12/12/2003

Most of these women, refugees from the civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone, came to Liberia in the early 1990s.  During the fighting around Monrovia in July and August, the refugees were subject to the same atrocities as Liberian women.  All of the women in this picture told us that they had been raped or gang raped by fighters from LURD.  There was a 60-year-old woman who was raped by four men because she could not pay them money.  A young girl of around 14 or 15 is now pregnant after having been raped by these same forces.  However, in contrast to the Liberian women living in IDP camps, these women have been “sensitized” to the issue of gender-based violence (GBV) and received training from NGOs working in the refugee camp.  They are more willing to talk openly about their experiences.  

Many Liberian women, who by all accounts have suffered rape in equally great numbers, often do not have access to GBV activities and are therefore not willing or able to discuss their experiences in the same open manner.  

Armed combatants continue to rape women throughout Liberia. The international community is committed to providing appropriate services, such as counseling and HIV/AIDS programs, to survivors of violence.  Due to the extremely large number of women who have suffered gender-based violence in the past 14 years, addressing women’s psycho-social needs will be one of the biggest challenges facing the international community.