World: Equality Now calls on African governments to strengthen laws on sexual violence, FGM, and women’s rights

Country: World Source: Equality Now Banjul, The Gambia, May 20, 2026: Millions of women and girls remain without adequate legal protection due to the failure of African governments to enact and effectively enforce national laws and regional agreements, Equality Now warned at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ (ACHPR) 87th Ordinary Session in Banjul, The Gambia. Esther Waweru, Associate Director for Legal Equality at Equality Now, delivered a statement to the ACHPR on May 12, 2026, calling on African Union (AU) Member States to do more to address sexual violence, female genital mutilation (FGM), online safety, sexual and reproductive healthcare access, and discriminatory matrimonial property rights. “Millions of women and girls across Africa live under laws and systems that don’t uphold their human rights. Countries have made binding commitments to advance gender equality, but gaps in legal protections, weak implementation of laws, and poor accountability are leaving many without equal rights, safeguards, or justice. African governments must move beyond rhetoric to deliver the legal reforms, protections, and accountability mechanisms women and girls urgently need,” Waweru explains. Rape laws in Africa continue to fail survivors of sexual violence Equality Now's report Barriers to Justice: Rape in Africa, Law, Practice and Access to Justice analysed rape laws across 47 countries and found significant shortcomings. Sexual violence laws in some countries still require proof that physical force, threats, or violence was used. Such restrictive definitions place undue burdens on survivors to provide evidence, and disregard the varying contexts in which sexual violence occurs, including through intimidation, coercion, fraud, or unequal power dynamics that make it impossible to give genuine consent. Aut...

Original source: Relief Web