMA) has called for severe legal actions against rapists to safe the lives of young and innocent girls in the country.

Shittu spoke on Sunday in Lagos following the recent recurrences of rape of some young girls in parts of the country.

She said that if proper investigations had been conducted and penalties meted on past perpetrators, intending rapists would have learnt their lessons and stayed away from the act.

”The act keeps going on because of lack of proper investigations and the enforcement of strong legal actions against those heartless men who do not have moral upbringing.

”Any suspected sexual harassment or assault should be reported to the appropriate government agencies, while the culprits should be exposed and be treated as hardened criminals.

”When the victim keeps silence, the rapist will go ahead with his act unchecked. So, every victim must always summon the courage to speak out against the injustice done to her, ” she said.

She advised both the Federal and state governments to impress on security agents the need for them to be strict on rape perpetrators without sentiments.

”The government needs to take rape seriously because it is equivalent to murder,” she said.

According to Shittu, society needs to understand that the stigma that rape brings on its victims makes it difficult for them to voice out, thereby allowing the predator to go scot-free.

She noted that the public should always sympathize with rape victims instead of stigmatizing them because the victims never wished to be raped.

Shittu advised the public to always listen to the stories of rape victims and help them with proper legal action against rapists.

She also added, ”A proper education on rape should be given to both genders at a tender age. The thought of rape does not come up in a day, it lingers in the mind for a very long time and such should be monitored.

”Let people understand that jokes about rape is not acceptable and should be condemned as victims can react violently to such,” she said.

She also suggested that proper medication and therapy should be given to victims of rape to avoid them from becoming rapists themselves.

The former beauty queen, who currently runs a non-governmental organization against child molestation said that girls should learn self defense as a way to escape an unsuspecting rapist.

“A child must not be allowed to grow up with pains and scars from a painful past, child molestation and abuse are some of the factors that can hinder a child from having a fulfilled adulthood.

”Due to the hazardous effects that come with it, we should teach our children how to avoid being victims of rape, and how to defend themselves against unsuspecting criminals, ” she said.

She said her pet project, the “Queen Iyimide Foundation (QIF)” had continued to carry out awareness programmes against child molestation and abuse across the country.

She added that it had also been addressing the problems associated with incessant rape in society.

“The last edition I had was in Ekiti in May which preached love and respect for the young ones instead of molesting and endangering their lives,” she said.

The QMA beauty pageant was an initiative of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, aimed at encouraging young girls to learn and promote the heroic virtues of the legendary Queen Moremi Ajasoro in contemporary society.

History has it that Moremi Ajasoro saved the people of Ile-Ife from their attackers several centuries ago.

NAN