Thursday, March 08, 2007
Three out of four Liberian women have been raped, survey finds - Belfast Telegraph
Girl children are especially vulnerable - some victims are as young as three.
The medical aid agency Merlin sees between one and four cases of child rape at the clinics it supports in Liberia every month. And Claire Parker, Merlin's reproductive health co-ordinator, says that is only a small proportion of the victims.
"Close to 50 per cent of reported rapes here are in under-12s," she said. "If a person is seeking a position of power here, there is a traditional belief which says that if you spill the blood of a child, or take the virginity of a child, that will give you increased power," she says.
In January, an 11-year-old girl, Janjay, died from injuries sustained during a particularly violent rape. "It left her incontinent ... she wasn't able to walk properly, she was out of school. Her injuries contributed to her death," Ms Parker says.
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first elected woman president, has promised to come down hard on rapists and end the sexual violence.
[The whole report as well as photo essays are available at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs site]
Girl children are especially vulnerable - some victims are as young as three.
The medical aid agency Merlin sees between one and four cases of child rape at the clinics it supports in Liberia every month. And Claire Parker, Merlin's reproductive health co-ordinator, says that is only a small proportion of the victims.
"Close to 50 per cent of reported rapes here are in under-12s," she said. "If a person is seeking a position of power here, there is a traditional belief which says that if you spill the blood of a child, or take the virginity of a child, that will give you increased power," she says.
In January, an 11-year-old girl, Janjay, died from injuries sustained during a particularly violent rape. "It left her incontinent ... she wasn't able to walk properly, she was out of school. Her injuries contributed to her death," Ms Parker says.
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first elected woman president, has promised to come down hard on rapists and end the sexual violence.
[The whole report as well as photo essays are available at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs site]
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