Liberian President George Weah has declared rape a national emergency and has ordered new measures to tackle the problem after a recent spike of cases in the poor West African state.
The moves comes after thousands of Liberians protested rising incidents of rape in the capital Monrovia last month, in a bid to draw attention to the country’s alarming rate of sexual assault.
Late on Friday, Weah said he would install a special prosecutor for rape in Liberia, as well as set up a national sex offender registry, a statement from his office said.
The government will also establish a so-called “national security task force” on sexual- and gender-based violence.
The high rates of rape Liberia, forced to contend both with war and the Ebola virus in recent years, has been a longstanding concern.
