THE RAPING OF GIRLS IN SIERRA LEONE CONTINUES UNABATED

By Fatima Wahab

Baby Girls and Adolescent Girls in Sierra Leone continue to be savagely raped, not by strangers but by men in their families and communities. There seems to be no deterrence for this savagery, as only a minute number of rape cases are ever prosecuted.

Family Support Units have been set up at every police station to deal with rape and other gender-based violence cases. There is also a special court set up specifically to prosecute rape cases in Sierra Leone. But what good are all these setups if a majority of the cases are dying away at the community level, without ever getting to be prosecuted? The country is full of serial rapists!

The special units at the police stations are suffering a severe lack of funding and other resource constraints that prevent them from carrying out investigations and arrests.

Before raping a baby or adolescent girl, the rapist already knows that he will not be prosecuted, and therefore, will never serve the 15-year prison term that the law mandates for his savage crime.

Given the rampant corruption in the country, it is easy for rapists to bribe their way out of resource-constrained police custody.  Even when they are caught, a majority of rapists are released back into the communities, as their cases become dead-ended cases due to both corruption and lack of adequate resources for the police to carry out full investigations that can lead to prosecution. 

In the two videos below, I have tried to obscure the identity of the victims, but the videos have been freely shared on many social media platforms, with the full view of the victims.  Sharing photos and video images of rape victims of any age amount to the re-victimization of the victims, as they will suffer stigmatization, condemnation, and discrimination in their communities, while also living with the physical, emotional, and mental injuries perpetrated by their rapists.

Images and the identities of victims should never be made public!

IN THE ABOVE VIDEO, A FIVE-YEAR-OLD IS STANDING BY A MIDDLE-AGED MAN. THE NARRATOR EXPLAINs THAT THE MAN WAS CAUGHT HAVING SEXUAL INTERCOURSE WITH THE BABY,  AND THAT THE LITTLE GIRL WAS FOUND BLEEDING. THE MAN WAS NOW IN THE CUSTODY OF THE TOWN CHIEF, AWAITING THE POLICE TO ARRIVE AND TAKE HIM INTO CUSTODY.

IN THE ABOVE VIDEO, A 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL IS ASKED TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED. SHE POINTED TO THE MAN SEATED ON THE FLOOR AS THE MAN WHO RAPED HER. SHE ALSO REFERS TO HIM AS HER BOYFRIEND. THE MAN HAPPENS TO BE HER TEACHER. SHE EXPLAINS THAT HE FOUND HER IN BED, FAST ASLEEP ONE NIGHT, HELD HIS HAND OVER HER MOUTH, AND RAPED HER. SHE SAYS THAT HE RAPED HER TWICE AND THAT ANOTHER MAN ALSO RAPED HER TWICE AFTER THE FIRST RAPE. SHE SAYS THAT THE TEACHER WARNED HER NOT TO TELL ANYONE, THAT HE WOULD PUNISH HER AT SCHOOL IF SHE REVEALS IT TO ANYONE.

SIERRA LEONE CONTINUES TO BE A LIVING HELL FOR GIRLS AND THE WORST PLACE TO BE BORN A GIRL!