Honourable Chairperson of the ACHPR, Commissioners, State-Party Representatives, National Human Rights Institutions present, and Fellow Civil Society Representatives:
1. CALL FOR REPARATIONS FOR SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN AFRICA
Equality Now welcomes the African Union theme of the year 2025 on “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations”. According to UNICEF data over 79 million girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa have been subjected to rape or sexual assault as children. Further, according to Statista, as of 2023, the African country with the highest rate of sexual violence was Botswana. It had 131.7 cases out of 100,000 inhabitants. The second highest rate was South Africa. Rape and other forms of sexual violence represent some of the gravest forms of human rights violations. In 2024 Equality Now published a report scrutinising rape laws across Africa dubbed “Barriers to Justice: RAPE IN AFRICA, LAW, PRACTICE AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE”. The report revealed key gaps in rape laws in 45 African Countries that result in routine denial of justice to survivors of sexual violence including children.
The gaps include: laws allowing the perpetrator to walk free on reaching some form of “settlement,” including marrying the victim; laws framed in terms of morality rather than bodily integrity, thereby perpetuating a cycle of violence and discrimination; laws that explicitly permit rape in marriage, even of children; laws permitting judicial discretion to reduce charges or define evidence based on a stereotyped assessment of the complainant’s behavior; laws that fail to recognize true consent is impossible in situations of dependency or extreme vulnerability; laws or practices inhibiting investigation or prosecution of sexual assault, and laws requiring witness corroboration and other overly burdensome evidence. We call upon the African Commission in line with the AU theme on Justice and Reparations to urge Member States to urgently integrate the Niamey Guidelines on combating sexual violence and its consequences in Africa and the ACHPR Resolution 111 on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Women and Girls Victims of Sexual Violence (2007) into their reporting, investigation, prosecution and survivor support protocols.
2. CALL TO RECOGNIZE AND CRIMINALIZE FEMICIDE AND OTHER FORMS OF VIOLENCE IN THE FAMILY
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in which governments undertook to take steps to remove any sex and gender-based discrimination in laws, policies, and practice. As highlighted at the 81st Ordinary Session, our “Gender Inequality in Family Laws in Africa: An Overview of Key Trends in Select Countries Report.” published in May 2024 revealed that inequality in the family continues to be a glaring problem across the continent. One of the most devastating facets of inequality within the family is sexual and gender based violence against women in the family including domestic violence, marital rape, economic violence, and femicide which is the most extreme and brutal manifestation of violence against women. According to the latest report on femicide by UN Women and UNODC, globally, every 10 minutes, a woman is murdered by someone in their own family and 140 women and girls are killed every day by someone in their own family, making the home the most dangerous place for women and girls. Current and former intimate partners are by far the most likely perpetrators of femicide, accounting for an average of 60 percent of all intimate partner and family-related killings. Africa recorded the largest absolute and relative numbers of female intimate partner and family-related killings, recording 21,700 victims in aggregate.
A national femicide study in South Africa revealed that in 44 per cent of femicide cases, the police failed to identify a perpetrator. In Kenya, 170 cases of femicide were reported in 2024 alone, and every two days, a woman in Kenya is murdered simply because she is a woman, thus activists are petitioning the Government of Kenya to legally recognize femicide as a distinct crime. In Cameroon, there was outcry on 1st April 2025 when Bekobe Eric, a man accused of murdering his wife Diane Yangwo, received a 5 year suspended sentence and a fine of 52,000 CFA (approximately 90 USD) for the abhorrent crime. Women’s rights advocates have rightfully denounced the sentence, which does not reflect the severity of the crime and which may perpetuate a culture of impunity and contribute to the proliferation of femicides in Cameroon, which recorded 10 femicides in January 2025 alone. We call upon the African Commission to urge Member States to comply with their commitments under the Beijing Declaration and Platform for action and take action to: Criminalize and recognise femicide as a distinct crime; Enact or amend laws to explicitly criminalise marital rape and remove marital exemptions or defenses; and Enact or amend laws to prohibit domestic violence including economic violence and put in place mechanisms for survivor protection and support. We further welcome the adoption of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AUCEVAWG) and commend its explicit definition of femicide under Article 1 (e). We urge the African Commission to develop a General Comment elaborating on the normative content and factual context of femicide in Africa.
3. CALL TO SAFEGUARD SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS IN THE CONFLICT ZONES OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC) AND SUDAN
Equality Now would like to draw the Commission’s attention to the devastating and disproportionate impact of war on women and girls. Sexual violence, including rape and trafficking, is used as a weapon of war, leaving survivors with lifelong trauma and often resulting in unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and death. Moreover, the destruction of healthcare infrastructure during conflicts severely limits access to vital sexual and reproductive health services, further exacerbating the vulnerability of women and girls. As the current conflict in Sudan nears its second anniversary in April 2025, the country faces widespread destruction, significant civilian casualties, and an unparalleled humanitarian crisis. At the heart of this crisis are Sudanese women and girls—bearing the brunt of war, systemic discrimination, and entrenched legal inequalities. Their voices are silenced not only by the brutality of war but also by a legal system that continues to fail them. Sadly, this violence is not confined to the battlefield; it follows women into refugee camps, where displacement exposes them to further abuse. Hundreds of displaced women in shelters suffer from a severe lack of reproductive health services, as many of these centers lack basic health facilities that meet the urgent needs of women. Miscarriages have increased due to the lack of proper medical care, and several maternal deaths have been recorded due to poor pregnancy and childbirth care, as well as inadequate health services. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, decades of conflict have resulted in the lack of access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services resulting in increased rates of unintended pregnancies, maternal mortality, and sexually transmitted infections. We strongly call upon the African Commission to: urge the government of Sudan to ratify the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa to provide the essential legal protections for Sudanese women and girls; and urge the governments of Sudan and DRC to integrate comprehensive SRHR strategies into the humanitarian response frameworks, ensuring that the specific needs of women and girls are prioritized and addressed.
