Behind every case is a child whose safety has been violated. This is not a series of isolated incidents. It is a clear protection failure, one that reflects gaps in enforcement, accountability, and social norms.
At the heart of this crisis is a persistent misunderstanding or outright disregard of one fundamental principle: children cannot consent to sexual activity. This is clearly established in Gambian law and international child rights frameworks to which The Gambia is a signatory. Yet in practice, sexual violence against minors is still minimised, excused, or reframed as a “relationship,” a “family matter,” or a “mistake.” These narratives are dangerous. When an adult engages in sexual activity with a child, it is sexual assault, regardless of circumstance.
In ChildFund’s monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems, children consistently report that abuse is most often committed by people they know and trust, family members, neighbours, teachers, religious figures, or other community members. This aligns with broader evidence across West Africa showing that sexual violence against children is rarely perpetrated by strangers. In West and Central Africa, nearly 1 in 10 adolescent girls has experienced sexual abuse or rape, with the region continuing to record some of the highest levels of child protection violations globally, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings. This closeness of perpetrators makes disclosure difficult and silence more likely.
Even when cases are reported, the system frequently fails survivors again. Families are encouraged to “settle” cases quietly. Survivors are pressured to withdraw complaints to protect family reputation or community harmony. In some cases, financial compensation replaces prosecution, allowing perpetrators to evade accountability. The child, meanwhile, is left to live with trauma, stigma, and lifelong consequences often without psychosocial support or legal assistance.
This culture of silence is reinforced by harmful attitudes that shift blame onto children: what they wore, where they were, and who they trusted. Such reasoning has no legal or moral basis. A child’s behaviour can never justify abuse. Assigning blame to victims not only deepens their trauma but also signals to offenders that their actions will be tolerated.
The Gambian legal framework is, on paper, clear. Children are entitled to protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. However, laws alone do not protect children. Delays in investigation, lack of survivor-centred procedures, limited child-friendly reporting spaces, and weak coordination between social services, police, and the courts all undermine justice. For many families, the cost of pursuing legal action financially, socially, and emotionally is simply too high.
Consent must therefore be clearly and consistently understood. Consent is not silence. Consent is not compliance. Consent cannot exist where there is an imbalance of power, particularly between an adult and a child. Gifts, promises, coercion, familiarity, or lack of physical resistance do not negate abuse. Every sexual act involving a minor is unlawful.
While the increase in reported cases may partially reflect improved awareness and reporting, and an important step forward, it also exposes the scale of a problem that has long been ignored or normalised. Outrage after each case is not enough. What is needed is sustained, coordinated action.
First, prevention must start with education. Children need age appropriate information about their rights, bodily autonomy, and safe reporting pathways. Parents and caregivers must be equipped to have open, informed conversations with their children and recognise warning signs of abuse. Schools, religious institutions, and community leaders must reinforce a clear message: child protection is non‑negotiable.
Second, the justice system must work for survivors, not against them. Investigations into sexual offences against minors must be timely, professional, and survivor centred. Interference, intimidation, and informal settlements must be actively discouraged and sanctioned. No individual, regardless of status or influence, should be shielded from accountability.
Third, support services for child survivors must be strengthened. Children who experience sexual violence need more than sympathy. They require accessible psychosocial care, medical support, legal assistance, and long-term follow-up. Recovery is a process, not an event, and services must reflect that reality.
Finally, we must confront the norms that allow abuse to persist. Culture cannot be used to excuse harm. Silence is not dignity. Protecting perpetrators is not unity. The true measure of our values is how we protect children when it is uncomfortable, inconvenient, or costly.
The Gambia has made legal and moral commitments to protect children from violence. Those commitments must now be reflected not only in policy documents, but in enforcement, investment, and everyday decisions by institutions, communities, and individuals.
Every child has the right to safety.
Every survivor has the right to justice.
And every day we delay, more children remain at risk.
By Musukuta Komma Bah
Country Director, ChildFund The Gambia
