We now live in a society (Liberia, precisely) where justice is being compromised, and because of this we have become vulnerable to all sorts of attacks. They say, “She enticed the guy by exposing her breast, her legs, her curves; she was exposed, so he lost self control and raped her.” How about the infant? Only 9 months old, how did she entice the man? What is the excuse in this rape case? There are so many other types of abuse women go through daily; but because sexual abuse is rampant, I feel it calls for more attention.
Apart from the health damages that comes as the result of rape, there are so many other things involved. Such as mental health issues, stigmatization, societal bondages and more. Because of the victim shaming associated with forms of sexual abuse, the older victims keeps quiet and suffer silently to avoin being ridiculed and the rapists go about scout free.
Rape is gradually turning into something victims have to be ashamed to talk about, instead of being a crime loudly spoken off or reported and dealt with. Society is not even helping! We mostly only hear about rape cases that are in the open, but what about the sisters that are quietly suffering? How can they even come out and speak, when justice is not being served to those that have openly complained? If number of rape cases is increasing, then I assume that the alleged rapists who have been reported are not being dealt with accordingly or maybe they are the same ones that justice was compromised for. Could this be triggered by drugs abuse? Maybe the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) should be more effective.The reality is that there is always a root cause to every situation. What is the root cause of the constant abuse of women and girls in our society? Let us find the root and solve this problem! We (women and girls) need protection! Women of all ages are suffering!
Authored by Mabana Konneh
Featured Picture by FrontPageAfrica