4. CALL TO ACT ON ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE
Equality Now expresses deep concern about the continued high prevalence of child marriage across the continent, including the risk of increased rates of child marriage caused by deepening conflicts, humanitarian changes and climate change. In recent weeks, the tragic cases of a 8 year-old girl being married to a middle-aged man in Somalia; and the femicide and murder of a 17-year old girl living in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya by her so-called husband after being forced into marriage against her will, have led to widespread outrage. These cases are symptomatic of a much larger problem – of human rights violations like child marriage being allowed to continue unchecked due to weak legal protections which do not set the minimum age of marriage at 18 without exceptions, poor enforcement of existing laws and policies, and lack of comprehensive prevention, response and support mechanisms contribute to the problem. We call upon the African Commission to urge Member States to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 without exceptions and implement comprehensive measures and programs to end child marriage in line with the recommendations of the Joint General Comment on Child Marriage.
5. NOT ONE MORE: CALL TO END THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS
The sexual exploitation and abuse of women and girls in Africa remain alarmingly widespread, with trafficking for sexual purposes continuing to surge. This crisis is compounded by persistent gender inequality, the impacts of climate change, economic instability, and protracted conflicts, all of which disproportionately affect women and girls. According to the UNODC’s Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024, girls are commonly reported as trafficked for sexual exploitation across the whole continent across borders and within their own countries, while at least 28% of detected victims from Africa in Europe have been trafficked for sexual exploitation. Member States have enacted national anti-trafficking laws and policies. Still, their effectiveness is hampered by weak enforcement and shortcomings in addressing the systemic factors that increase women and girls’ vulnerability to sexual exploitation. We urge the Africa Commission to encourage all Member States to fully implement anti-trafficking legislation and gender-sensitive protection frameworks that address the root causes. National institutions tasked with addressing trafficking and sexual exploitation must be adequately resourced and trained to address the specific vulnerabilities and needs of women and girls.
At the same time, digital spaces are becoming increasingly dangerous for women and girls. Online sexual exploitation and abuse—including online sexual harassment and non-consensual sharing of intimate images—is rising in tandem with increased internet penetration. There is a rise in the weaponizing of technology and online platforms to attack women and girls based on their gender. Women politicians, journalists, and human rights defenders are increasingly targeted online. While some states are developing laws to protect people from digital violence and harm, the increasing trends of online sexual exploitation and abuse are exacerbated by weak legal protections, underreporting due to stigma, and limited capacity for law enforcement to investigate tech-facilitated crimes.
We affirm the urgent need for Member States to strengthen gender-sensitive digital rights laws and policies. In alignment with the recently adopted UN Global Digital Compact, we urge the African Commission to encourage governments to enforce existing laws on online sexual exploitation, close legal gaps, and invest in survivor-centered digital safety initiatives. Additionally, we call for stronger accountability mechanisms for technology companies to uphold the rights and dignity of women and girls in digital environments.
Protecting women and girls in both offline and online spaces requires sustained political will, cross-sector collaboration, and community-driven solutions. We call for accelerated action to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind in the fight against sexual exploitation and abuse.
6. CALL TO DOMESTICATE AND IMPLEMENT THE MAPUTO PROTOCOL BY SOUTH SUDAN
Equality Now continues to commend the Government of South Sudan for the historic milestone of the ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women and Girls in Africa (Maputo Protocol) in 2023, which demonstrated commitment to protecting and fulfilling women’s rights. Women and girls in South Sudan continue to face discrimination and violence in private and public life, and existing human rights violations including sexual violence and forced and child marriage are exacerbated by harmful gender norms, customary and traditional practices. Access to justice remains a challenge despite the existence of the Gender Based Violence and Juvenile Court in Juba. Women and girls endure systemic barriers to justice, such as a high rate of stigma against survivors, who are sometimes forced to marry their perpetrators, dissuaded from reporting cases of violence to law enforcement authorities or compelled to engage in traditional dispute resolution mechanisms that do not offer meaningful accountability for perpetrators of violence against women and girls. The extension of the Peace Agreement provides an opportunity to undertake legal reform that promotes gender equality and that crystallizes the goodwill into action that will create a more just and equitable country where women are free from violence, enjoy their rights including within the family context, participate in decision-making and are adequately represented as enshrined in the Transitional Constitution.
We call upon the Commission to urge the Government of South Sudan to:
a) Domesticate and implement the Maputo Protocol by adopting all necessary measures, including legislative, budgetary, and other measures, for the full and effective implementation of the rights under the Protocol;
b) Align its legislation and legal reform processes such as the development of the Permanent Constitution to the Maputo Protocol and other regional and international human rights treaties;
c) Fast-track the finalization, adoption and enactment of the Anti-Gender Based Violence Bill, Family Law Bill and the Women Empowerment Bill;
d) Ratify the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Thank you.
Done in Nairobi on 15th April 2025