A Mother’s Fight for Justice in Somaliland
‘We are going through tremendous community stigma. My daughter has been shamed and bullied. We are beyond grateful to the Baahi-Koob Centre and those who helped us.
Madina (name changed) is a single mother who has been living with her four children in Hargeisa, Somaliland. On the morning of 27 September 2019, she sends her 11-year-old daughter, Sadia (name changed) to a small shop nearby. When she was late returning home, Madina went in search of her daughter around the neighbourhood, and found her crying at her grandmother’s.
The shopkeeper had pushed her daughter towards a vehicle, knocking her head hard on a surface and violently raped her inside the small shop. Due to her innocence and shock, Sadiya assumed that she had been stabbed with a knife since she didn’t understand the concept of rape and what was going on. Madina found out that she was bleeding.
Upon the immediate complaint by the neighbours, the CID officials attached to the Baahi-Koob Centre arrived at the scene, 10 km from Hargeisa city and arrested the perpetrator who still had blood stains on his clothes. The Baahi-Koob Centre recorded statements from the neighbours describing the girl’s distressed condition, who was bleeding severely. The accused admitted to the crime.
“The trial went on for two months, and every week my daughter and I had to attend the court. If not for the CID officer attached to the Baahi-Koob Centre, we would not have received the swift response from the police to investigate the tragedy that befell my daughter. Throughout our journey as recipients of justice, we received constant support and encouragement from the female prosecutor and emotional and psychological care from Baahi-Koob Centre. We are beyond grateful to the Baahi-Koob Centre and those who served us,” Madina recalls the situation.
Sadia gave evidence in court, in the presence of the accused who was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. The victim has not been informed of any compensation up to now and had been advised that it’s a civil matter to be agreed upon after he completes his sentence.
The violence suffered by the little girl have caused obstetric fistula with heavy bleeding. Up until October 2021, she underwent medical check-ups due to constant abdominal pain and continuous major infections. Madina and her daughter continue to receive psychosocial support services from the Baahi-Koob Centre.
Madina explained: “In addition to the severe medical condition and expenses, we are going through tremendous community stigma. My daughter has been shamed, bullied and segregated by all the other children in our neighbourhood. Due to financial constraints, I am unable to relocate to another area. My girl is going through a lot. She was studying in class III and due to bullying, I had to stop her from going to school. She just stays at home. My children go to public school, and we don’t receive any financial or other support from my husband.”
What is Baahi-Koob Centre?
The Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), named the Baahi-Koob Centre (BCK) (‘all needs covered’), was established in Hargeisa in October 2008 with UNDP’s support. It is the only one-stop victim support centre in Somaliland, responding with medical, mental health, investigative and legal referrals for victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence. BCK has offices, in Hargeisa, Boroma and Burco.
Currently, UNDP is supporting the two psychosocial counselors and two administrative/finance officers in two regions of Hargeisa and Burao, including the Baahikoob coordinator in Hargeisa and the deployment of five Police CID officers (two female and two male and one commander each) in Hargeisa and Burao. The deployment of these officials within the Baahi-Koob Centers enables a victim-friendly reporting process and smooth collection of evidence for victims to access the mechanisms of justice.
According to Asha Abdi Roobleh, BCK’s Coordinating Manager, since its inception, the BCK has demonstrated progress towards its objective and proved tangible and encouraging results on the ground. The operation of the centre has proved the emergence of a change of attitude in Somaliland population by influencing SGBV survivors to report rape incidents and seek justice. As BCK’s work became known in the community, more rape cases have been reported, and groups like religious leaders have started to speak out against rape, when they would not traditionally address this issue. BCK’s involvement in Somaliland’s access to justice system has resulted in a positive influence and led to the establishment of a Special Prosecutions Unit in the AGO, dedicated to the prosecution of SGBV in Hargeisa, Burco and Borama.
Legal definition of rape in Somaliland
Under Article 398 of the Somaliland Penal Code, rape and carnal violence is defined as the male sexual organ penetrating the female sexual organ in one of four contexts:
• the act was accompanied by violence or threats;
• the victim was incapable of giving consent;
• the accused impersonated another person; or
• the accused was a public officer, such as a law enforcement official, and the victim was under his arrest or custody (Penal Code, Art. 398 (1962).
This definition adopted by Somaliland of rape is extremely narrow, and judges often require evidence of force — torn clothes or injuries sustained by the victim before convicting. Proper investigation of the scene of crime and statement writing will provide sufficient evidence for the courts to decide in a fair and just manner. Indeed, the training for the police must be based on a well-designed training manual with pocket guides for police officers to respond to sexual assault.
Maryama Sahal, the case worker overseeing the psychosocial support services at the BCK in Hargeisa, says “At BCK, we explain the process of a rape case to the victims who consider it a harrowing experience to go through the formal justice system. For many victims, deciding to report their rape and cooperate with the judicial system for the first time is challenging, not knowing what to expect. Rape prosecution is indeed a complicated legal procedure that requires victims to repeat their story at every step in several different institutions, from the police, CID, Baahi-Koob, the hospitals, the prosecution to the courts. Navigating this alone and without a designated support person is indeed difficult.”
Survivors face many challenges in reporting cases of sexual abuse, such as emotional pain when thinking and remembering the incident, shame and stigmatization from peers and adults, fear of punishment and reprisal by parents, and threats from the accused. Other survivors postpone reporting to the BCK, the hospital or the CID since they need time to deal with the trauma and regain their sense of safety and trust before entering an institutional system.
Adding complexity: Stigma, Abandonment, and Unsafe Abortions
The BCK experience shows, behind closed doors, survivors of abuse and exploitation face harrowing choices, societal stigma, and life-threatening consequences, often left to navigate their trauma alone. Here are some typical cases observed at BCK:
• Some survivors above 18 years come directly to BCK, pleading not to disclose to their parents and family due to fear.
• Some families, when they find out, immediately negotiate for the marriage of their daughter, fearing for her future.
• Recently, an 18-year-old girl arrived at the BCK when she was six months pregnant. She was afraid of being murdered by the accused. Due to shame and stigma, she was estranged from her family and stayed with her sister. As soon as there were signs of her pregnancy she was also thrown out of her sister’s house. She stayed in the shelter home until the birth of the child. After a few days, she disappeared, leaving the child behind. The baby was sent to an orphanage.
• Many pregnancies are illegally aborted, or the new-borns are abandoned by the mothers. Some victims who resort to illegal and unprofessional traditional means of abortion, ends up taking the wrong medication. “There was a girl who came crying with severe haemorrhaging, vaginal bleeding and infections as a result of an unsafe abortion given by a traditional healer” says Maryama.
• The hospital provides free health and medical services, and in suitable cases, the survivors are placed in shelters like Waapo until they give birth.
What next: Pressing need for scaling up
Local communities and staff at the BCK underscore the critical role of international support in the establishment and growth of the BCK, while underscoring the ongoing challenges and unmet needs in addressing gender-based violence in Somaliland.
Asha Abdi Roobleh, BCK’s Coordinating Manager in Hergaisa, says, “We are grateful for the European Union and Sweden support. They took the first initiative to establish this Centre and without UNDP, we would not be where we are today. For the first five years from 2008 until 2013, UNDP was the sole agency providing all the financial support for the entire operation of the BCK, extending the services to Burco and Borama.
After 2014, there have been financial gaps, and the project has seen ups and downs. BCK receives more than 500 cases from the three centres and this is a small proportion of rapes in the country.
“Many other cases are hidden due to shaming and other implications. Therefore, the need is there for the BKC to expand beyond the three regions of Somaliland,” says Asha.
