Nairobi – Equality Now (www.equalitynow.org) calls on the African Commission on Africans and People's Rights to address the urgent and urgent African Union (AU) countries of sexual violence and exploitation of women and girls across the continent.
In a statement to the 83rd Committee this month, human rights groups urged the committee to emphasize the importance of the government on the need to provide compensation to survivors of sexual violence, to criminalize murder, to encourage efforts to end child marriages, and to strengthen laws to stop digital violence.
Equality now hopes the Commission will remind the state of its obligations under the Maputo Protocol on Women's Rights (http://apo-opa.co/4mnt56t).
Of the 55 member states, 45 have ratified or signed the protocol.
Deborah Nyokabi, currently an equal legal equality and gender policy expert, explains: “Women and girls in Africa endure violence in all forms, including rape, child marriage, murder, human trafficking, and digital abuse, but the legal system often fails to protect or realize justice.
Nyokabi added: “The African government must prioritize legal reforms, provide compensation to survivors, and bridge the protective gap to ensure that many women and girls become vulnerable and that they do not receive assistance when their rights are violated.
Compensation for sexual violence
According to a diagram released by UNICEF last year (http://apo-opa.co/4jctrky), more than 79 million girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa have been raped or sexually assaulted as children.
The region has the largest number of victims of child sexual violence in the world.
However, research by Equality found that survivors of sexual violence are denied justice.
In the report, “Barriers to Justice: Africa, Law, Practice, Access to Justice” (http://apo-opa.co/4moixj6), NGOs exposed key gaps in rape laws in 45 African countries.
In its statement, Equality now urged the Committee to urge Member States to urgently integrate the Niamey Guidelines on the Fighting Sexual Violence (http://apo-opa.co/4Jecste), adopted by the Committee in 2017, highlighting the government's obligation to provide repentance to survivors.
Criminalize crime
The NGO has called on the committee to plead the government to criminalize murder, the most extreme and brutal manifestation of violence against women.
The current report on Equality, “Gender inequality in African family law: an overview of key trends in certain countries” (http://apo-opa.co/3sjvkpy) revealed that the most devastating aspects of inequality within families are sexual and gender-based violence, including domestic violence, marital rape, economic violence, and industrial orders.
In 2023, an average of 140 women and girls were killed by partners or family members every day (http://apo-opa.co/3ffmoev).
Current and former intimate partners were the most likely perpetrators. But it's not enough to end the crisis or explain the criminals.
In South Africa, the National Murder Study (http://apo-opa.co/3hhhfeav) discovered that three women were killed a day by intimate partners in 2020/21.
Still, in 44% of cases, police were unable to identify the perpetrator.
In Kenya, 170 cases of murders (http://apo-opa.co/4kuovus) were reported in 2024.
The petition (http://apo-opa.co/4kuovus) requires the government to make murder a clear crime.
In Cameroon last month, Bekobe Eric, accused of killing his wife, Diane Yangwo, received a five-year suspension sentence and a fine of 52,000 CFA (approximately $90) (http://apo-opa.co/4mfd9n8).
The ruling was quickly condemned by women's rights advocates.
Earlier this year, the African Union took an important step towards dealing with the crisis by adopting the African Union Treaty to End Violence Against Women and Girls (http://apo-opa.co/4kupjck).
Equality now hopes that the committee will gain momentum and encourage the government to recognize and criminalize murder as a clear crime.
Protection of Sudan and DRC Rights
Equality is now urging the committee to encourage Sudan to ratify Maputo protocols to provide essential legal protections to women and girls.
Sudan is now in its third year of conflict, facing widespread destruction, significant civilian casualties and an unparalleled humanitarian crisis.
Women and girls are bearing the brunt of the Sudan war (http://apo-opa.co/434bmd9), with sexual violence being weaponized by both sides.
However, the destruction of healthcare infrastructure meant that there were insufficient medical and reproductive health services to support survivors of violence, which led to more unintended pregnancy, miscarriage and death of the mother.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where decades of conflict have significantly undermined health care services, an increase in maternal mortality has also been recorded.
The Committee should encourage both countries to integrate their sexual and reproductive health rights into a humanitarian response.
End the marriage of children
In a statement to the committee, Equality has now expressed deep concern with its ongoing proportion of child marriages across the continent.
Of the 20 countries with the highest prevalence rates, 14 are in Africa.
Child marriage is a serious human rights violation (http://apo-opa.co/3slkd3g).
Girls are often forced to drop out of school, limiting their chances of life, and are more likely to give birth at a younger age, poses serious health risks.
One reason why child marriages continue to be checked is because of weak legal protections that need to be addressed, Equality says.
All AU countries should raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 without exception and implement measures and programs to end child marriages in line with the recommendations made by the African Experts on Child Rights and Welfare in 2017 (http://apo-opa.co/4mpdrdo).
End sexual exploitation
The committee was also asked to encourage member states to deal with the surge in trafficking of women and girls across the continent.
The UNODC's global report on human trafficking (http://apo-opa.co/4kmq3yv) found that a third of cross-border trafficking is involved with Africans.
In sub-Saharan Africa, 98% of casualties were trafficked within the region, and 21% were trafficked due to sexual exploitation.
Approximately 42% of human trafficked victims in sub-Saharan Africa were girls.
Member States have enacted anti-trafficking laws and policies, but are not properly enforced.
Meanwhile, the systematic factors that make women and girls vulnerable to sexual exploitation have not been significantly addressed.
Additionally, digital spaces are becoming more dangerous for women and girls.
Online abuse, including sexual harassment and nonconsensual sharing of intimate images, is rising in parallel with increasing internet penetration.
Technology is increasingly being weaponized to attack women and girls, including female politicians, journalists and human rights advocates.
Digital violence is exacerbated by weak legal protections, underreporting, and limited ability for law enforcement to investigate technology-related crimes.
Equality said the government should implement and strengthen existing laws on online sexual exploitation and invest in digital safety initiatives in line with the recently adopted United Nations Global Digital Compact (http://apo-opa.co/4kxzb33).
