- HRC-SL Vice Chairperson urges
May 15, 2017 By Ibrahim Tarawallie
Vice Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL) has called on communities across the country to rise up against the rising statistics in sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) cases.
Grace Coleridge-Taylor made the call during a community engagement hosted by the commission at Masongbor Village in the Makari Gbanthi Chiefdom, Bombali district on strategies needed for the elimination of sexual and gender based violence in communities.
The Human Rights Commission began its community engagements in Adonkia, Bassa Town in Waterloo, Western Rural District, Freetown and in Matotoka in the Tonkolili District.
She said the Commission was aware that SGVB cases were prevalent in communities with women and girls mostly the victims and that they often hear in the news that even girls as young as five were not exempted.
Revealing statistics on SGVB cases, Commissioner Taylor said it was quite alarming across the country, representing one of the major challenges in the protection and promotion of women and girls rights in Sierra Leone.
She stated that according to the National Crime Statistics for Sexual Offenses reported to the FSU for 2016, a total of 11,362 SGBV cases were recorded across the six Police command regions.
Out of the 11,362 cases, Commissioner Coleridge-Taylor said 9,135 were domestic violence, 2,149- sexual penetration and seventy-eight rape cases.
“Freetown-east had 2,709 cases, Freetown-west-2,354, Southern region 1,574, Eastern Region 2,374, north-east, 1,576, and north-west-775 cases. In many of the cases reported, the perpetrators are people who are close to the victim; family members, community members, teachers and even peers of the opposite sex. The sad truth is that these are people who are expected to protect the victims from such violence,” she said.
According to her, more disturbing was the fact that such cases were compromised because of traditional values, leaving victims to suffer in silence.
She viewed the development as an issue affecting the full enjoyment of women and girls rights to live in dignity.
In its 2013 and 2014 State of Human Rights in Sierra Leone reports, the HRC-SL, noted that in places like Bo, Kenema, and Makeni, one of the remedies provided in cases relating to SGBV was for victims to marry the perpetrators through coercive measures instituted by community leaders, instead of making a formal complaint at the FSU.
SGBV is considered as the most serious and common human rights abuse against women and girls in Sierra Leone. In order to address this trend, the government in 2007 enacted the three gender laws; Domestic Violence Act, Devolution of Estate Act and Registration of Customary Marriages and Divorce Act, as well as the Sexual Offences Act in 2012.