In 2015, Somali Police Force and Women activists in Somalia came up with Ceebla Somali word for “no shame” – a crisis hotline for victims of sexual abuse in Mogadishu. This was hailed as a major step, one that would facilitate timely reporting and response to cases of abuse.
But culture and tradition has denied justice to most victims of gender based violence in Somalia -in other parts of the country – traditional elders adjudicate such cases. This has worried many Somalia’s Women and Human Rights Minister Zahra Samatar says this remains a major challenge for both Somali women and her ministry.
“Addressing rape in a traditional setup undermines justice. The rape victim in such a setup is never guaranteed justice. As a government – we are creating laws to fight such evil practices. It will be a huge challenge but our mission is to eradicate rape from the society and punish all those who commit this crime”. Said Zahra Samatar, Minister of Women And Human Rights
For years now, vulnerable women mainly from camps such as this in Mogadishu have become increasingly vulnerable to sexual violence. But the survivors are not comfortable reporting their cases due to fear of stigma from the society.
Female police officers are undergoing training in Mogadishu. They will be deployed in police stations across the capital specifically to tackle cases related to gender based violence. Not an immediate solution to ending such cases but authorities here feel that this will give courage to Somali women to come forward and report abuses against them.
“A police unit has been formed specifically to address gender-based violence. This is a very important step for Somali women. In each and every police station we have competent, well-trained female police officers that are tasked with dealing with such cases. Women have also taken up positions in the justice system – this will make women come forward and report crime against them”. said Zahra
But for the vulnerable women still living camps for the displaced across the country, a permanent solution is what they seek and an end to sexual and gender based violence.
