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I found this article on www.unmultimedia.org. Since the end of the civil war in Liberia, authorities have been concerned with the high rates of rape and domestic violence. To better handle this crisis police were retrained and re-equiped to combat the issue. New and tougher sentences were issued to rape offenders as well. Among these new efforts, a grass roots womens activist group (The Concerned Women of Ganta) emerged.
The group's spokesperson, Yaa Gee Pee, said that the group got its start by women just coming together to comfort each other after the horrible experiences of the civil war. The group was started because after the war there was no one to help the women. As a way for the group to support themselves, they started farming cassava. According to Musuka Darbin, one of the groups founders, "We decided to make a farm to empower the women". Eventually their membership grew to over 500 members and was spread out among 11 communities in Nimba. Even though it is a womens group men have joined the group as well.
The Concerned Women of Ganta are backed by UNIFEM and the International Rescue Committee. The womens group was able to receive proffessional training from these groups in rape counseling. As the group grew in its success they turned their efforts to focus on sexual and gender based violence as well. Now women in Nimba have a place to go if they become victims of domestic violence or rape.
The group is also working on persuading their communities that rape cases should be prosecuted in courts and that the perpetrators should be punished according to law. The reason why is usually in Liberia when a woman is raped it is viewed as a domestic issue that is simply to be resolved between the victims family and the perpetrators family.
It is also evident that the justice system continues to discriminate against rape victims as well. When the victim goes to court there are large fees to paid. The perpetrator will be transfered to jail, however if the victim does not find a lawyer to fight the case within 3 to 5 days, the perpetrator will be set free back in to the community.
The Concerned Women of Ganta continue to fight and make progress in their communities and continue to persue justice.
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