“I’m asking every man to stop doing these things to women.” Philomena, rape victim, Liberia.
• Philomena was four months pregnant when she was captured by rebels. She doesn’t remember how many men raped her. She lost her baby and is no longer able to conceive due to the injuries she sustained in the attack.
• Alice was just 15 when the soldiers took her. They blindfolded her and drank and laughed as they took it in turns to rape her. Her three young sisters were forced to watch.
• Rebecca lives in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital. Her neighbor raped her outside her home. She did not report him to the police and lives in fear that it might happen again.
Sexual violence devastates lives. We want it to stop.
In Liberia, an estimated 40 percent of the population were victims of sexual violence during the brutal 14-year civil war (1). Mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, fathers and sons were all at risk of abuse. Used as a weapon of war, rape broke their spirits and shattered lives.
When a peace agreement was signed in 2003, everyone hoped the end of fighting would signal the end of sexual violence. It didn’t. Rape still happens, and it happens a lot. A clinic in Monrovia has seen over 600 victims in the last four years alone.
Merlin’s Reproductive Health Coordinator in Liberia, Claire Parker says, “So many people remain silent through fear and stigma. We believe most cases don’t make it to the clinic, nevermind the courtroom.”
There is hope however. Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female head of state, has taken a stand against sexual violence. She spurred the deployment of a UN Indian police contingent in Monrovia, Liberia’s first all-female police force. The message that rape is unacceptable is finally being delivered, and heard. But attitudes and practice have yet to change.
Merlin’s Reproductive Health Project is working throughout Liberia to provide treatment and counseling to those affected. We are also advocating for a change in people’s attitudes towards sexual violence and for greater judicial support for victims.
See our photo gallery: Fighting sexual violence in Liberia
Help us to make a difference:
1. 30c will buy a course of emergency contraception
2. $1.50 will buy one year's supply of contraceptive pills
3. $7.50 will buy a dose of tetanus vaccine
4. $37.50 will buy a course of Post Exposure Prophylaxis (to prevent HIV infection after exposure)
5. $225 will buy an emergency caesarean section kit
Help us help more women like Philomena. Donate now.
Read more about Liberia
(1) DCAF