25/06/2025
When Will We Start Protecting Our Girls Instead of Blaming Them?
There is a recent case making rounds, the alleged harboring of three teenage girls by a renowned businessman known as Basha. According to the parents, the girls left home for school on a Wednesday and did not return. Panic set in when the girls stopped answering their phones. Concerned, the parents reported the matter to the nearest police station.
Later, friends of the girls reportedly saw them live on Instagram, and were able to locate the area, as it appeared familiar. The parents, accompanied by some police officers, went to the said location. According to an interview by Liberty Online TV, the girls were confirmed to be in the house, but the premises were locked. The accused, Basha, was said to be at work.
Eventually, the police gained access to the house and confirmed that the girls had been there the entire time they were reported missing. The case, as reported by the parents, is now with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Now, this is my point: nearly two days after the incident, the Sierra Leone Police Force has yet to release an official public statement. Meanwhile, on social media and within the community, grown men and women are busy blaming underage girls, while defending or even sympathizing with the alleged perpetrator.
We hear people saying, "The girls went there willingly," or blaming the parents for not raising their daughters well.
As someone who has worked and is still working with teenage mothers, I will say this carefully but firmly; blaming the child is not only morally wrong but legally flawed.
Let us be clear:
According to the Sexual Offences Act of 2012, amended in 2019:
A child under 18 years of age CANNOT give consent to s*x.
So even if, and this is hypothetical, the child "goes to meet you and opens her legs," as some have crudely said, you still have no legal or moral right to touch her.
This is what the law defines as statutory r**e, and it carries heavy punishment:
R**e of a child under 12: Life imprisonment
R**e of a child between 12 and 18: A minimum of 15 years, up to life imprisonment
So to those excusing this alleged behavior, read that again.
But let me not even dwell too much on r**e right now, because sadly, many people, especially men, are not ready for that conversation. Let’s instead talk about grooming.
What is Grooming?
Grooming is the calculated process by which an adult gains a child’s trust with the intention of s*xually abusing or exploiting them later. It’s a slow trap.
Example: A 35-year-old man regularly buys a 13-year-old girl airtime and snacks, chats with her secretly, compliments her body, and eventually starts sending her suggestive messages.
This behavior is grooming. Even before any physical act happens, it is preparation for abuse, and it is illegal.
Grooming, along with indecent assault, child po*******hy, and harboring of minors for immoral purposes, are all crimes under the Sexual Offences Act — and the punishment is not a slap on the wrist:
15 years minimum imprisonment for s*xual offences involving children aged 12–17
Up to life imprisonment if the child is younger than 12
Basha is a businessman. He is wealthy and influential. These are teenage girls, vulnerable and naive, children who should be protected, not preyed upon.
Read between the lines.
It may all seem "normal" to you now, but when it happens to your sister, your niece, or your daughter, that’s the only time you’ll finally see it for what it is, wrong.
Let the law work. Let the system protect.
But above all, let our conscience speak louder than our bias.
