Buchanan, Liberia - A nation-wide campaign against rape, jointly organised by the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the Government of Liberia has now been taken to the second largest city, Buchanan, with an urgent call on all Liberians to say, 'No To Rape'.

'If things are going to change in Liberia, it has to be the Liberians talking about it. It has to be responsible people in government and local administration taking ownership and dealing with it,' said UN Envoy, Ms. Ellen Margrethe Løj. 'It has to be young men and women, elders and community leaders, school teachers and every one working to prevent rape. Only then can we stop rape in Liberia.'

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Ms. Løj commended the leadership being shown by government and county officials in confronting the serious problem of rape, which is currently the single most frequently committed serious crime in Liberia.

Ms. Løj urged all Liberians not to keep quiet about rape but to ensure that rapists are brought to justice. She called on victims of rape and their families not to accept settlements or compromises with the rapists, because this could be a betrayal of the victim and lead to other girls and women being raped.

In her welcome comments, the County Superintendent, Ms. Julia Duncan-Cassell, stressed the need to assist and protect the girl child. 'Any of your daughters or nieces could become a president, an SRSG or a superintendent.' Announcing how a woman had been gang-raped in the county just a day before the launch of the anti-rape campaign, the superintendent pledged that rapists would be tracked down and prosecuted. She called on civil society organisations and religious bodies in the county to do more in highlighting the seriousness of rape as a crime. She ended by calling all the men present at the launch, to stand up, with hands raised up, and led them to repeat after her a pledge not to engage in or facilitate rape.

Liberia's Minister for Information, Culture and Tourism, Rev. Dr. Laurence Bropleh, caught the gathering spellbound with a moving true story of a childhood friend, 'Mary', whose dreams were shattered because she was raped by someone she called 'father'. 'Mary's dreams were shattered, her hopes were broken, her spirit was defiled and her body was violated,' Dr. Bropleh observed, adding that the dreams of young girls and women in today's Liberia must not be crushed, like Mary's. Turning to the young women and girls of Liberia, he added, 'Don't let anyone tell you that you cannot accomplish your dreams. Your hopes and dreams, we – the men – must not destroy.' The Minister urged all men in Liberia to treat girls and women in a civilized manner, with respect.

Assistant Minister of Gender, Ms. Patricia Kamara, gave shocking statistics revealing that of the 196 rape cases reported in Liberia in the first two months of this year, 17 of the victims were infants of five years and below. She stressed the importance of education in preventing and stamping out rape and other forms of gender-based violence from the Liberian society.

Present at the launching ceremony were the National Chairman of the Community Policing Forum, I-Nyenati Kafe, Miss Liberia, Bendu Paker, UNMIL officials and Grand Bassa County leaders.

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