9 year-old girl raped in Ye Township

June 17, 2016

On June 11, 2016, a 9 year-old school girl was raped by a 24 year-old man in A Baw village, Ye Township, Mon State.

According to a witness, Mg Min Oo, 24 year-old living in Quarter 5, A Baw village was the man who raped her on Saturday around 3pm at a rubber plantation, which is 3 miles away from the village. It was claimed that he first raped her, threatened her and then left her unconscious. He threatened that if she confesses to her parents about the incident, he will come back and kills her. She was left unconscious for a few hours, and after she woke up she had to walk 3 miles back to her village. When her mother saw her injuries, including vaginal bleeding, she took the child to the hospital and there it was then revealed, by the doctor in Ye, that she had been raped.

The young girl is currently in grade 3, however, due to her medical condition, she has to drop out of school for a while. Ma Tin Win, chairwoman at Township level of Mon Women’s Network stated: “She may need a lot of treatment because she has got a lot of injuries. Even when she leaves the hospital, she may have to rest at home for a while. She has to take time off school. The police also need to investigate the case and they said it could take about one month.”

After the incident, the mother of the rape victim reported the case to the village administrator and they reported the case to the Police station in Ye. On June 12, the police arrested the perpetrator, who was charged under Article 376 of Burma’s penal code.

The officer in change is Min Sawe from Ye police station is responsible for the case proceedings. Currently, the perpetrator remains in detention at Ye police station and they will transfer him to Mawlamyine soon for further actions.

The Mon Women’s Network (MWN) has met with the family for counseling and support. On June 13, MWN also visited the village headmen, the local women’s group and villagers in order to inform and educate them on access to justice.

Mi Sauhtajo, steering committee member of Mon Women’s Network expressed that, “We are linked to the available medical response team for rape. We visited the village headman and the police station for supporting and checking best access to justice and counseling to those suffering. I think, due to the lack of justice and no strong rule of law and punishment for perpetrators, it creates an environment where rape occurs more, especially the raping of young children. I would suggest for stronger law and punishment. Therefore I recommend approving, as soon as possible, the new version of Pro VAW (Violence against Women) Law that has been drafted.”

Related to this rape case, a 5 year-old girl from A Baw village, where many migrant workers live, disappeared last week and another child disappeared 2 months ago. There was also a 17 year-old girl who was raped. The problem is that no one takes responsibility to investigate and solve these cases.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News