East Orange Survivor pushes for ‘Aziza’s Law’ to change New Jersey incest laws and close loopholes
An East Orange woman is turning years of unimaginable trauma into a fight for change, after surviving years of sexual abuse by her father.
An East Orange woman who survived years of sexual abuse by her father is turning her trauma into advocacy, pushing for changes to New Jersey law that she says would better protect victims and hold offenders accountable.
Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual abuse that some readers may find disturbing.
Aziza Kibibi says she was just 8 years old when the abuse began. “I was 8 years old when he first started molesting me, and he first raped me when I was 10,” Kibibi said. According to Kibibi, the abuse continued for years. She says she became pregnant five times and has four children by her father.
Her father, Aswad Ayinde, is known for directing The Fugees’ 1996 music video "Killing Me Softly." He is currently serving a 90-year prison sentence after being convicted of repeatedly raping and assaulting three of his daughters and fathering children with them. However, Kibibi says a gap in New Jersey law means her father is not serving time for the abuse that took place after she turned 18.
While incest involving minors is prosecutable, incestuous acts between two adults are not currently illegal under state law.
“He groomed me up until adulthood, continued to abuse me,” Kibibi said. “Many judges were like, ‘She’s an adult. She waited too long. Why did she wait so long to report?’”
Determined to prevent others from experiencing similar abuse, Kibibi launched a Change.org petition and founded the nonprofit organization Pretty Little Ladies. Her advocacy efforts have helped bring attention to proposed legislation known as Aziza’s Law. The bill would make incest a crime regardless of a victim’s age and close legal loopholes that advocates say allow offenders to avoid prosecution when victims are adults. Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin, who is the bills sponsor, said lawmakers are continuing to work toward advancing the legislation.“Right now there isn’t a Senate counterpart,” Pintor Marin said. “We hope that once we work through some of the things that we’re working through now, that there will be a Senate part.”
For Kibibi, the fight is about ensuring no one else endures what she experienced.
“Now, I am still sad for little Aziza,” she said. “But that fuels my determination in preventing what happened to me from happening to other children.”
Advocates hope the legislation will gain additional support in the State House as they continue pushing for changes to New Jersey’s incest laws.
