The President of the National Tribal Governors of Liberia has committed all 32 members of the Tribal Governors of Liberia from the 15 counties of Liberia toward the fight against sexual gender based violence (rape) and harmful practices.
On July 8, 2020, at the office of the Tribal Council office, located in Old Housing Banking, Waterside, a one-day stakeholder dialogue meeting was held with 32 members of the Tribal Council under the EU/UN Spotlight Initiative.
Speaking on behalf of the council, Musu K. Thompson, President, said, “We the Tribal Governors of Liberia, in the wake of the COVID-19 we have received many cases of rape and other harmful practices that are damaging our women and girls. We, as Tribal Governors of Liberia, the owners of the land, will not sit and keep allowing this to continue in Liberia, we will not keep our mouths closed anymore. The issues of rape, murder, and other harmful practices taking place in Liberia are wrong and need to stop; we, the women, and our daughters are mostly victims.
“We are prepared to work along with He For She Crusaders Liberia and other NGOs under the Spotlight Initiative to ensure that we end all forms of violence against women and girls. All we the tribal governors want is respect; since the respect is now given us, we will work together in this fight against rape and FGM while we promote the discussion around sexual reproductive health and right (‘Let our girls decide who they want to marry and the children to bear’).”
Speaking earlier, Tamba Forkpah Jedidiah Johnson, Founder and National Coordinator of He For She Crusaders, informed the gathering that under Pillar 3 of the EU/UN Spotlight Initiative, partnering with tribal leaders such as the National Tribal Governors Council of Liberia is key to the prevention of all for violence against women and girls (VAWG).
This partnership, according to him, will enhance the encouraging and involving males to take the lead as key actors in the communities in ending SGBV, FGM and promoting sexual reproductive health rights discussion with their peers. Johnson added that the Ministry of Justice has recorder over 600 violence cases since March of 2020, while in June alone there are reports of over 192 rape cases, with 7 deaths, of women in Liberia.
“I am shocked by the action of men who keep raping and murdering women and girls in Liberia. This is not unique of Liberian men; we are noted for being loving men that promote and protect our daughters, wives and mothers. Why are we killing and destroying them NOW? For me, Now is the time for all Liberian men to act now and end all forms of violence against women and girls in the wake of COVID-19 and beyond within our communities.
“Finally, I am calling on the Government of Liberia (GOL) to ensure that Criminal Court “E” is equipped with more lawyers to speed up hearing on cases of rape and other domestic violence cases in Liberia. We are thankful to the EU/UN Spotlight for the support.”