Ethiopia: Protecting Women From Sex Offenders

April 17, 2024 Hour: 10:19 pm

The Ethiopian government is developing a sexual violence registration system to prevent and respond to sexual violence against women and children.

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According to the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, 10% of women aged 15-49 have experienced sexual violence and 23% physical violence with just about one-quarter of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence seeking help.

With this new development, sex offenders will be held accountable even after they have served their sentences. The system will also exclude registered sex offenders from working in schools, orphanages, and other children’s institutions.

The system will be developed with approximately 10 million birr ($176,000) from various institutions, and it is planned to include three types of pages, one of which will be public.

According to women’s rights and protection executive in the Ethiopian Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, when the register is operational, it will exclude registered sex offenders from working in schools, orphanages and other children’s institutions.

The consultations took place in Bahirdar, Bishoftu & Mekele with women from WROs, women advocates, feminist groups, female media professionals, academia &survivors of conflict-related sexual violence many of whom had undergone rehabilitation &reintegrated into their communities.

— UN Women Ethiopia (@unwomenethiopia)
April 17, 2024

Conflict-related sexual violence has always been an invisible and ignored crime, widely regarded as inevitable collateral damage to war. Since the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820, the use of sexual violence has been recognized as a method of warfare. These acts may constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, or an act constituting the crime of genocide.

Africa has been the continent that more women suffer from this situation, both in war and peace time.

Countries like Sudan where women’s raping has become part of this conflict that started on April 15, 2024. Many women and children were subjected to sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, and attempted rape, both in Khartoum and the far west Darfur.