In 2007, Sugabelly shared stories of her rape, which happened the same year on her blog. But for the few faithful readers of her blog, not a lot of people were aware of her story. Then this month, the father of one of the perpetrators died.

Like any normal human, this was her reaction:

She also reshared her story.

And wrote a new one -having to relive her nightmare.

The reactions of Nigerians to her tweet were varied.

Many showed solidarity.

https://twitter.com/elnathan/status/670219045925429248

Some doubted her.

https://twitter.com/Twickta/status/668853769493458945

Some made hateful comments.

It also inspired a few women to speak up.

What do our reactions to Sugabelly say about us?

Why do people find it so hard to believe rape victims? Why do we stigmatise them?

These sorts of reactions are why victims of rape never speak up, never come forward, but instead choose to live with the demons for the rest of their lives. It is also why there are only 18 recorded rape convictions in the history of this country.

This needs to change.

Featured image via Sugabelly.
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