BY: Shallon S.Gonlor
NIMBA COUNTY — Parents of scores of rape survivors at the ‘Safe Home’ in Sanniquellie City, Nimba County are calling for support and justice including a significant increase in support to the SGBV court in Nimba County.
Our correspondent in the county reported that the call came in the wake of serious violations of laws and other gross human rights violations committed against children across the county.
Rape victims including diverse women who spoke to our correspondent spelled out their grave concerns that covered impunity for perpetrators of SGBV crime should not be permitted to continue under Liberia President Joseph Boakai’s “ARREST and RESCUE Mission” agenda which formed a cogent part of his government.
Their grave concern is that there must be accountability, justice, and support for SGBV victims including a specialized court in the county that is solely responsible for the trial of atrocities allegedly committed against women, girls, and children to make an independent, impartial, and transparent dispensation of justice.
They argued further that timely justice is a pre-requisite for ending impunity and other forms of violence against women and children to take meaningful steps towards equality and, free and safe space in society.
Speaking on the contemporary life of their children, parents of those victims raised a broad range of concerns over unlawful violence including sexual offenses and all prohibited international human rights laws.
Parents, in an echoing opinion, urged President Boakai’s Administration to take decisive measures to immediately cease violations of women’s and children’s rights including international humanitarian law, violations and abuses of human rights law.
They are meanwhile calling on Boakai’s presidency and international donors to increase support for SGBV survivors and the court to conduct prompt, independent, impartial, thorough, effective, and transparent trials into all alleged SGBV cases.
“All those responsible for offensively violating our children must be held to account in fair trials” Parents of rape victims added.
Earlier, Nimba County Gender Coordinator, Yaah Belleh Suah said although the home is being supported by the government and other partners, more support is needed to care for the influx of children that are taken there for protection.
The facility provides psychosocial counseling for survivors of sexual gender-based violence in the county.
The safe home, which caters to survivors who are as young as 6 years old and above, is conducive, and survivors are protected until they recover both mentally and physically. But the lack of support and timely and speedy justice are alarming.
The safe home in Sanniquellie, Nimba County is funded by the Government of Liberia and at the same time receives support from international NGOs including Equip and Irex among others.
