Liberia: President George Weah declares rape as national emergency

President of Liberia, George Weah has declared rape as a national emergency and also directed new measures to tackle it after the West African State witnessed a recent spike of cases, according to a news report by Radio France Internationale.

The move will see 1.7 million euros allotted to the fight to stop gender and sexual violence. Under the national rape emergency, Weah has announced several measures, including the appointment of a special prosecutor for rape and the establishment of a National Sex Offender Registry and a National Security Taskforce on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), among others.

"We are witnessing an epidemic of rape within the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting mostly children and young girls across the country," Weah said at a national anti-rape conference earlier this month.

Liberian women's rights activist and Nobel Peace laureate Leymah Gbowee praised the protesters for helping to bring about the new anti-rape laws.

The fight against sexual and gender-based violence starts with recognizing it is a threat to our collective humanity. I commend the government of Liberia for declaring rape as a National Emergency. This national strategy to combat rape must be inclusive of all and everyone.

— Leymah Gbowee (@LeymahRGbowee) September 12, 2020

According to feminist activists, over 900 cases of rape have been perpetrated against women and girls including acts of sodomy targeting under-aged males since the coronavirus hit.

A UN (United Nation) report in 2016 recorded 803 rape cases last year in the country of 4.5 million and found that only two percent of sexual violence cases led to a conviction. The rape cases in Liberia are rising every day because at the time of the 14-year civil war (1989-2003) rape was not considered a punishable offense.