A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

here with my children and step-children; five children of my own and four
step-children. I am also catering to six of my grandchildren. 270
Some women reported being forced by extreme poverty into prostitution. One woman whose parents
were each killed during the war said that to make a living she worked in domestic labor and in sex
work. She became pregnant as a result of her work in prostitution and had a son who lives with her in
the camp. She stated, “life at the Buduburum Camp is very difficult; my son and I barely survive.” 271
Violence against women is a serious problem in Buduburam. Many statement givers recounted
incidents of rape and domestic violence. In one case, a woman who was raped as a child during the
war was raped again in the camp:
The rebels raped my mother and me when I was six years old…We were
helped by ordinary civilians to get to Ivory Coast where we stayed for five
years. My mother sold produce to provide medical care for the infections
I had. Then we went to Ghana. The abusers were in the camp. I was once
attacked by the same group who had raped me in Liberia. My mother advised
me not to bother with the rapist so I decided to put the first rape behind
me. 272
Then I was raped again in Ghana by a teacher. I passed out after the rape.
I reported the rape to the Ghanaian police. The teacher has since been
released and blames me for bringing disgrace upon him. My mother and I
are still in Ghana. We fear for our lives because the rapists are on the camp.
These people are dangerous and could harm us any time with impunity. 273
Some statement givers describe receiving no assistance from police when they reported crimes. Others
reported that it would be futile to even attempt to make a report to the police. One woman reported
how boys wearing masks raped her in Buduburam, where she was living alone. She stated the reason
she did not report the incident to the police is because she has no family with her in Ghana. 274 Another
Liberian woman summarized:
[T]he camp is difficult for single mothers. It is not safe. When their children
are beaten they can’t protect them; some children have been killed, some
men kill their wives and there are rapes, but the police do not respond. 275
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