It is sad to see that the people who are supposed to help are so inhumane as to ask for sex in exchange for food. Food is one of the basic needs without which a human being cannot live. Severe hunger is so dangerous that any animal will do anything to satiate itself. There are some international humanitarian workers and peacekeepers who are taking advantage of the starving refugees in West Africa. Sex for food is sexual abuse in its extreme form. Refugee women and children fall prey to these sex maniacs as eating is unavoidable. It will take a lot of intervention to end sexual abuse in West Africa. This is because it is widespread in all the refugee camps. It happens in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone where refugees are sexually exploited by caregivers.
It is shocking to learn that reports show that much more could be happening on the ground. Sex for food might just be the tip of an iceberg. Aid workers still continue this type of trade as not much is done to punish those who break codes of conduct. Alleged perpetrators should be fired but instead are called to workshops and trained through modules. Nothing changes and sexual harassment in the field remains the same. In Liberia it is said that the offer of sex for food is an open secret. Dealing with this is challenging mainly because aid delivery is done through established community structures. Excessive resources can possibly be used as a sponsorship resource. This type of sexual abuse increases mainly during periods of conflict because it is used as a deliberate weapon of war or because law and order is broken at this particular time.
This tends to form a culture where this issue is seen as a less serious problem. The mothers get used to it because they were also abused and give up their own children to have sex in exchange for a kind of exchange of food. The UN and other humanitarian agencies are trying to stop the situation. Men must not be allowed to use their positions of power as opportunities to sexually exploit vulnerable women and children. His is an appeal to the people to help these refugees to have a dignified life without having to resort to this form of despair. In response to the appeal, a Committee for American Refugees established two centers in Guinea. This is where victims of the sex-for-food type of abuse report their cases. The centers report about 400 to 650 cases a year. Although the judicial actions have not yet taken effect, it is a warning to the abusers that they can no longer act with the same impunity.
The lifeguards offer food and medicine in exchange for sexual favors. The aid workers hit the nail on the head as they clearly know they will not be held accountable for their sexually abusive actions. They don’t beat around the bush while begging for sex in exchange for food. “If you don’t offer one of your girls or yourself for sex, then it will be difficult to access relief food”, are some of the statements they use with women. The men are told to offer their wives and children so that they can receive food. It is mind-boggling to see that a large organization like the United Nations does not properly monitor its employees on the ground. If disciplinary action is not taken, the name of the United Nations will be seriously tainted throughout the world.
