According to the national crime statistics for sexual offences reported to the FSU, 11,362 SGBV cases were recorded across six police command regions. The numbers are horrendous and absurdly high. In Freetown east 2,709 cases, Freetown West 2,354 cases, Southern Region 1,574 cases, Eastern Region 2,374 cases, North-East 1,576 cases, North West 775 cases. Out of the 11,362 cases, 9,135 were domestic violence, 2,149 were sexual penetration and 78 were rape cases.
The Commissioner of Human Rights Commission Sierra Leone (HRCSL) Brima Abdulai Sheriff, said SGBV is very alarming and it represents one of the major challenges in the protection and promotion of women and girls rights. He told his audience that the commission is aware that SGBV is prevalent in communities and women and girls are mostly the victims. In many of the cases reported, the perpetrators are people who are close to the victim, family members, community members, teachers and even peers of the opposite sex. The sad fact is that these are people who are expected to protect the women and girls from such violence. But more disturbing is the fact that such cases are compromised because of traditional values, leaving victims to suffer in silence.
Sheriff called on community stakeholders to do everything possible to eliminate the issue of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV). He made this appeal while addressing a crowd in Gelehun town at the court bari in the Nongowa Chiefdom, Kenema district. He said the Commission is going across the nation on community engagement on strategies for the eliminating of SGBV in rural communities. He maintained that the commission has a women and children rights unit that monitor, investigates and carries out awareness raising and sensitization programmes on women and children’s issues.
By Saffa B. Moriba
Friday May 19, 2017.
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