Somali woman who reported rape sentenced.
Nineteen-year-old will be confined to home for six months and journalists who reported the story are to go to jail.
A Somali court has sentenced to jail a woman who said she was raped and two journalists who reported her story.
The court passed the verdict on Monday in the capital Mogadishu, saying the journalists were guilty of defamation and insulting state institutions.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/afric...rted-rape-sentenced--2013129133153914393.html
Rape Victims in Somalia Sentenced to Jail
This case is not the first of a rape victim being jailed for making an accusation of rape in Somalia, not even the first this year.
In February, a rape survivor made a statement to a Somali journalist about being raped, and were, soon after, both sentenced to a year in jail for “offending state institutions.”
Al-Shabaab, claiming to be a “defender of pure Islam” but considered by many western countries to be a terrorist group, takes women and girls as prizes during their militant missions in southern Somalia. The UN reports that Al-Shabaab gang rapes and abuses women and uses them as sexual slaves in order to “boost morale” in their fight for control. Girls as young as 12 are raped and left incontinent with torn genitals, and if the girl refuses to be taken by the militants, she can be stoned to death, says a former commander of Al-Shabaab.
But the problem of rape is not just among the ranks of Al-Shabaab. Aid workers report that Somalia has become a “free-or-all” of sexual assault, rape and abuse against women left vulnerable by famine-induced displacement.
Somalia is a deeply conservative country, with most women illiterate and kept in the home. Furthermore, 98% of girls are subject to genital mutilation.
Because of this environment, the director of the Somali organization Elman Peace and Human Rights Center, Fartuun Adan states, “You have no idea how difficult it is for [rape survivors]to come forward. There is no justice here, no protection. People say, ‘You’re junk’ if you’ve been raped.”
Popular SKY FM presenter, Mohamed Mohamud Dahir echoes this sentiment, stating “The consequences for the victim after she goes public can also be life-changing. If you interview her and people know who the victim is, she will be stigmatized and may never find a husband – or she may even be disowned by the society.”
With victims and journalists fearful of retribution if they come forward in a sexually conservative culture, it is likely that survivors of sexual abuse and violence will continue to suffer in silence.
http://www.borgenmagazine.com/rape-victims-somalia-sentenced-jail/
Rape in Somalia: Women and ‘Double Victimisation’
http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/rape-somalia-women-double-victimisation/
Nineteen-year-old will be confined to home for six months and journalists who reported the story are to go to jail.
A Somali court has sentenced to jail a woman who said she was raped and two journalists who reported her story.
The court passed the verdict on Monday in the capital Mogadishu, saying the journalists were guilty of defamation and insulting state institutions.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/afric...rted-rape-sentenced--2013129133153914393.html
Rape Victims in Somalia Sentenced to Jail
This case is not the first of a rape victim being jailed for making an accusation of rape in Somalia, not even the first this year.
In February, a rape survivor made a statement to a Somali journalist about being raped, and were, soon after, both sentenced to a year in jail for “offending state institutions.”
Al-Shabaab, claiming to be a “defender of pure Islam” but considered by many western countries to be a terrorist group, takes women and girls as prizes during their militant missions in southern Somalia. The UN reports that Al-Shabaab gang rapes and abuses women and uses them as sexual slaves in order to “boost morale” in their fight for control. Girls as young as 12 are raped and left incontinent with torn genitals, and if the girl refuses to be taken by the militants, she can be stoned to death, says a former commander of Al-Shabaab.
But the problem of rape is not just among the ranks of Al-Shabaab. Aid workers report that Somalia has become a “free-or-all” of sexual assault, rape and abuse against women left vulnerable by famine-induced displacement.
Somalia is a deeply conservative country, with most women illiterate and kept in the home. Furthermore, 98% of girls are subject to genital mutilation.
Because of this environment, the director of the Somali organization Elman Peace and Human Rights Center, Fartuun Adan states, “You have no idea how difficult it is for [rape survivors]to come forward. There is no justice here, no protection. People say, ‘You’re junk’ if you’ve been raped.”
Popular SKY FM presenter, Mohamed Mohamud Dahir echoes this sentiment, stating “The consequences for the victim after she goes public can also be life-changing. If you interview her and people know who the victim is, she will be stigmatized and may never find a husband – or she may even be disowned by the society.”
With victims and journalists fearful of retribution if they come forward in a sexually conservative culture, it is likely that survivors of sexual abuse and violence will continue to suffer in silence.
http://www.borgenmagazine.com/rape-victims-somalia-sentenced-jail/
Rape in Somalia: Women and ‘Double Victimisation’
http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/rape-somalia-women-double-victimisation/