Sierra Leone President, Julius Maada Bio has declared the prevalence of rape and sexual violence a national emergency.
President Maada Bio said those convicted of sexual offences against minors would face life in prison.
The move follows a national outcry over the rape of a five-year old by a relative a year ago.
The victim was left partly paralyzed by the attack.
Police say the number of recorded cases of sexual and gender-based violence in Sierra Leone almost doubled last year to more than eight thousand, five hundred from four thousand, seven hundred and fifty.
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