In Liberia: Rape Law Still Not Effectively Enforced

The U.S. Government’s latest human right report on Liberia showed that the government did not always effectively enforce the 2006 rape law. The 2012 Human Rights Report recently released by the United States stated that rape is illegal but remained a serious and pervasive problem. It stated that judges had the discretion to impose less than the maximum sentence.

The 2006 rape law legally defines rape but does not specifically criminalize spousal rape. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment for first-degree rape and 10 years for second-degree rape, and accused first-degree rapists are not eligible for bail.

Said the report: “The Women’s and Children’s Protection Section of the LNP stated that approximately 369 rape cases were reported to the unit, of which 125 were forwarded to the court. Six rape cases were actually prosecuted; there were five convictions and one acquittal. However, the true incidence of rape was believed to be much higher.”

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.

According to the report, outside of Montserrado County, the stigma of rape contributed to the pervasiveness of out-of-court settlements and negatively affected prosecution of cases.

“An inefficient justice system also prevented timely prosecution of cases, although local NGOs pushed for prosecution and sometimes provided lawyers to indigent victims,” it said.

Domestic Violence Still A Problem 

The report said, “The law prohibits domestic violence; however, it remained a widespread problem. The maximum penalty for domestic violence is six months’ imprisonment, but the government did not enforce the law effectively and generally treated cases, if reported, as either simple or aggravated assault.”

It noted that the law does not prohibit sexual harassment, which remained a major problem, including in schools and places of work.

Also, there are no laws restricting couples and individuals from deciding the number, spacing, and timing of their children; however, information and assistance on family planning topics was difficult to obtain, particularly in rural areas, where there were few health clinics, it said.

“Teen pregnancy has historically also been very high,” the report added. “Widespread child abuse persisted, and reports of sexual violence against children continued during the year. Civil society organizations reported incidents of rape of girls under 12, and there were 50 reported cases of child endangerment during the year; the true incidence was believed to be much higher.”