By Mabinty M. Kamara
Data released by Rainbo Initiative has revealed a steady increase in the cases of sexual and gender-based violence in five districts of Sierra Leone despite efforts by government and development partners to curtail the menace.
3,339 (three thousand three hundred and thirty nine) of the cases are sexual assaults of which 97% were on adolescents and 209 (two hundred and nine) cases were of physical assaults. Adolescents account for 26 % of the number recorded in their five operational areas.
Releasing the data to newsmen on Friday 5 February 2020 at their Smart Farm Office in Freetown, the Deputy Executive Director of Rainbo Initiative, Gibril Kargbo said the youngest sexual assault survivor was a three-month-old baby with the oldest being a 100-year-old woman and 10 male survivors were supported. Ten HIV positive cases from January to December were recorded from tests conducted on the survivors and 505 pregnancies.
Among their five operational districts of Freetown, Makeni, Bo, Kono and Kenema, the capital topped the chart on the sexual assault cases with a total number of 1,409, followed by Kenema with a total of 710. Bo recorded 495, Kono 422 and Makeni 303.
Kargbo expressed disappointment over the figures presented despite several measures put in place and efforts to end sexual exploitation of minors. “It is unfortunate that despite these measures, we continue to witness soaring cases of GBV [gender-based violence] with most of them going unreported and survivors suffering stigma, discrimination and worst still loss of life,” he said.
He added: “There is a horrifying surge in cases of sexual abuse of minors that continue to be witnessed in Sierra Leone. For majority of girls and women, the threat is more rampant in their homes; where they ought to be safe. These are the silent girls and women trapped with abusive relatives and neighbors.”
Kargbo blamed part of the problem on families and communities that are doing “very little” in identifying early warning signs of child sexual abuse and also supporting survivors to access health care and the protection of the abusers at the expense of the survivors.
As part of the challenges in addressing the challenge, he mentioned the lack of enough safe homes in their operational areas and the absence of a forensic lab across the country for detailed testing of survivors as a major setback to their quest for a completely gender-based violence-free society.
The data represents only five of the 16 districts of Sierra Leone. Kargbo said their reach in other areas was limited by funding but that the Ministry of Social Welfare was in most of the areas where they do not operate.
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