I will just copy the post from avaaz. It has been in my email for a few days now.
By now we’ve all heard this story, but it’s no less shocking: 16 year old Liz was walking home from her grandfatherâs funeral when she was ambushed by six men who took turns raping her and then threw her unconscious body down a 6-meter toilet pit.Their punishment? Police had them mow their station lawn, then let them go free!
Lizâs horror story has sent shockwaves through Kenya and now politicians and the police are under pressure to respond. But women’s groups say nothing will truly change unless the government is put under the spotlight. They are calling on us urgently to help ensure justice is done and that Lizâs nightmare marks a turning-point in Kenyaâs rape epidemic.
Nobody has been brought to justice — not the rapists, and not the police. Today, we change that. Let’s stand with Liz right now, before her attackers and the police escape.Click below to get justice for Liz and help make sure no girl anywhere suffers this violence:
According to the girlâs mother, after they were set free, the rapists returned to Lizâs home to taunt the family. They acted like they were above the law, and they had good reason to think so. Because of ridiculous bureaucratic requirements, the police logged Lizâs attack as mere “assault” and asked her mother to âclean her upâ, destroying key forensic evidence. Now her rapists are free and Liz is in a wheelchair.
Lizâs story is an extreme example of a much bigger problem. Two thirds of Kenyan school girls and half of school boys have been sexually abused. And earlier this year, a landmark court ruling found police guilty of failing to do their jobs and ordered them to uphold Kenyaâs strict anti-rape laws. Rape is illegal everywhere, but too often these laws are just not enforced by the men charged with protecting our daughters. Beginning with Liz, we can change that.
The police claim that they donât have the money or training to uphold the law. But you donât need much training to know that cutting the grass is no punishment for rape. If we can help ensure these rapists and police are held to account, we can set a precedent that will compel police to treat rape as a serious crime, not a misdemeanour.
Here is the petition