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Liberia: Living with fistula
Of 600 rape victims recently interviewed by a Liberian non-governmental organisation, 90 percent of the women were found to be suffering from fistulas - a vaginal tear which results in loss of bladder control and social stigmatisation.
Hadjo Garbo, victim of an early marriage in Niger at age 13. She was pregnant by 14 and suffered a fistula after three days in labour and a still-birth. (Image: Nicholas Reader/IRIN)
Aid workers say the statistic, provided by the Women of Liberia Peace Network (WOLPNET) from surveys conducted in April 2008, shows the horrifying prevalence of rape and of a phenomenon which Liberian medical officials say they are ill-equipped to respond to.
“These women are living with a serious scar and they are not getting access to treatment,” said Una Thompson, head of WOLPNET.
According to local health workers two types of fistula cases are prevalent in Liberia.
