Moijueh Kaikai, gender and children's affairs minister
By Mohamed T. Massaquoi
The Line Manager at the Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police in Pujehun says sexual abuses against women and girls in Pujehun District have increased in number in recent months.
District Headquarter Division Detective Sergeant Lahai Koroma told Politico that his unit had just received "a report of sexual abuse against a seven year-old-girl involving a thirty year old man." He said similar cases were also at the Pujehun Magistrate Court.
The number of sexual assault cases in Sierra Lone grows every year, but there has been an alarming increase since May when Ebola struck the country. The national head of the Family Support Unit Mira Koroma said they recorded 1481 cases in 2013 and 2201 in 2014, the year Ebola broke out.
Many civil society groups have criticized government for failing to protect women and girls in the country. The head of Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL) Ibrahim Tommy said they were disappointed that justice had not been secured for women and girls.
Sergeant Koroma revealed that they were, at the moment, also investigating four similar cases and they would the following day send the accused persons to the district correctional centre to await trial.
“Almost every week we receive sexual abuse cases and most of the time they are only reported when perpetuators fail to comply with community agreement,’’ Sergeant Koroma revealed.
Sexual assault cases are common in Sierra Leone, but officials say stigmatization and compromise between perpetrators and victims’ relatives have negatively affected the state in dealing with cases.
Deputy Director of Gender Marian Goodie Sowonie said before victims arrive at police stations they normally wash themselves, washing off all substances that may have been released during assault. She said that had made it almost impossible for investigators to secure evidence.
Sergeant Koroma said the people in Pujehun District were expressing more sympathy for perpetuators than victims of sexual abuses. “I have been faced with so many threatening remarks from community stakeholders who are in key positions each time I fail to answer to their appeals in compromising cases of such nature,” complained Koroma. “And I will not relent to charge them to court.’’
He called on civil society organizations and other local authorities to help the police bring perpetrators of sexual offences to book.
“Domestic violence and sexual abuse have been a natural phenomenon in the district,’’ he stated.
Many sexual assaults have resulted in teenage pregnancies, but since schools and other learning institutions were shut down, as a government measure to contain an outbreak of the Ebola virus, the country has been recording growing numbers in cases. In central Freetown a community health centre at Kroo Bay recently reported that it was now recording 15 teenage pregnancies in a month. A nurse said the rise was as a result of the Ebola outbreak.
Mohamed Kpana Kemokai, assistant programme officer of the human right group Women’s Action for Community Development in Pujehun told politico that teenage pregnancy has been a serious issue in the district.
He expressed worry, questioning the number of girls in Pujehun that would be willing to return to school as majority of them had become pregnant.
Kemokai explained that his organisation had found out teen pregnancies were growing because many of the girls were breadwinners in their families.
The human right campaigner said most of the perpetrators were taking advantage of the Ebola outbreak, and the absence, he said, of a resident magistrate in the district was fueling the problem.
© Politico 25/02/15
