NEWS
Rape laws tightened in Liberia, 2 December 2005

The bill seeking to bring perpetrators of rape to justice has been passed by the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA), but a motion for reconsideration has been filed by one of the lawmakers.

The motion for reconsideration was filed by Rep. Nelson Wah Barh minutes after the assembly in plenary had taken a unanimous vote to have the bill passed with all of its amendments taken into consideration.

Rep. Barh contended that the motion was filed because the amendments were not attached. He also said the bill did not receive any other reading on which its passage should constitute.

It is not yet known when Rep. Barh's motion will be written and submitted to form part of the plenary agenda items for further deliberation and passage in its totality, thus laying the rape bill issue to rest. But according to the assembly's own sitting rule 22, a motion for reconsideration can be filed not later than two days sitting of the assembly in regular session.

The rape bill was however submitted to the NTLA since July of this year by the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) seeking a 10-year imprisonment or death penalty for perpetrators of such heinous crime in the country.

The bill entitled, 'an Act to amend the New Penal Code chapter 14 section 14.70 and 14.71 sought to repeal and replace offences of gang rape.

The legislation replaced the grade or sentence of gang rape terming it as a first degree felony which is a non-bailable offense, and that its maximum sentence shall be death or life imprisonment.

For gross sexual imposition law offense, the grade and sentence for such offense shall be a third degree felony and a maximum sentence shall be 10 years. The Act provides that all such trials as under sections 14.70 and 14.71 shall be heard in camera though cases of such nature are jury cases.

After a public debate conducted by the NTLA's two committees on Judiciary and Gender headed by Rep. Francis Garlawolo and Ruth Caesar respectively, report from that joint committee was submitted to plenary for deliberation and subsequent passage.

But since two weeks ago, the plenary in its deliberation on the issue, opposed to the passage of the bill on grounds that some clauses within the Act were intended to entrap men.

The male-dominated assembly argued that in fact it is unimaginable that a husband could rape his own wife when both have vowed through marriage that 'for better or for worse', adding, 'when we both are in bed whatever happens could be her worse and my better.' The assembly said, as for the 10-year jail sentence, it is another name for divorce, noting that if a man goes to jail for 10 years on charge of rape by his wife, it is clear that before he is freed, his wife might have already remarried.

For a woman raping a man, the legislators said until it is proven through a victim, that clause should not even be mentioned in the bill.

However, AFELL, the Ministry of Gender and other sponsors seeking to have the bill passed into law, seeing the need to urgently pass the bill since the crime was being meted on the innocent on a daily basis in the country, further amended it thereby removing and reducing some of the charges. For the 10-year jail sentence, it was reduced to seven years while the death sentence and marital clause were removed from the Act. Rape, a second degree felony, poses threats not only to the physical and psychological well being of its victims, but also to the rule of law.

The Act is a drive that seeks to affect the population of the society and not just about gender, therefore the acting deputy Speaker David Gbala along with some other legislators have vowed to have the bill passed into law soon. ……………………………………………………………………..

Rape is Now Illegal in Liberia, Punishable By Life in Prison
FrontPageAfrica (Monrovia)
December 1, 2005
By John Walsh

The National Transitional Legislative Assembly today passed a law making rape a felony of the first degree crime in Liberia, punishable by life imprisonment.
The Bill also states that where the victim is 18 years or above, the offense is a second degree felony. The Bill seeks a seven-year imprisonment for violators. It however, states that considering the severity of the case, the court could treat it as a felony of first degree. The assembly passed the Rape Bill today.
Concerns over rape incidents have skyrocketed since the end of the civil war in Liberia in 1989 and follows a consistent plea by Amnesty International that the perpetrators of widespread and systematic rape during Liberia's civil war must be brought to justice. "Thousands of women and girls have suffered rape and other forms of sexual violence, yet, more than a year on from the signing of a peace agreement, no one has been prosecuted and it remains unclear if, how and when those responsible will ever face justice. This impunity is a disgraceful betrayal of the victims of what are crimes against humanity and war crimes," Amnesty International said.
In a report issued in 1994, titled: Liberia: No impunity for rape - a crime against humanity and a war crime, the human rights group, describes through harrowing testimonies the sexual violence which is believed to have affected around two-thirds of the population. The report also shows the physical, psychological and social consequences of such violence. "Lasting peace will not be achieved in Liberia unless those responsible for crimes under international law are held criminally responsible, truth is established and victims obtain full reparations," Amnesty International said.

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