INTERNATIONAL/LIBERIA: Rape is 'Widespread' - Report

Despite constant trials and imprisonment, rape continues to be a 'widespread' crime against women, the US State Department, in its 2010 report, observed.

The Report: Rape continued to be a widespread problem. The 2006 rape law legally defined rape; however, the government did not always effectively enforce the law. The government worked during the year to sensitize women and men on the prevention, treatment, and prosecution of rape. The government and NGOs attributed increased reporting of rape due to an improved understanding of what constitutes rape. The Sexual Pathways Referral program, a combined effort of the government and NGOs, improved access to medical, psychosocial, legal, and counseling assistance for victims. The maximum sentence for first-degree rape is life imprisonment and 10 years for second-degree rape, although presiding judges had discretion to sentence less than the maximum. Accused first-degree rapists were not eligible for bail. The law does not specifically criminalize spousal rape. The WCPS unit of the LNP stated that approximately 277 rape cases were reported to the unit, of which 114 were prosecuted.

As mandated by the 2008 Gender and Sexually-Based Violence Bill, the special court for rape and other violence has exclusive original jurisdiction over cases of sexual assault including abuse of minors in Montserrado County, which includes Monrovia. In the six cases prosecuted during the year, the government won two convictions. One perpetrator was sentenced to jail for 10 years and the other for 15 years.

In August the Liberia Bar Association called for the removal or revision of the 2006 rape law based on an argument that the provision of making first-degree rape a nonbailable offense was a violation of the rights of the accused.

The Sexual and Gender Based Violence Crimes Unit within the Ministry of Justice continued to coordinate with the special court and collaborate with NGOs to increase sensitization of sexual and gender based violence issues.

Outside of Montserrado Country, the stigma of rape contributed to the pervasiveness of out-of-court settlements and obstructed prosecution of cases. Inefficiency in the justice system also prohibited timely prosecution of cases, although local NGOs pushed for prosecution and sometimes provided lawyers to indigent victims. The government raised awareness of the issue of rape through billboards, radio broadcasts, and other publicity campaigns.