Has Liberia's Rape Law Reforms Been Upended By Politics?
More than three months ago, President George Weah declared rape a national emergency at a keynote conference, vowing to improve support for rape survivors and strengthen the country's prosecution system. The declaration came amid several attacks that sparked public outrage and led to a three-day protest in the capital, Monrovia, by a collective of mainly youth-led groups demanding goverment action against the spike in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). President Weah's ambitious-sounding promises were quickly drowned out by the din of campaigning in the run-up to the Senate elections. An election where SGBV hardly featured. The appointment of a special prosecutor for rape, the creation of a national sex offenders registry, and the establishment of a national security task force on SGBV are all now stalled initiatives, writes Lucinda Rouse for The New Humanitarian.
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Liberia:
Women Still Wait for Promised Action On Rape
The New Humanitarian, 14 December 2020
'The woman is the property of the man, and the way our society is structured puts women into a position where they will always be violated.' Read more »
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Liberia:
Ulimo War Crimes Suspect Answers Rape And Child Recruitment Charges
FrontPageAfrica, 10 December 2020
Mr. Alieu Kosiah, former commander with the United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO), faced questions Wednesday in his war crimes trial about allegations linking… Read more »
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Africa:
Reduce Military Spending - the Much-Needed Response to Violence Against Women
IPS, 10 December 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is NOT the biggest pandemic the world confronts at the moment, despite over 69 million cases and 1.5 million deaths worldwide.1 If it's not COVID, what is it… Read more »
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Liberia:
Churches, Mosques Embrace Campaign to End Violence Against Women
New Dawn, 7 December 2020
In an effort to enlighten the country on the need to stop all forms of violence against women, campaigners working in collaboration with Oxfam Liberia's Enough Excuses project have… Read more »
InFocus
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This comes after pressure from activists who have called for better laws and more support to protect children and women. Protesters have petitioned the national legislature to ... Read more »
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Minister of Gender Children and Social Protection, Williametta Piso Saydee-Tarr, has said the first action against fighting rape is the holding of a national conference. "We are ... Read more »
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As Human rights group, Justice Forum Liberia says rape cases are increasing in the country, Mulbah Morlu, chairperson of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change wants laws that ... Read more »
(file photo).