Throughout the ten-year long civil war, hundreds and thousands of women and girls were subject to widespread sexual violence in Sierra Leone. This means around 215,000 to 257,000 women and girls may have been subjected to such violence during this time. ("We'll Kill You If You Cry " p.25). Nicholas Kristof, journalist, claims that during the Civil War, rape was okay in Sierra Leone. Yet when the war ended and it was no longer allowed to shoot people, rape was still occurring. All women are at risk. The youngest victims reported are two and half years old claims Amie Kandah, runner of the Rainbow Centre. Sexual violence makes up much of the reported human rights abuses (Classroom Module, video). Despite the fact that sexual violence is ongoing, in post-Civil War Sierra Leone, evidence suggests that women are now becoming educated of their rights. .
Sexual violence can be referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV), and is classified to include sexual as well as physical violence. Arguably, women with less education and of lower economic classes are more likely to experience sexual violence. However, every woman and girl in Sierra Leone is at risk (Coker p.1). Sexual violence is defined as "any violence, physical or psychological, carried out through sexual means or by targeting sexuality. " ("We'll Kill You If You Cry " p.4). Sexual violence really had a jumpstart in Sierra Leone during the Civil War (March 1991 " July 2001). The main offenders were the rebel forces of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the West Side Boys (a group of the AFRC). Even after the war ended in 2002, sexual violence has still remained a crime lacking a punishment by the offenders for the reason that it was not shunned to commit the crime. Yet it was normal for the victim to be shunned. To this day, there are still an unknown number of women and girls who are still being held captive by rebels ("We'll Kill You If You Cry " p.
