A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

women. The U.N. Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of
Violations of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, resolutions of the International Committee of
the Red Cross, the Convention on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and the Declaration on
the Elimination of Violence against Women provide a guiding framework for the effective promotion
and protection of the human rights of victims of sexual violence. The Advocates recommends the
following:
• The Government of Liberia should evaluate current programs and establish new programs
as needed to provide victims of conflict with medical, psychological, and social assistance
by qualified personnel aware of and trained in the specific issues involved. 32 Such assistance
can include rehabilitation, assistance in child care and maintenance, treatment, counseling,
and health and social services facilities and programs, as well as support structures, and
all other appropriate measures to promote victims’ safety and physical and psychological
rehabilitation. 33
• The Government of Liberia should give special attention to the health needs and rights
of women in vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, such as migrant women, refugee and
internally displaced women, girl children and older women, women in prostitution, indigenous
women, and women with physical or mental disabilities. 34
• The Government of Liberia should promote the availability of and access to reproductive
health clinics to diagnose and treat sexually transmitted infections and to provide counseling
for victims of sexual violence. 35
Potential Implementation Strategy: Working with Communities to Support Victims of Sexual Violence
In Sierra Leone, the non-governmental organization Christian Children’s Fund (i) analyzed the general
situation of girl victims of sexual violence in ten villages, ii) assessed the availability of resources for
victims to recover and reintegrate, and (iii) used focus groups to determine the scope of rape and
abduction as perpetrated against village girls. 36 The Christian Children’s Fund developed the “Sealing
the Past, Facing the Future” program, which had the following three main objectives: (1) reduce stress
and enable psychosocial recovery; (2) promote community awareness of the impact of sexual violence
on young girls and to change community attitudes and behaviors about sexually abused girls; and (3)
provide opportunities for the economic development of female ex-combatants. 37 Examples of some
of the components of the “Sealing the Past, Facing the Future” program include: (1) the creation of a
“purification” ritual for sexually abused girls that was based on local practices and which apparently
reduced social isolation and enabled girls to reintegrate into the local community; (2) the involvement
of local leaders on sexual violence committees, which conducted activities such as coordinating regular
meetings to discuss consequences of sexual violence and to establish rules to protect girls from physical
and verbal abuse (and to work with the “chief” to levy fines for violations of such rules); and (3) the
implementation of bi-weekly recreational activities that coach the girls on interpersonal skills with the
overall aim of their re-integration into society. 38 According to the Christian Children’s Fund website, this
program “has successfully reduced stigma, and four out of five girls who worked with [the Christian
Children’s Fund] have been returned to and been accepted by their families.” 39
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Chapter Fourteen