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masturbation was desirable for all groups. Homosexual and bisexual behaviour was unthinkable from 1910-1950 for any group.
3.3.2 The use and abuse of sex
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The right to enjoy sex within marriage is constantly threatened by distorted views of sex.
This also culminates in sex abuse. The first one is prostitution. The term prostitute comes from the Latin prostituere, meaning ―to expose‖ and implying the offering of one‘s body for sale passim et sine dilectu, meaning "indiscriminately and without pleasure."71 Some have given it the term transactional sex just to reduce the shame it brings to the one who engages in sex for money. In Nigeria today, they are called commercial sex workers. Some prostitutes were interviewed in the course of this research. The major reason they gave for their act was to overcome difficulties which arose either because of the loss of their parents or economic hardship. Whatever the reason might be, prostitution is a form of sex abuse. It brings shame; and leads to alienation. As a matter of fact, some would not want to interact with a prostitute.
Abogunrin notes that economic problem have made many African girls to become prostitutes, both at home in Africa and in Europe.
The Church needs to look into the issue and devote more time and attention to sex education. Christians should know how to deal with the problems and issues when they come.
Christians must always ask the question: ―How would Jesus have dealt with this issue?‖72 He encouraged Christians to be open, be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and open their minds to God. Churches can help a lot by meeting the needs of the young people in their midst.
Thousands of young people are in institutions of higher learning struggling. Churches must be ready to help them. The government of the day must intensify her effort to see that these young graduates are employed gainfully.
The second form of sex abuse is rape. Sexual activity is supposed to take place between two consenting adults who are married. Most people define rape as forced intercourse with women. ―The fear of sexual assault is real. Its intensity in women can best be likened to the male fear of castration.‖73 However, some define rape as a sexual assault between grown men and little girls. To such people, rape with an adult is impossible because there cannot be vagina penetration unless the penetration is accepted either consciously or subconsciously by the
71 H. A. Katchandourian and D. T. Lunde, 1980. Sexual dysfunction, in Fundamentals of human sexuality (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 463.)
72 S. O. Abogunrin, 2003. Revisiting the story of Jesus and the adulteress in the context of the Church‘s life in Africa. African Journal of Biblical Studies, vol.XV, No. 1, 25.
73 G. Greer, 1977. Seduction is a Four Letter Word, in Fundamentals of human sexuality, 3rd ed. (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston), 280.
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woman. This may be logical, but that a woman accepts the situation as it is has not erased the fact of a forced sex. In 2005, a group of armed robbers invaded the house of some female students of Osun State College of Education, Ilesa. They raped all the women in the hostel except a girl who claimed to be a virgin and who resisted all attempts to be raped. She was killed in the process. This means that, even if victims have consented, it may be that, in most cases, the victims are powerless. This was the case of Dinah, who was raped by Shechem (Gen. 34).
Definitely, Dinah was forced into the act.
The causes of rape have been traced to many factors. The first factor may be described as the carefree attitude on the part of the parents. Some parents believe that there is nothing bad in the siblings of the opposite sex coming very close and doing things together. To them, the least that could happen is for the siblings to be thinking sexually or lustfully towards one another.
Hence, brothers and sisters sleep on the same bed; even as adults. It is absurd even in many cultures today that a father would offer her daughters who are virgins in order that there might not be problem. This was the case of a father who gave her daughters out to armed robbers who went to rob the house. In most cases, close acquaintances are the perpetrators of the act.
One is aware of the reality of so many contending influences on the youths outside the home; yet, the carelessness on the part of the parents cannot be ignored. In 2008, a 21-year-old lady went to see a pastor in one of the churches in Ibadan. She was not a Christian but she has come to narrate her ordeal in the hand of his father. Her father started having sexual intercourse with her since age 13. The girl willingly consented to the father‘s proposals because the father would always tell his daughter that he wanted to give her some supernatural powers, and that, for these powers to be effective, the girl must not tell anybody, not even her mother. The mother never suspected anything until the girl reached age 21 in the year 2011 and she started having some strange illness. An HIV/AIDS test was conducted and it was discovered that the girl was HIV positive. It was then the mother knew that the father had been having sexual intercourse with the girl for seven years. The mother was a business woman and travelled a lot.
