-US 2023 Human Rights Report reveals
By Jerromie S. Walters
As traditionally done, the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2023 by United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy and Labor, is out and it has shown that though Liberia has law that criminalized rape of a woman or man, the government did not enforce the law effectively, and rape was a serious and pervasive problem.
“Government officials allegedly committed acts of sexual violence. In February, the Commander of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency Maryland Detachment, Sergeant Joseph Targeddine, allegedly sexually assaulted a girl age 16,” the 2023 Human Rights Practices United States Department of State Country Reports notes.
Generally, the report says there were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Liberia during the year.
“Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or on behalf of the government; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists and censorship; serious government corruption; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and female genital mutilation/cutting; laws criminalizing consensual same-sex conduct between adults, which were enforced; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons; and systematic restrictions on workers’ freedom of association,” the report disposes.
It counties that the government did not take credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses.” Although illegal, the report says domestic violence was a widespread problem. “The maximum penalty for conviction of domestic violence was six months’ imprisonment, but the government did not enforce the law effectively. Civil society observers suggested the lack of speedy trials led some survivors to seek redress outside the formal justice system.”
For Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), the report stated that the law did not prohibit the practice of FGM/C, and NGOs reported there was little political will within the legislature to address the issue. It recalled, “On February 6, the National Council of Chiefs and Elders in Liberia, headed by Chief Zanzan Karwor, instituted a national ban on FGM/C and closed a traditional rural school in Montserrado County, replacing it with a heritage and vocational center to train FGM/C practitioners with alternative skills for livelihood.”
As truly demonstrated, the US 2023 Human Rights report refenraced the closure of bush schools by local authorities, where the practice took place, in three separate counties and worked with UN Women to provide training to residents. “The law prohibited sexual harassment in the workplace, but it was a significant problem at work and in schools. UNICEF reported sexual harassment in schools in the form of “sex for grades” and “sex for school fees” was common.”
Under Discrimination, it acknowledged that the law prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, color, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity, or HIV and AIDS status but the government did not effectively enforce the law. The report says Penalties were not commensurate with those for similar violations and were seldom applied. It adds that Mechanisms for receiving and acting on complaints were inadequate, and the government took no efforts to strengthen anti-discrimination regulations.
“The law provided the same legal status and rights for women as for men, but those laws were not respected in certain rural areas of the country. In rural areas, traditional practices often did not recognize a woman’s right to inherit land, and women experienced economic discrimination based on cultural traditions discouraging their employment outside the home. Anecdotal evidence indicated women were paid less than men,” it continues.
Moreover, the Country 2023 Reports on Human Rights Practices by United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor emphasized that
Programs to educate traditional leaders on women’s rights, especially those regarding land rights, made some progress, but authorities often did not enforce those rights in rural areas. “Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.”
It states: “The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection provided access to sexual and reproductive health services for survivors of sexual violence, including emergency contraception as part of the clinical management of rape, through one-stop centers. There were no reports post-exposure prophylaxis was available as part of clinical management of rape. While public clinics throughout the country provided family planning counseling and a mix of modern contraceptive methods, access to these services at times proved difficult, particularly for women living in rural areas or those with limited financial means.”
According to the 2019-2020 Liberia Demographic and Health Survey (LDHS), the most recent available, 25 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 reported using a modern form of contraception. Among sexually active unmarried women, 45 percent used modern family planning, while 23 percent of married women used a modern method.
The US 2023 Human rights report says unmet needs for family planning, defined as the percentage of sexually active women who wanted to postpone their next birth or limit their number of births but did not use a modern method of contraception, increased slightly from 31 percent in 2013 to 33 percent, according to the LDHS. It notes that almost half of all respondents between ages 15 and 19 reported an unmet need for family planning, primarily for the spacing of children.
The LDHS estimated the maternal mortality rate was 742 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Postpartum hemorrhage was the leading cause of maternal mortality and accounted for approximately 34 percent of maternal deaths. In remote areas, it states that clinics often lacked basic infrastructure and facilities, and midwives and health workers sometimes delivered babies at night without electricity. According to the survey, teenage childbearing accounted for 30 percent of all births in 2019-2020. FGM/C was a problem and contributed to maternal morbidity.
“There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection provided access to sexual and reproductive health services for survivors of sexual violence, including emergency contraception as part of the clinical management of rape, through one-stop centers.“
The report also notes that laws regarding the minimum age for marriage were inconsistent, setting the minimum marriage age for all persons at either 18 or 21 but also permitting girls to marry at age 16. It says the lowest median ages of marriage were in rural areas and the median age of first marriage generally increased with growing wealth among women age 25 to 40.
“The law prohibited the commercial sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. Authorities generally enforced the law, although girls were exploited, including in commercial sex in exchange for money, food, and school fees. The minimum age for consensual sex was 18, and statutory rape was a criminal offense that carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Orphaned children were particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation,” the report states.
It continues that students with disabilities and those in rural counties were most
likely to encounter significant barriers to education. “The law criminalized child abuse, but it was not effectively enforced. Child abuse was a widespread and persistent problem, and there were numerous cases reported throughout the year, including of sexual
violence against children. The government engaged in periodic public
awareness campaigns to combat child rape.”
For Corruption in Government the report recognizes that he law provided criminal penalties for corruption by officials, but it says the government generally did not implement the law effectively. It states that there were numerous reports of government corruption.
