Following increasing cases of rape of girls in Nigeria, Nollywood star actress, Stella Damasus has expressed fears over the safety of her daughters from such 'predators'. She said her fears have got to the point that she feels like whisking them out of the country to a safer haven. But since that has not materialised, she said she has, as a stop-gap, tutored them on the best way to avoid losing their sexual innocence to men that may want to take advantage of them. With all these efforts in place, she asserted without reservation that she would not bat an eyelid before killing any man that does such a thing to any of her children. With her level of education and exposure, one would have expected that she would prefer the law to take its course but she says that would be the last option she would consider. She stated that she would first kill the perpetrator before the law takes its course. Going to jail, according to her would be a welcome development as long as the perpetrator would have gone six feet down. By so doing, Stella, who spoke to Nigeriafilms.com at the end of a men's summit organised by Project Alert to seek men's support for the fight against violence against women, has invariably sent a warning signal to paedophiles. Rape stories hurt me Whenever I hear or read stories of violence against women, it hurts me so bad. I am always shocked and upset because these are things that can be avoided. They are things that can be stopped, but because everybody sees the country as lawless, they do whatever they like with the belief that they can get away with it. I am involved in this fight because I also have two daughters and I would die first before anybody would touch my daughters. With all the stories that I hear, with all the cases we take care of in Project Alert, everyday my passion for it grows stronger because we have to start to prove that this country has laws that can be used to protect our people. We need to be supported by the law. We need to make people have the belief that they can be safe in this country. I will not lie to you, I have been tempted on many occasions to take my children out of this country to where I know that no matter how difficult it is out there, their safety would be guaranteed. Other countries protect their women and their children with everything they have. In this country, the women are always relegated. When Project Alert is handling some cases in court, the people there treat the victims as nonentities. It is only when that person dies, that is when you will see everybody crying and signing condolence register. I am ready to kill and going to jailed I taught my daughters that when any man, be he their uncle, brother or even my friends in the industry, comes to the house, they should greet and go to their seats. If the visitor says, give me a hug, give them side hug. If he says give me a full hug, tell him mummy says that I shouldn't do that. If he says sit on my lap, say no, I want to sit on the chair. If he says come, let me buy you ice cream, tell him thank you. I told them that if any man touches them between their chests and thighs, they should scream and run. I warned them that they should not stay there and later come and tell me stories. If his hands start to come to any part of your body that he should not touch, shout. I remind them of this every morning because they have to be taught. Thankfully, none of them has reported such to me. If that had happened, I would probably not have been sitting here with you, I may have been in jail. If such happens, I will kill the man and go to jail. Every woman is sexually abused No woman would say she has never gone through sexual harassment. I am telling you that no woman would stand up and tell you that she has never been sexually harassed since she was born. It may not be by pushing one down and forcefully raping her. It is very common to see men making passes at you and expecting you to return their overtures. There is no woman that would tell you she has never experienced such. Source: Nigeriafilms.com