Learning from our children

Last week, an 8-year-old girl was lured to a storage shed with the promise of chewing gum and candy. Upon entering the shed, she was pinned down and sexually assaulted by four boys, none of them older than 14. It is a crime that has shocked a community.

Equally as shocking, though, was the response from the girl's family. “The parents felt that they had been shamed or embarrassed by their child,” reported Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill. As a result, the girl was taken into custody by Arizona's child welfare agency. The prosecutor who is charging four boys with the crime described the situation as “heartrending” and “deeply disturbing.” But to those familiar with Liberia, the west African nation where the families of all of the children are from, the crime and response are both part of a sadly familiar story.

“It's something that happens every day in every community in Liberia,” explained a researcher for a human rights group. The country was racked by a brutal civil war for most of 14 years. During that time, rape was used by fighters on all sides as a tool of war and a way to spread terror and demoralize enemies. A United Nations’ report estimated that as a result of the war, 60 to 70 percent of all women in the nation had been the victims of sexual violence.

“Because of the war, the social structure in Liberia, like any other war country, was destroyed,” one survivor explained. “Once the proper institutions have been put back into place, we will see more parents coming out and saying they are not ashamed.”

It cannot happen too soon.