Hundreds protest in Sierra Leone over 5-year-old rape victim’s death
What you need to know:
- The protest was organised by campaigners calling for justice.
- A post-mortem report indicates that she died on June 17 after she was raped multiple times.
- The suspect, who is said to be a relative of the victim, has been detained.
Police in Sierra Leone briefly detained scores of people after hundreds of campaigners took to the streets on Monday in protest against sexual and gender-based violence.
The protest was organised by campaigners calling for justice over the latest in a string of rape cases – a five-year old girl who died as a result of injuries she sustained after she was raped.
A post-mortem report indicates that she died on June 17 after she was raped multiple times.
The suspect, who is said to be a relative of the victim, has been detained and police say he is under investigation, alongside a suspected accomplice.
POLICE INCAPACITY
But campaigners are worried that the matter could end up like many others in the past due to incapacity of the police, among other socio-cultural factors, to properly investigate and prosecute rape cases.
News of the death of baby Khadija, the latest victim, broke out over the weekend, after a copy of her post-mortem report was leaked on social media.
Sierra Leoneans took to social media to express outrage over the incident.
A leading child rights campaign group, Kids Advocacy Network (KAN), called it a violation of the country's child protection laws.
“We urge the Sierra Leone police to fully investigate the matter and charge all the perpetrators,” it said in a statement.
ENSURE JUSTICE
First Lady Fatima Bio, who is a well-known campaigner against sexual and gender-based violence, also weighed in, vowing to wage a "battle" against the perpetrator.
She posted on her Facebook page that she and her husband, President Julius Maada Bio, were in shock over the issues and she promised to act to ensure justice.
Campaigners say SGBV has always been prevalent in the country, but it only gains public attention any time a major incident occurs, like last year when a five-year-old girl was raped by his uncle, leaving her hospitalised for months. She is now permanently paralysed.
That incident led to the declaration of a state of emergency by President Bio and, subsequently, the amendment of the country's sexual offences laws.
The Monday protest was spontaneous.
The protesters eventually had audience with the Attorney-General and the inspector-general of police, both of whom promised to act on their concerns.
