Reply #4: This goes even beyond the rape and violence against women during the war [View All]

We're talking forced marriages, female genital mutilation, trafficking in young girls and the general debasement of women and girls, a situation that existed in Liberia before the conflict and continues today.

The comments by Mr. Sherman to which I was responding had to do with his contention that attitudes expressed by the parents of this child victim of rape are not representative of Liberian culture. To that I say BULLSHIT. The attitudes of this girl's family may not reflect those held by a majority, even a vast majority, of people within the Liberian-American community, but they most certainly are representative of attitudes that have persisted in Liberian culture. Denying those facts will only result in the persistence of abuse against women and girls in Liberia.