Last December, Senegal passed a bill that criminalises rape and paedophilia after active campaigns by civil society, particularly organizations advocating for women’s rights. Two weeks ago, on Friday, January 10, 2020, the bill was adopted into law with a maximum punishment of life imprisonment for perpetrators and 10-year imprisonment as a minimum sentence.
The new law is aimed at tightening the noose on sexual violence against women and children. Before now, rape was only considered a minor offence in Senegal with offenders getting little to no punishment. However, the massive campaign that followed the rape and murder of two women early last year propelled the government into drafting the newly adopted law.
Amina J Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, applauded the adoption of the new law, saying that it “gets the world closer to ending all forms of gender-based violence.”
While this is certainly a commendable move by the Senegalese government, the success and impact of the law lie in the effective implementation of it. Senegal is party to several international conventions that advocates the protection of women and children’s rights. The country’s constitution also specifically provides laws opposing violence against vulnerable groups and guarantees equality between men and women.
But in spite of these laws, women and children continue to experience sexual assault and violence due to the country’s weak legal system. Offenders are rarely brought to trial, and in cases where they are, they are not issued adequate punishment. News media, Devdiscourse reports that over 700 girls and women were raped in Senegal between 2017 and 2018 and 14 women killed as a result of rape in 2019, according to statistics presented by Senegalese social venture, Committee to Combat Violence Against Women and Children (CLVF).
It also doesn’t help that there is a culture of silence owing to socio-cultural constraints and a flawed logic that aggrandizes women’s ability to endure violence. Fortunately, with the support of social ventures tackling gender-based violence in Senegal, things are changing with more women speaking up about the sexual crimes committed against them with the hashtag #Nopiwouma, meaning “I will not shut up”.
Beyond adopting new laws, the Senegalese government and judiciary need to demonstrate adequate political commitment by developing an effective legal framework for their implementation and also create safe spaces for women to speak up; the latter can easily be achieved by partnering with existing social ventures like CLVF.
