How to stop increasing rates of violence against women in Liberia
Violence persists against women and girls in Liberia, nearly two decades after the end of the country’s brutal civil war in 2004 and despite a law that makes rape a non-bailable offense, sexual abuse remains one of the crimes most frequently perpetrated against women and girls.
Recent statistics from Liberia’s Gender Ministry show that a total of 803 sexual and gender-based violence cases were reported during the first quarter of this year alone, with 605 of those cases involving children less than 17 years old.
Despite the continued presence of these forms of abuse of women and girls, some members of the legislature are trying to amend the rape law to make the crime a bailable offense.
Darlington Porkpa has this report from the capital, Monrovia.
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