Summary:
- The Liberian government has approved emergency relocation support for the family of an eight-year-old rape survivor after her mother reported intimidation, unauthorized filming, and repeated visits by strangers following media coverage of the case.
- Officials say the decision was driven by security concerns, with the Ministry of Justice providing US$600 to help the family move, as the child continues to receive medical treatment.
- The case highlights ongoing risks faced by rape survivors once cases become public, and raises questions about intimidation, police handling of evidence, and the state's response to protecting victims.
The Liberian government has approved an emergency relocation for the family of an eight-year-old rape survivor after her mother reported intimidation, unauthorized filming, and repeated visits by strangers following media coverage of the case. Officials say the intervention was driven by safety concerns, underscoring both the real risks survivors face once cases become public and the state's uneven response--often acting only after pressure mounts.
The decision follows complaints from the child's mother, identified by her first initial N. to protect her and the child from stigma, who told police she no longer felt safe in her community. According to her account, unknown individuals began appearing at her home, while traditional items were left on her doorstep--acts she described as quiet but frightening warnings.
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The situation escalated when, N. said, relatives of the alleged perpetrator came to her home and recorded both her and her daughter without consent.
"I caught them doing video of me, doing video of my daughter," she said, describing the act as another violation layered onto the trauma her family was already facing.
Government steps in
The case gained national prominence in December when N. showed this reporter receipts for payments she said she had been forced to make at the Temple of Justice court to a public defender and court clerk in order to see the case against her daughter's alleged rapist proceed. She said she had also been forced to pay to transport the alleged perpetrator to the court.
Isaac L. George Jr., director of the Justice Ministry's Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes Unit, condemned the actions of the court officials saying rape victims are not required to pay anything for justice. "They shouldn't have taken one cent from her. That was wrong. It was unethical."
He promised an investigation into the officials' actions.
This month, the Ministry of Justice--acting on instructions from the Attorney General--approved emergency support to relocate the family, according to Isaac L. George Jr., director of the ministry's Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes Unit.
"The mother complained that strange persons have been visiting her home," George said. "So, based on the security situation, the Attorney General offered to find a place for them."
George said the government provided $ US 600 to cover rent for a year, allowing the family to move to a new location. He said the funds have already been disbursed and that victim support staff accompanied the mother to view the new residence.
N. confirmed receiving the funds and said officials advised her to relocate because of the ongoing threats.
"They said I should relocate because of the other things that are happening," she said.
For N. the move represents more than a change of address. She said it offers her daughter a chance to heal away from fear and constant attention.
"It will bring a lot of relief," she said. "It will even help my daughter because she doesn't want to go out to even play with friends."
A child in treatment, a family under pressure
Officials say the child has been receiving medical care since the alleged rape. George said she was initially treated at John F. Kennedy Medical Center before being transferred to a facility along Duport Road, where the unit continues to support her treatment.
"She's very active now," he said. "Things are far better than what it was."
N. described her daughter's progress in simple, grateful terms, focusing on what she sees daily rather than institutional processes.
"She was bleeding, but now she is not bleeding," she said, adding that doctors told her the child could require two to three years of continued treatment.
The relocation, she said, has brought a sense of protection she did not expect after weeks of fear and uncertainty.
"I tell God, thank you," N. said. "It came to pass."
Civil society: Help welcome, gaps remain
Women's rights advocates welcomed the government's decision to relocate the family but warned that such support remains uneven and unsustainable.
The program officer with the Organization for Women and Children Williette Arthur said emergency rent assistance can be protective in high-risk cases but should not replace functional safe homes and standardized survivor support.
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"Relocation support is good and expected," she said. "But many survivors face similar threats and do not receive this level of protection."
She noted that Liberia's Domestic Violence Act of 2019 places responsibility for survivor compensation on perpetrators and warned that alleged filming of the child and her mother points to intimidation requiring immediate protective action.
Filming allegations raise new concerns
N. said she seized the phone used to record the videos and reported the matter to police. Officers initially told her there were no images, but she said she later saw photos and videos on the device.
Police took the phone, she said, but no action followed.
"Until now, nobody get time to look for her," N. said.
When contacted, Women and Children Montserrado County Commander Gary Winpea denied seeing any images of N. and her daughter and rejected claims of evidence mishandling. He said the phone was returned because retaining it would have been unlawful.
Whether the case can still move forward after the phone's return remains unclear.
The story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the "Investigating Liberia" project. Funding was provided by the Swedish Embassy in Liberia. The donor had no say in the story's content.
