A few weeks ago, on this blog, you found out about the depraved and gruesome rapes happening in Liberia. From April (when COVID was declared a National Emergency) to June this year, there were over 600 rapes, with a rate that was still climbing. Those numbers themselves are staggering, but the rape-culture there is so pervasive that most victims are children and very young women. Starting in June, horrific reports were made about men brutally attacking toddlers. It was then that women and men in Liberia empowered themselves to stage a peaceful protest from August 27th to 29th at the seat of the Capitol in Monrovia. There, rape is feared more than the pandemic raging against the world. It is a realistic fear.
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Liberian Protest Against SGBVRape of babies, girls, boys, and women in Liberia has been rampant for decades. Since the beginning of COVID, instances of rape have ballooned in Liberia. A month ago, over 600 cases of rape had been reported since the pandemic hit. Of those 600 cases, 100 made it to court and almost 50 were acquitted.
The rate at which reports are made of Sexual Gender-Based Violence is still on the rise. This does not include the assaults that go unreported. Nor, does it include women and children that were deceased or displaced as a result of their assault. Liberia is the size of Louisiana State, roughly 43,000 square miles. WWV2020-Gender-Based Violence Awareness Gender-Based Violence (GBV), also known as Sexual and Gender Based Violence, is a function of patriarchy and millennia of socialization in cultures worldwide. GBV serves to keep the "lesser genders" in a place of subservience and fear. It is pervasive. It is global.
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