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Why Nicki Minaj's supposed new relationship is a setback for women in light of Cyntoia Brown's and Cheryl Zondi's court cases

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Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj

The controversy around Nicki Minaj after she supposedly revealed her new boyfriend highlights how this new relationship is dangerous for women all over the world.

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Nicki recently posted pictures of herself alongside the man who has been speculated to be her new boyfriend. The new beau in question has been identified as Kenneth ‘Zoo’ Petty, according to Bossip.com.

According to this New York sex offenders registry, Kenneth was convicted for the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl.

While Nicki has not explicitly revealed that she is dating Kenneth, she has been posting pictures with and of him on her Instagram page.

This is not the first time the rapper has attached herself to men who have been accused and sometimes convicted for sexual misconduct.

Nicki Minaj was featured on a song called 'FEFE' by rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine. Danny Hernandez, known by his stage name 6ix9ine is considered controversial because of his sexual misconduct history.

READ MORE: These 8 named men confessed how they sexually assaulted women to the New York Times - and it's incredibly powerful

The New York Times reported that 6ix9ine was arrested on charges of using a 13-year-old girl in a sexual performance, which he pleaded guilty to. The newspaper reported that Tekashi 6ix9ine had later told the police he believed the girl was 19 years old.

Nicki received backlash for this feature but defended Tekashi 6ix9ine. In a series of tweets Nicki claimed she was being bullied and that writers were being paid off to publish negative stories about her because of her success.

Sexual assault is a huge issue globally and is something that affects women disproportionately on a daily basis. UN Women estimated that globally, 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual at some point in their lives.

It is especially offensive for Nicki to be sharing these posts in the midst of the controversial case of Cyntoia Brown. Cyntoia was arrested when she was 16 years old for shooting a man who picked her up while she was a victim of sex-trafficking, according to a Huffington Post report.

READ MORE: "I didn't know that I was raped until other women started sharing their stories"

This weekend it was ruled that Cyntoia is to serve 51 years before she is eligible for release and many are of the belief that she acted in self-defence and should be released.

The Timothy Omotoso rape trial also comes to mind, where Cheryl Zondi's testimony was met with what has been referred to as victimisation by Timothy Omotoso's lawyer, Advocate Peter Daubermann. 

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In an opinion article, Minister of Women in the Presidency Bathabile Dlamini wrote: "It has become too common for cross-examination during sexual offences trials to be an opportunity for defence counsel, who are often men, and likely perpetrators of unreported sexual crimes themselves, to re-traumatise witnesses by questioning their credibility."

Many cases similar to the ones stated above have been reported on and spoken about for a long time. In this context, Nicki has received major backlash on social media since she posted her pictures with Kenneth.

Do you think Nicki Minaj should be held accountable for surrounding herself with convicted sexual assault criminals or is it none of our business? Let us know what you think here.

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