Ethics of Cognitive Restructuring

Photo by Prince Akachi on Unsplash INTRODUCTION Ethics is the study of moral principles and why people make moral and immoral decisions. It focuses on how people ought to behave based on their moral compass or values, and society’s shared values, laws, and traditions. Since rape and sexual assaults are becoming more common in Nigeria, the country must add psychological rehabilitation and prevention programs. In Nigeria, the role of women is primarily in service to men and rape is especially common among African adolescents. Mental healthcare remains stigmatized in Nigeria compared to Western countries. This paper argues that access to cognitive restructuring would help both the perpetrators and the victims of rape.[1] While cognitive restructuring is not new, in Nigeria there has not been access to mental healthcare for victims who need it and for perpetrators who are later released back into society. ANALYSIS The important ethical issues surrounding rape include the lack of consent and harm to victims, as well as the greater societal values of feminism and nonviolence. In the context of rape, “consent is, without doubt, the most important concept…the “criminality” of sexual offenses derives largely from a sexual act performed without one or more parties’ consent to that act.”[2] Therefore, by not mutually agreeing to the sexual act to occur, the offender takes away the victims’ autonomy. Although rape statutes vary, all require a lack of consent to determine that rape has occurred. An age of consent determines that minors are not able to give informed consent to sexual acts. Rape can reflect a premeditated decision to rape the victim. However, the mindset required may include indifference toward consent or a lack of understanding consent. A. Background Rape is a psychosocial assault. It involves the use of physical force but also involves social factors underlying the rapist’s thoughts or development. There are different ways to count rape based on reporting, prosecution, or conviction creating statistical disparities in the numbers of rape cases worldwide.[3] There are also different situations in which rape occurs: rape within marriage, date rape, rape by strangers, rape of a minor, systematic rape, and sexual slavery. Although women are often reluctant to use “rape” or “sexual assault” to describe coerced or unwanted sexual experiences that involve a romantic partner,[4] these instances are nonetheless considered rape and their perpetrators should b