Sierra Leone declares emergency over rape and sexual assault

By artappraiser on Sun, 02/10/2019 - 1:38am |

Sierra Leone has declared a national emergency over sexual and gender-based violence after recorded cases of rape and assault doubled over the last year. President Julius Maada Bio announced the emergency on Thursday amid a public outcry over the issue, triggered by a series of high-profile attacks.

Mr Bio said attacks on minors - which account for a third of all cases - would be punished with a life sentence. Activists say many assaults are not punished under current laws.

More than 8,500 cases were recorded last year - a rise of nearly 4,000 on the figure from the previous year - in a country of 7.5 million people. The factors behind the spike are not yet clear.

What did the president say? [....]

URL:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47169729