Aid Provided for Rape Survivors in Monrovia

International Rescue Committee
Thursday, 28 August 2003

At the Samuel K. Doe National Stadium in Monrovia, the Flomo family of nine crowds into a small space underneath the first tier of seats. Thousands of these spaces have been carved out and separated from one another by tarpaulin and blankets for the more than 65,000 displaced Liberians seeking shelter at the squalid and congested facility.

Clean water is hard to find and the sanitation situation is grave. The IRC is running health education workshops in an attempt to stave off disease, but the needs are overwhelming. The stadium is the largest of 110 sites in Monrovia where desperate Liberians have settled after fleeing fighting across the country.

The Flomos' story is tragically typical. When fighting between government troops and LURD rebels hit their village in Lofa County early this year, they fled to a camp near Gbarnga in Bong County. Because of severe food shortages and lack of services at the settlement, it was decided that the eldest daughter Fatu (a pseudonym) should join her uncle who was selling palm oil at a market in a nearby village.

Days after Fatu joined her relative, fresh violence consumed the area. The Flomo family fled toward Monrovia with thousands of other frightened Liberians. Fatu and her uncle sought refuge in the bush with other villagers. Two days later Fatu's group was attacked by a government militia. The little food they had was looted and Fatu and her 10-month-old boy were seized. For the next month Fatu was raped daily by three of the gunmen and periodically assaulted by several others. She was made to cook for them and wash their clothes and was beaten when she hesitated. Her terrifying ordeal finally came to an end when the gunmen were called to the front line by a commander. Fatu was left behind.

"Women and girls as young as six years old have been sexually abused by all sides in this conflict," says IRC program officer Gertrude Garway. "With nearly every attack and incident of looting we hear reports of rape. Whenever women and girls flee they are vulnerable to being stopped at gunpoint and dragged off. Men offer rice or cornmeal to desperate and hungry girls and then take advantage of them. It's happening every day in Liberia. And women and girls are increasingly vulnerable in displacement sites, where there is inadequate lighting and poor security."

Fatu eventually found her family at the national stadium in Monrovia. Withdrawn and traumatized from her experience, she rarely leaves the dank cave-like nook where her family is sheltering. But several weeks ago, her father learned about the IRC's program for survivors of rape and sexual abuse and sought the assistance of an IRC counselor. Fatu is now receiving much-needed psychosocial and medical attention.

"Most victims won't seek out help on their own," says Garway. "But our previous programming in this area has taught us that once survivors are aware that confidential counseling, health and protection services are available, the women and girls begin to come forward for assistance."

IRC counselors are currently working at five displaced person sites in Monrovia and are establishing emergency drop-in centers where women and girls receive support and can discuss what happened to them without any fear of stigmatization. In addition, the counselors are facilitating health care assistance, encouraging and assuring the confidential reporting of incidents, and preparing to lead sensitization and education workshops and campaigns in conjunction with other aid organizations, camp management and community leaders.

At the stadium today, the IRC sponsored a first meeting of humanitarian aid groups, camp managers, women's group representatives and the local police chief to focus on coordinating sexual abuse response and prevention activities.

The work ahead is daunting. The current goal is to strengthen emergency response systems-ensuring that trauma counseling is available, that health clinics are equipped with drugs to treat sexually transmitted diseases and that health workers have the capacity to address the special needs of victims.

As the IRC's emergency programs shift to the post emergency phase, the IRC will expand its education, sensitization and training work. "Protection needs to be woven into all rehabilitation sectors," says Wubeshet Woldemariam, the IRC country director in Liberia.

This would include orientations for local and regional authorities, community leaders, and police, military and peacekeepers, focusing on the magnitude of the problem, identification of victims, care of survivors, data collection, legal responses and accountability.

The IRC is advocating for greater international attention on this issue. "The psychological and physical wounds suffered by women and girls who have been attacked are no different than other war-wounds," says Garway. "Far greater resources are needed if we are to begin addressing this problem nationwide."

For more information, or to contact International Rescue Committee, see their website at: www.theirc.org