Women to prosecute rapists

Expanded powers have been granted to female attorneys in Liberia to prosecute rape cases, following pressure by lawyers and women’s rights groups who argued that assaults on women were going unpunished. The state retains the authority to prosecute all criminal cases in the country, but the Justice Ministry empowered the Association of Female Lawyers in Liberia (AFELL) to work with state lawyers in prosecuting rape cases. “We have been having a lot of rape cases here, so we saw it was necessary to prosecute the assailants,” Elizabeth Boyenneh, a lawyer and president of AFELL, told IRIN on Monday. She said the group was handling four cases, including one involving the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl. Many people, however, are too ashamed to come forward to report rapes and an increasing number of attacks appear to be perpetrated against children, she said. AFELL’s clinic offers free legal services to victims of sexual and gender-based violence. The association is campaigning for a bill that would give equal inheritance and property rights to women in Liberia. The group played a role in the installation of the first juvenile court in the capital, Monrovia.