A Liberian Family Blames Their 8 yr. Old Daughter For Being The Victim Of A Gang Rape!

What has happened to a little 8 yr. old Liberian girl in Phoenix,Arizona is absolutely deplorable!She was gang-raped by 4 teenage boys at the apartment complex that she lives at.

As if that was not horrific enough,her parents have placed the blame for this awful incident squarely on her shoulders.Apparently,they feel that their daughter's rape brings shame to the family name.

Here's more on this incident from azcentral.com:

"The summer scene at a west Phoenix apartment complex was tranquil Wednesday evening. Parents and children chatted on their stoops as the sun set. They bought ice cream from a vendor's push cart.

One week ago, around the same time of day, residents of the complex were startled by the screams of a partially clothed 8-year-old girl who ran screaming from a storage shed at a vacant unit.

Phoenix police on Wednesday announced that they arrested four neighborhood boys in connection with the incident, in which investigators said the group lured the girl into the shed with chewing gum, held her down and sexually assaulted her.

Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill, a longtime public-information officer, described the case as "one of the worst crimes we have come across in Phoenix in quite some time," given the ages of the victim and the suspects, as well as the circumstances of the reported attack.

The girl and the four suspects are refugees from the war-torn West African country of Liberia, which, according to investigators, would complicate authenticating names and dates of birth.

Arizona Child Protective Services took custody of the girl after the July 16 incident at the apartment complex after her parents disowned her.

Hill said the parents blamed her for being victimized and bringing shame to the family."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.

Changing some Liberian's attitude toward rape is an ongoing process.There are some activists who are working diligently to do just that!Here's more info on what they doing about the extremely serious rape issue in Liberia from HULIQ:

"Chief prosecutor for the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia, Esther Seton Cee, says many rape victims and parents of rape victims are discouraged from reporting the crime because the overworked court system is slow to prosecute.

Cee says she believes the answer is to create a new court for rape cases.

"We have advocated for a specialized court that would be able to carry out judication faster. That is what we are waiting on," she said.

Cee says parents of rape victims often settle out of court for money with the accused rapist because they believe they are protecting their child from public embarrassment. She says this slows down and undermines the judicial process.

Cee says sensitizing parents to the true nature of rape could encourage them to push forward with prosecutions. Groups have used public awareness campaigns, including radio jingles, aiming to empower women, girls and families against sexual abuse.

"When the parents understand the nature of the crime that is involved, they will stop compromising," she said.

During the country's civil war many young girls and women were forcibly taken to act as cooks, cleaners and sex slaves for the fighters.

Liberia's rape law has been a focus point for President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who has said that no rapists would go unpunished. Human rights organizations say the ineffective implementation of the rape law reflects badly needed reform in the entire judicial system."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the whole article here.