65% of Liberia rape victims in 2013 were children

Two-thirds of those raped in Liberia in 2013 were children, the government of the West African country says.

The Liberian Ministry of Gender and Development said in a statement on Tuesday that 65 percent of the 1,002 rape cases reported last year were between three and 14, AFP reported.

The statement also revealed that ten under-14 children also died by injuries after being raped.

“As a result of rape, 10 children from eight counties between the ages of three and 14 died during the year 2013. In some of the cases the perpetrators are still at large,” said the ministry.

According to the report, only 49 rapists were convicted out of the137 rape cases that came to court last year.

“Parents are compromising the cases because mostly the perpetrators are relatives or friends. We can say that the figure could be at least three times this if parents were not compromising,” the ministry said.

In an annual televised address late on Monday, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said child rape was one of the country’s “biggest challenges” and “a growing concern.”

“It is shameful that this continues to mar the image of our country,” said the Liberian president.

“I chaired a meeting of women leaders… who are working on a program that will call on religious, traditional and community leaders, parents, teachers, women and youth groups to become agents of change and commit to take action to prevent sexual violence, as this is everyone’s responsibility,” she added.