Liberia…How She Has Touched Me

On February 10^th I left the US, amidst the strife around Chris Brown’s attack on Rihana and resulting heightened awareness in our communities around domestic violence, to go to Liberia to also deal with the issue of violence against women and girls in communities there. 

Arriving in Liberia I was filled with a great sense of excitement, intrigue, and a small dose of trepidation. I was excited because I’ve never been to Liberia and was going there to work on an issue close to my heart, access to justice for survivors of violence. I was intrigued because I knew little about Liberia’s history and was glad that I would be there in circumstances where I was assured of broadening my knowledge.  I felt trepidation of what that increased understanding would bring because I had a beginner’s awareness of the role of formerly enslaved black Americans in the colonization of Liberia…and almost didn’t want to know more, but felt compelled to enlighten myself. Burying my head in the sand wouldn’t obliterate history and it was important for me to understand and consider how I might be able to do my own small bit of reparations.

I spent two weeks meeting with women’s groups, interviewing public officials, non profits, and the general public, all with the aim of gaining an understanding of the dynamics surrounding women and girls and identifying the barriers to justice for sexual gender based violence.

What I learned was in turns sobering, overwhelming, and inspiring, with the heaviest dose being in the “overwhelming” category.

I met an elder woman who said only young girls “around 10 years or so” could be raped, not married women because “they’re supposed to be in love” and not adult women in general because “they are supposed to be big people and can take care of themselves”. This sentiment was echoed by others in the focus group and met with no opposition. I met a reverend who counseled men not to beat their wives, “especially in public or in front off children” and who also counseled men that “if you want to punish your wives, what you must do is ignore her. That will teach her the lesson just as well.”

I also met Lucia of the Association of Women with Disabilities and the Liberian Women’s Empowerment Network, who is a journalist with the Liberia National Broadcasting Company and serves on the Access to Justice Working Group. Like us, she took the 10 hour journey from her home in the capital city of Monrovia to Grand Gedeh and, to save her per diem funds, she slept on a mattress on the office floor of ActionAid.  Lucia put her heart and soul into meeting with the community members as part of our joint research efforts.  “This work is so important and I enjoy it so much. I would quit my job and do it full time!” she stated with passionate zeal.  I also met Patricia who also a working group member and part of the Women Won’t Wait Coalition of Liberia, and is member of the HIV positive women’s network. Patricia was throwing up for the first 3 days of the trip and even had to visit the hospital at one point, but managed to rally at the end and facilitate a robust focus group discussion with Episcopalian parishioners after church. “I am sorry that I was not able to join you at the beginning, but I want to make it up on this last day,” she said as she sheepishly joined our last day’s morning briefing.

I learned that there is a plethora of barriers to accessing justice for women and girls who survive violence. The barriers are structural, societal, cultural, economic, familial….the list goes on.

We learned that in many communities traditional law prevails and that if a person is accused of rape, his penalty is to cook a goat for the chief and he is considered to have paid his dues for the crime. Though the girl/woman is subsequently stigmatized, the perpetrator typically faces no residual censure in the community. Often, we heard, the perpetrator is a member of the family. Thus family members won’t prosecute out of sympathy/loyalty for the family member, or because that person is a breadwinner and to prosecute him would mean loss of the income for the family. We also heard that often women/girls are blamed for inciting sexual violence through dressing provocatively or other violence by refusing to act out the responsibilities of their role in the home.

We learned that there are many policies in place and there is a gender based violence task force and action plan at the national level. However, the gender coordinator’s office at the county level is largely unfunded.

There are communities in Grand Gedeh where there is no public transportation and thus the residents in the farthest community are a 12 hour work from the nearest law enforcement official and the nearest health professional/facility.  

We learned that the perception is that going to court is a waste of time if the survivor is not as financially endowed as the perpetrator.   We learned that even if cases make it to court, there is no attorney for survivors of violence in the country of Grand Gedeh. The person who serves in this role is a former police officer who is not trained in litigation.

We also learned that though rates of women and girls who experience violence top 50%, neither school nor hospital personnel have received any training in handling /addressing sexual gender based violence. 

At the end of our time in Grand Gedeh, in a debriefing conversation we remarked on how very much there is to be done. The project manager said, “This isn’t a three year project. This is a 50 year project!” So true. I found inspiration in working with the valiant and committed women and men of the Women Won’t Wait Coalition and the Access to Justice Project Working Group. In spite of the daunting task before them, they are determined and have the fortitude to stay the course on this arduous and multi-nuanced challenge of prevention and mitigation of violence against women and girls.

As my last day in Liberia dawned, we were all reminded of the strength of tradition and mysticism. The night before, word spread like wildfire that someone had received a prophecy that if each person did not arise at 3am and draw water, the water would “run red with blood for three days and all would die” Sure enough, at 3am a large swath of the population of Monrovia were up drawing water and it was all over the news on the morning of my departure. It brought home the fact that as much as we might focus on policy, infrastructure, and even public awareness/sensitization, there is a very tough hurdle to overcome in the deeply woven roots of tradition, roots that provide resilience and strength in the bonds of community, as well as well entrenched barriers to empowerment of women and girls, as well as access to justice. One key is to also still ensure that policies, infrastructure and community awareness and sensitization are also in place so that measures are established for prevention and mitigation and the safety net for women of girls is there, even as addressing traditional and cultural barriers may come a bit more slowly.

I returned home and learned that though many details have emerged that shed light on the extent of the assault and resulting injuries, Rihana is not pressing charges against Chris Brown and that, supposedly, they have reconciled.  Controversy was rife. Many were blaming Rihana with a string of accusations, others, some with their own histories as perpetrators of abuse, were coming out in support and encouragement of Chris Brown, still others were profiling this situation as a case in point to organize and address the issues of misogyny and need to work on violence against women and girls in our communities, etc.

Culture, relationship dynamics, and barriers to access to justice transcend geographic boundaries. A reflection of my learning regarding the history around formerly enslaved black Americans playing a significant role in the colonization of Liberia will have to wait for another blog entry. However, what is clear to me that there is more that unites us as women of color in the US and women of Liberia, than divides us and we should come together to share strategies on overcoming cultural and other barriers to empowerment and justice, as well as joint action on global policies and politics (economic crisis, climate change, structural adjustment programs, etc) that negatively impact our lives, especially as women of color, regardless of locale.