Liberia Tackles Sexual Violence Head On
Rape continues to be the most frequently reported serious crime in Liberia. A new multipronged approach is underway to reduce sexual and gender-based violence.
Liberia
Latest in Liberia
Lap-Band Complications Could Tie Up Nation’s E.R.
The FDA’s recent expansion of gastric-banding weight-loss surgery to millions more Americans could burden the nation’s E.R. with complications that patients discuss in online forums, such as vomiting and abdominal pain. The third of three stories.
Liberia Innovates to Save Lives of New Moms
Liberia’s high rate of maternal mortality is partly due to the long distances women must travel to reach clinics. A project closes that gap by building “maternity waiting homes” near these facilities. The first one opens its doors this week.
U.S. Students Design Ultrasound for Ugandan Midwives
A low-cost ultrasound system is on its way to Uganda in early summer. Produced by students at the University of Washington, it’s intended to help midwives battle the high death rate in the country’s rural areas.
Rape Victims’ Privacy is Matter of Law, Not Shame
Rape victims’ right to anonymity has surfaced in the case of Julian Assange, with two leading exponents of women’s rights taking different sides. Wendy Murphy says both arguments miss the main point: protecting a rape victim’s constitutional right to privacy.
Liberian Radio Station Gives Women the Controls
A new radio station in Liberia airs national broadcasts about women’s interests and needs. It also grooms female journalists, a tall order in a country where 14 years of civil war have left women’s literacy levels lagging far behind.
Liberia Stresses Need for Female Peacemakers
Officials and activists from around the world gathered in Monrovia, Liberia, last weekend to push for more female peace negotiators. Women may not start wars, but, participants said, they were often uniquely qualified to help end them.
President’s Fund Repays Liberia’s Market Women
The Sirleaf Market Women’s Fund raises money for the dilapidated market places around the country that employ most of the women and function as multi-purpose social service centers.
In Ghana, Liberian Protesters Fear Deportation
Liberian refugees in Ghana, mostly women, protested in hopes the U.N. would help them find new homes in Western countries. Now they are in a makeshift camp, fearing mass deportation to a homeland with an 85 percent jobless rate.
