Authorities at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) have frown on allegation of sexual exploitation and abuse allegedly committed by Mr. Moseray Momoh, a Deputy Managing Director at the Liberia Water & Sewer Corporation (LWSC), and therefore, expresses profound dismay over such act.
MGCSP said in a release issued over the weekend by directive of Minister Williametta E Saydee-Tarr that it has been in close contact with the victim. It added that a formal complaint from the victim has been recorded and the ministry is providing counseling, protection and routine follow up with the Liberia National Police (LNP) as they conduct their preliminary investigation.
The release quotes officials at the ministry as saying, they are deeply troubled by the allegation and is pressing forward and staying engaged until the results of the police investigation are in, to determine further legal action.
The ministry further stated that it condemns the scourge of sexual exploitation and abuse at all levels of our society. “Sexual harassment and exploitation are serious human rights violation, and they should have no place in our society,” MGCSP underscores the need for bold, urgent and much-needed action to curb the act of sexual exploitation and abuse, a scourge that permeates at workplaces as well as the communities.
“For this reason, combating this menace and helping those who have been scarred by these egregious acts, continues to be key priorities for the Ministry and its partners. Every victim deserves justice and the fullest support of the society,” MGCSP added.
“We cannot allow the unspeakable acts of a few to cause irreversible harm and discredit the effort of National Government as well as local and international rights groups, who uphold, the values enshrined in international protocols, to protect our women and girls from all forms of exploitation and abuse,” MGCSP noted.
At the same time, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, (MGCSP), is seriously worried about the circumstantial release of two alleged rape perpetrators in persons of Momolu V. O. Sirleaf and Varney Jersey respectively.
MGCSP said it views the release of the two alleged culprits as unjustifiable attempt and flagrant disregard for the dispense of justice, while the victims have continued to raise their voices in demand of justice. Moreover, MGCSP is also concern about the monitoring of the alleged perpetrators as their absence from the country could pose a serious setback to fight against the menace of rape and all forms of violence against women and children.
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“This should not be seen as an attempt to delay justice, because a justice delayed is tantamount to a justice denied,” the MGCSP release stated.
The ministry further noted that it is committed to ensuring that allegation of sexual exploitation and abuse is thoroughly investigated and that perpetrators, if found to have engaged in sexual exploitation or sexual abuse, through an investigation, be duly prosecuted under the laws of the country.
To this end, MGCSP said it is working to expand its workplace and community-based reporting network for sexual exploitation and abuses in order to ensure that further information on any new or past allegations is communicated as soon as possible. We would also like to assure all victims that MGCSP fully stands with you in your pursuit of justice because every victim deserves justice and the fullest support of the society. MGCSP assures further that it would continue to render moral assistance to victims until their cases come to final conclusions.
In this vein, we call on the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the alleged rape perpetrators in persons of Momolu V.O. Sirleaf and Varney Jersey are rearrested in continuation of the discharge of justice.