The second factor is that there is the "commodification" of women folk‘s body. This is a situation whereby the woman's body is taken as a product that can be used in selling and buying activities. It seems difficult to advertise without using the nakedness of women and girls. Many sexual assaults ensue because of the exposure of sensitive parts of female body, such as the breasts, the hips, and in some cases, the hairdo. Unfortunately, it is not easy to identify victims of
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rape. This is because in many African societies offenders and victims are stigmatized. Therefore, most cases of rapes do not result in conviction. It is even difficult for the victim to prove his or her innocence. Hence, many victims are thought to have consented to the act.
The third form of sex abuse that needs our attention is masturbation. Masturbation is from the latin verb masturbari. It is derived from ―hand‖ (manus) and ―to defile‖ (stuprare) or
―to disturb‖ (turbare). Alternatively, ―mas‖ is derived from mas (―male seed‖ or ―semen‖). This alternative derivation of masturbation cannot be interpreted as if only males masturbate; both males and females do so. Masturbation is self-stimulation of one‘s genitals to the point of orgasm.74 Derek Llewellyn-Jones observes that ―studies in several countries have shown that almost all young males masturbate by the age of 21. As the person gets older and sexual contacts are more readily available, the frequency of masturbation diminishes, although it continues throughout life.‖75 Some of the reasons advanced for masturbation are, (i) it serves as a substitute in situations where it is not possible to have sex with the opposite sex; (ii) some have argued that it humiliates an unyielding spouse; (iii) it is good for relaxation in cases where sleep is not coming on time and (iv) self-stimulation is good where a woman is not satisfied.76 Derek Llewellyn- Jones opines that masturbation has several positive values and that all objections declared against masturbation ―are emotional and not factual.‖77 Derek may be right to a great extent, but some problems are attached to masturbation. Masturbation could be a source of guilt and anxiety in young people. In the first instance, such people will be afraid to present themselves as a sexual being to their immediate families, the parents, probably because the parents feel that they are not mature to be engaging in sexual activities. Secondly, fantasies are associated with it. He/she believes that he/she is doing the real sexual activity. Thirdly, there is the general disapproval of the act in many societies. Some societies see such act as inhuman.78
There are instances whereby some spouses would not allow their partners‘ access to sexual intercourse. They propose that, in such cases, masturbation may be necessary. To them,
74 H. A. Katchadourian and D. T. Lunde, 1977. Masturbation in Fundamentals of Human Sexuality, 3rd ed (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston), 292.
75 D. Llewellyn- Jones, 1998. Every woman: a gynaecological guide for life (Ibadan: Safari Books Limited), 56.
76H. A. Katchadourian and D. T. Lunde, 1977. Masturbation in Fundamentals of human sexuality, 3rd ed (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winstand, 292.), 305
77 D. Llewellyn- Jones, 1998. Every woman: a gynaecological guide for life (Ibadan: Safari Books Limited), 57.
78 W. Simon and J. Gagnon, 1977. Psychosexual development, in Human sexuality: contemporary perpectives.
Eleanor S. Morrison and Vera Borosage, Eds. (California: Mayfield Publishing Company), 18.
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masturbation has no medical problems.79 However, Masters and Johnson observe that masturbation causes the following health problems: the development of gay feelings; cutting a person off from their emotions; causing the person to hurt other people, because the only emotion they can feel is the high-level emotion of a human being in pain; causing of Tourette‘s Syndrome; causing the attention span to decrease; causing strong aggressiveness; development of mental anxiety and loss of mental power or mental acuity.80 If masturbation would cause all of the aforementioned problems, then it should be discouraged. It is a form of sex abuse.