GLOSSARY Description GENDER STEREOTYPING The practice of “ascribing to an individual woman or man specific attributes, characteristics or roles by reason only of her or his membership in the social group of women or men. Gender stereotyping is wrongful when it results in a violation or violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Example of wrongful gender stereotyping is failure to effectively investigate, prosecute and sentence sexual violence against women based on the stereotype that women should protect themselves from sexual violence by dressing and behaving modestly.” Gender-Based violence Harmful acts directed at an individual based on their gender. It is rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms. rape The term ‘rape’, when used to describe a victim’s experience, is used, in the sense of international human rights law, as non-consensual vaginal, anal or oral penetration of a sexual nature of the body of another person with any bodily part or object. rape myths False beliefs people hold about sexual assault that shift the blame from the perpetrator to the survivor (so-called victim blaming). Rape myths include false beliefs that explain and justify rape with the appearance and behaviour of the victim. How someone dresses, how much alcohol they choose to drink, who they choose to go out with, how they behave, how they choose to live their life does not make them responsible for and cannot justify any sexual violence they experience. The victim is not to blame. No one is responsible for how another acts. Victim This report uses the terms ‘victim’ and ‘survivor’ interchangeably. The term ‘victim’ is customarily used to describe people whose human rights have been violated. For example, it is the term adopted in the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. While acknowledging that “victim” is the appropriate legal term, Amnesty International recognises that the term “survivor” better reflects the strength and resilience of women and girls who have experienced sexual violence and is the preferred term for many women and girls themselves and also, many human rights activists. Violence Against Women and Girls Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women and girls, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. Violence against women and girls encompasses, but is not limited to, physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family or within the general community and perpetrated or condoned by the State. Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) A medical condition characterised by a hole “between the bladder and the vagina that allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine.” viii NIGERIA: A HARROWING JOURNEY ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS SURVIVORS OF RAPE IN NIGERIA Amnesty International

Nigeria: A Harrowing Journey; Access To Justice for Women and Girls Survivors of Rape