Violence against women and girls become a global issue with significant social, economic, and personal consequences, the incident rate of Rape cases in Somaliland has increased for the last few years. Coalition members who are the biggest stakeholder’s advocate’s related gender-based violence against women and girls in Somaliland, the Coalition advocating the approval of the Sexual Offensive Bill, Anti-FGM law/policy, and implementation of Gender Policy of Somaliland; they have a series of meeting sessions and produced the press release, publication articles in newspapers, TV and radio debates demanding the approval Sexual Offences Law (Law No. 78/2018). Somaliland GBV Coalition has a meeting in December 2020 to discuss the issue related to the increasing Rape cases in Somaliland.
For quick Solution, and mediation of the victims’ families and perpetrators clans, customary law was used during the rape cases, CSOs and other human rights defenders have seen this law has escalated widespread of the rape case in Somaliland which provided the space for the perpetrators, the law has not held the individual accountable for his actions, and there is no at all any punishment for the perpetrators only putting sharing compensation among his relatives, and enforcing the victims to marry the perpetrator, and this denies the justice of victims and rights of women and girls in Somali Society to have formal legal and justice. Somaliland GBV Coalition highlighted recently rape cases occurs in Somaliland, and acknowledged the community reflection and response from the women and girls Buroa demonstrated on 23 November demanding justice for Hodan Saciid, The 18-year-old girl was raped and killed in the Gumburaha area on the outskirts of Buroa, and her relatives reportedly refused to bury the girl until the perpetrators were found.[1].
11 October the Zakaria accused raped and murders a mother of three children. With the growing effort of the government to respond to the rape case in Somaliland, the regional court in Togdheer has sentenced the death of a man called Zakaria Ahmed, who is said to be convicted of both rape and murder[2], . At the same time, the regional Court of Sarar sentenced a man accused of raping and killing Hodan Said. Hodan was 18 years old nomadic girls in the Sarar region of Somaliland. The GBV incident in Somaliland are increasing during the COVID-19 period, and more women and girls were raped, and a high number of girls were reported during 2020 and it became extremely during pandemic diseases of COVID-19. Women and girls getting raped, youth gangs have also increased at sometimes, the gender-based violence at family are resulted in changing the gender roles, the weakness of the Newly approved Sexual Offensive Bill was highlighted specifically the areas in which the lower parliament has added and changed the previous Approved Sexual Offences Law (Law No. 78/2018).
The newly approved Law will not provide adequate protection for vulnerable groups, but allowing the government to track and properly handle perpetrators of sexual offenses. The article demonstrated that the justice mechanisms of Somaliland are intersecting and this become one of the most challenging aspects of addressing GBV in Somaliland, and creates confusion and an overlapping system. The importance of the modification of the Rape, Fornication and Other Related Offences Bill (Law No. 78/2020) was also highlighted. The article shows recommendation of the Somaliland GBV Coalition which stated the newly approved Bill should meet the requirement below; the law should not violate the Islamic sharia law and should conform to the constitution of Somaliland, the legal should clear and easily understandable, and the legal term must be clear also; The law doesn’t meet all requirements by the law, it was not written in understandable legal language. The Coalition is calling the President of Somaliland Hon. Muse Bihi and Upper Parliament to provide consideration on Sexual Offences Law (Law No. 78/2018) importance’s, and to approve it to tack the increasing rape case in Somaliland to have safe environment where women and girls to live in peace.
[1] https://radiorisaala.com/gabar-kufsi-dil-loogu-geystay-burco-banaanbax-ka-dhashay/
[2] https://heemaalnews.com/somaliland-oo-xukun-adag-ku-riday-nin-kufsi-iyo-dil-ka-gaystay-burco/