How a Somali police officer raped an IDP woman, extorted $10 from her family

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How a Somali police officer raped an IDP woman, extorted $10 from her family

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Rape and sexual violence perpetrated by powerful police men against women and girls from minority communities on the rise in Mogadishu as a 35-year-old woman in the displacement of Barkhadle camp in Garas Baley district, Mog

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The victim speaks to Somali Cable TV.

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Rape and sexual violence perpetrated by powerful police men against women and girls from minority communities on the rise in Mogadishu as a 35-year-old woman in the displacement of Barkhadle camp in Garas Baley district, Mogadishu becomes the latest victim this week.

Amina*, the victim says she went outside her makeshift home on the evening of 21 November when an armed police officer in uniform attacked her at gunpoint and raped her.

"I went outside to look for my two sons who were late to come home. Sadly, the armed policeman attacked me at gunpoint, dragged me towards the bush. He put his gun on my head and raped me," she said.

"I was crying and plead to him. I told him that I am like his sister but he threatened to shoot me," she added.

After raping her, this cruel policeman did not release Amina. He went further and demanded the contact of Amina's family. She provided her son's phone number.

The incident drew the attention of the members of the displacement community after the perpetrator police officer called Amina's son and demanded $10 in return for her freedom. After receiving the ransom he let her go and vanished.

"It would have been better killing us. We are powerless and helpless. We can not do anything," the son said.

The family brought Amina at Madina hospital and the medical diagnosis seen by Horn Observer proves the incident. Unfortunately, the police is yet to arrest the perpetrator.

When Horn Observer contacted the criminal investigation department, the officers said they have arrested anyone yet.

AMINA FAMILY

This Somali bantu family is among the recently arrived families in the Barkhadle camp. Before moving to this camp in Mogadishu, Amina and her family lived in Lower Shabelle region where they fled the ongoing conflict coupled with the severe drought conditions.

"Many of these cases of rape against women and girls are not told because the perpetrators are either members of the security forces who come from powerful clans or are affiliated with the government while the victims are from the minority clans," said Salma Mohamed, a local women rights activist "No body would cry for them."

Somalia is experiencing climate change-related drought following four consecutive failed rainy seasons. According to a rapid assessment by United Nations agencies, at least 7.1 million people in Somalia ―almost half of the country’s population― now face crisis-level food insecurity.

The UN says displacement due to climate change and conflict is rampant in Somalia, leading to increased vulnerability of women and girls.

Last year, in his report on conflict-related sexual violence in Somalia, the UN Secretary-General noted that the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) had verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence against 340 girls, women and boys. The perpetrators were primarily clan militias and Al-Shabaab soldiers.

A local women association called SWCCA has documented 540 Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases, 70 of which are sexual violence cases in Mogadishu, Baidoa and Jowhar in the same year. Most of the cases were recorded in IDP camps.

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*Amina is the initial name of the victim