The Scourge of Sexual Volence in West Africa, Unveiled TC_Africa: Africa
, a 17-year old in Burkina Faso who was forced into marrying a 65-year-old trader who hits and rapes her every night."He was the son of my uncle's friend whom I knew and considered my family. And yet when I was 14, he defiled me; he raped me. The pain of this rape had not finished consuming me until I found out that I was pregnant by this man."
Age is an essential factor in sexual violence in West Africa. Many, like Lucy, experience their first acts of sexual violence when they're very young. Almost everywhere in the region, more than 60% of female victims of sexual violence report having experienced the first acts of such violence before the age of 21 .
Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone have the highest proportion of women who first experienced sexual violence at a very early age . The figures are around 18% in Nigeria, 16% in Benin and 13% in Togo, Mali and Ghana, respectively. In Senegal and Mauritania, on the other hand, this precocity is less pronounced .The vast majority of sexual violence against women in West Africa takes place within couples. On average, nearly 60% of victims named the husband or current spouse as the perpetrator .
To a much a lesser extent, other perpetrators of sexual violence reported by women in West Africa also include relatives, friends, acquaintances or strangers.Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox