Brutal rape of 5-year-old girl in Sierra Leone becomes rallying point for a national emergency
- Five-year-old girl, whose identity has been kept secret, has been paralysed from the waist down since a 28-year-old male relative raped her a year ago
- Reported cases of sexual and gender-based violence nearly doubled last year to over 8,500, a third of which involved a minor
Last year, a 28-year-old man in Sierra Leone was accused of raping a five-year-old relative – paralysing her from the waist down.
He never faced punishment for the horrific incident, which drew outrage across the West African nation of 7.5 million and brought attention to the country’s high rate of sexual violence.
“She may never walk again, and I want vengeance for what has happened,” the girl’s grandmother told Reuters.
“The man who did this ruined her life and deserves to spend his life in prison.”
But on Thursday, President Julius Maada Bio responded to the outcry over that rape and other violent acts against young girls by declaring a national emergency.
In a speech in Freetown, he said that hundreds of incidents of sexual violence are reported each month – and that about 70 per cent of victims are younger than 15.