The brutal rape of a 5 year old girl by her uncle in Sierra Leone became the rallying point for a campaign that on Thursday pushed President Julius Maada Bio to declare the prevalence of sexual violence a national emergency.
Her identity has been kept secret for safety reasons. She is reported to have been paralysed from the waist down since a 28-year-old male relative raped her a year ago, crushing her spine.
Her grandmother has stated that the young girl might never walk again and she has called for blood. She continued saying that the man who has inflicted her with such a situation deserves to rot in jail.
Following months of campaigning by activists, the president declared a national emergency and said those convicted of sexual offences against minors would face life in prison.
The assault was one of many that have gone unpunished in Sierra Leone, where until now sexually-motivated crimes carried a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and few cases were successfully prosecuted. The president was quoted saying “One major reason rape victims get away with it is that some of our families practise a culture of silence and indifference towards sexual violence, leaving victims even more traumatised”.