By Nasratu Kargbo
Fifty percent (50%) of sexual assault cases reported to Rainbo Initiative are from children between ages eleven to fifteen, the number recorded from children within that age bracket is one thousand two hundred and seventy (1,270), according to the Head of Programmes at Rainbo Initiative Anthony Sam.
Sam during the launch of the Gender Based Violence (GBV) Survivor Incident Report 2023 on the 20th of March 2024 stated that the children within that age bracket make up the highest number of cases reported to them in all of their centres, noting that they need targeted intervention to address such assaults.
He explained that shortly, most elderly people would have departed for the hereafter and that these children would be the ones to take up the stage, noting that if there are no interventions to address their issues, he questioned the kind of society the elderly will be leaving behind.
The Head of Programmes stated that children between ages sixteen to twenty recorded the second highest reported cases with a total of seven hundred and eighty-nine (789) which is thirty-one percent (31%), whilst two hundred and ninety-eight (298) cases reported are from children within ages six to ten, and five percent (5%) of cases representing one hundred and thirty-eight (138) for children aged zero to five that reported for sexual assault cases.
Speaking on physical assault, Sam said that the highest reported cases amount to twenty-eight percent (28%) or fifty-seven persons who are between ages twenty-one to twenty-five, followed by those between ages sixteen to twenty who made forty-two reports translating to twenty-one percent (21%).
Comparing the number of cases reported in 2022 to 2023, he stated that there is a five percent (5%) decrease in the number of sexual assault cases reported to the institution, indicating that in 2022 they recorded two thousand seven hundred and five cases (2,705) whilst in 2023 they had two thousand five hundred and sixty-one (2,561) reported cases- a drop by one hundred and forty-four (144).
Just like sexual assault cases, the number of reported physical assault cases dropped by fourteen percent (14%), the total number of reported cases in 2022 was two hundred and thirty-four (234), the figure decreased by thirty-three (33) in 2023 making the reported cases in that year two hundred and one (201).
He mentioned that it is important to note that assault on men increased, the number was nineteen (19) in 2022 and increased by ten in 2023 making it twenty-nine (29) or fifty-three percent (53%). For women, the report shows a decrease of five percent (5%), in 2022 - two thousand nine hundred and twenty-two (2,922) whilst in 2023 the number was reduced by one hundred and forty-nine (149) which amounted to two thousand seven hundred and seventy-three (2,773).
Rainbo Initiative is a national Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that seeks to end Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), the institution provides free medical treatment, psychosocial services and age-appropriate treatment for survivors of SGBV in the districts in which it operates.
The institution has centres in six districts across the country: Western Area Rural and Urban, Kenema, Bo, Kono and Kambia.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (22/03/24)
