By Mabinty M. Kamara
A report by Afro-barometer, a pan African, nonpartisan survey research network has noted a demand by citizens for the government to do more in addressing the alarming sexual violence issue in the country.
Presenting the report at its Wilkinson Road Office on Friday 12thFebruary 2021, Dr. Fredline M'Cormack-Hale, the Director of Survey and Quality Control said the survey was conducted in March 2020 during which they interviewed 1,200 adult Sierra Leoneans to sound their views on critical national issues such as sexual violence which was predominant at the time.
One of the key issues targeted on the topic was the president’s declaration of a public emergency on rape in February 2020, which was precipitated by the hike in reports of sexual abuse cases in 2018 and 2019; from 2900 and 3,701 respectively.
According to the report, majority of Sierra Leoneans approve of the government’s declaration of rape as national emergency as well as the toughness of the sexual offences Act.
“Majority of the respondents believes that the government was right in declaring rape a national emergency and that harsher new punishment will reduce sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in the country. But few citizens believe that these measures will be enough,” the report reads in part.
The report further revealed that: “Many Sierra Leoneans are aware of the President’s declaration of rape as a national emergency (91%) and the passing of the sexual offences (Amendment Act of 2019 (86%).” It says majorities also support the President’s declaration of a national emergency on rape and 89% believe the new harsher punishments will help reduce sexual violence in the country.
Despite these strides; seven in 10 (71%) respondents say that these changes will not be enough to solve the problem of rape and sexual assault and that government should do more to educate people and change sexual attitudes and behaviors.
Rainbo Initiative’s latest report published for 2020, revealed a slight decrease in the number of sexual and Gender based violence cases reported in their five operational districts compared to 3701 in 2019 and 3584 out of which 3339 were cases of sexual assault in 2020.
The Afro-Barometer provides data on Africans experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance and quality of life. The team in Sierra Leone is led by a local think tank, the Institute for Governance Reform.
The report is released in series; the first which looked at government performance indicators was released in August of 2020 which revealed the lowest approval rating of the government on the management of the economy at 19% compared to all other indicators.
“The government receives lower approval ratings on its economic performance than on other issues. Fewer than two in 10 respondents say the government is doing a good job of handling the economy (19%), improving living standards of the poor (15%), narrowing income gaps(10%), creating jobs (10%),and keeping prices stable (7%),” the report reads in part.
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