The Senegalese government passed a bill on Thursday criminalising rape and paedophilia, APA learned from official sources.
“Under the legislative and regulatory texts, the cabinet examined and adopted the draft law amending Act No. 65-60 of 21 July 1965 on the Penal Code with chapters aimed at tightening the repression of rape and paedophilia and sanctions that could go as far as life imprisonment,” reported the final communiqué of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting.
Pending the adoption of the law by the National Assembly, the Senegalese government is responding to a request from civil society, mainly women’s organisations fighting gender-based violence, including rape.
According to the committee against violence against women and children (CLVF), between 2017 and 2018 alone, 706 women and girls were raped in Senegal.
The committee pointed out that most of the rapes committed are followed by murders, with 14 women killed as a result of rape in 2019.
“And three of these women were minors, both of whom were pregnant,” the CLVF said.
With regard to violence against children, it referred to 668 cases between 2017 and 2018.
TE/ard/lb/as/APA