-Against Minors and Teens
By Jerromie S. Walters
Monrovia – Women’s groups and advocates, including the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL), and the Women NGOs Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) are calling for an end to the online exploitation of minors across Liberia, demanding that social media platforms and individual bloggers stop profiting from harmful content while disclaiming responsibility for its reach and consequences.
The call comes after a video involving an alleged 17-year-old girl and a 29-year-old man sparked national outrage online. The footage, which circulates on social media, shows a news report and an interview with the alleged minor. She states that the 29-year-old man offered her $500. The matter also involves a serious allegation of rape reported against the man.
But AFELL and WONGOSOL warn that the case exposes a far broader national failure that extends well beyond this single incident. They say it lays bare an urgent need for stronger, enforceable accountability across the entire digital space — not just for this case, but for all content involving children.
AFELL First Vice President Cllr. Bowoulo Taylor Kelley condemned the circulation and exploitation of the content in blunt terms and demanded sweeping digital accountability.
“I am outraged, deeply disappointed, and profoundly disturbed by this entire matter and by the reckless manner in which content involving a minor has been circulated, sensationalized, and exploited online,” Kelley said. “The disregard shown for the child’s dignity, privacy, safety, and welfare is indefensible.”
Cllr. Kelley warned that no one may reduce a matter of this gravity to gossip or a competition for clicks and influence. She called for restraint, accountability, and immediate lawful action. “Investigators must act promptly, independently, and impartially, free from public pressure, intimidation, or interference. Where the legally required grounds for arrest are established, the suspect must be arrested without delay in accordance with applicable law.”
The groups demand that social media platforms and individual bloggers stop profiting from harmful content while disclaiming responsibility for its reach and consequences. They call on platforms to apply robust safeguards for minors, provide effective reporting mechanisms, promptly remove or restrict harmful content, retain evidence needed for lawful investigations, and cooperate fully with authorities.
“Social media platforms and individual bloggers must not be permitted to profit from harmful content and then disclaim responsibility for its reach and consequences. Platforms must apply robust safeguards for minors, provide effective reporting mechanisms, promptly remove or restrict harmful content, retain evidence needed for lawful investigations, and cooperate fully with the authorities.”
Bloggers and online publishers must protect the identity and dignity of minors, AFELL said. It warned them not to exploit, threaten, shame, sensationalize, or recklessly expose any child. Any platform, blogger, or publisher reasonably suspected of violating applicable law must face investigation and, where evidence meets the threshold, prosecution or other sanctions.
“Freedom of expression is not a shield for unlawful conduct, reckless harm, or the exploitation of a child. The authorities must pursue this matter to a lawful conclusion, and at every stage the child’s protection, dignity, and welfare must remain paramount,” Cllr. Kelley said.
WONGOSOL Demands Justice and Protection
Like AFELL, the Women NGOs Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) is calling on Liberian authorities to act swiftly to protect an alleged 17-year-old girl, warning that the child’s dignity and privacy have been compromised.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the women’s rights organization expressed deep concern over the video, which it said exposes the minor’s identity and trauma to public scrutiny. WONGOSOL stressed that the allegations must be investigated through proper legal channels — but that the child’s welfare must remain the top priority throughout. “When a child is involved, the child must come first,” the organization said.
WONGOSOL urged the Liberia National Police to promptly investigate the circumstances surrounding the case, including the allegations against the adult male involved. The organization also called on the Ministry of Justice and the SGBV Crimes Unit to ensure that any evidence of sexual abuse, exploitation, trafficking, or other criminal conduct is thoroughly investigated — and that the law takes its course where the evidence warrants prosecution.
WONGOSOL further called on the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to take immediate action to protect the alleged minor, ensure she receives psychosocial and child-protection support, and address the circumstances surrounding her public exposure.
The organization strongly condemned the decision to publicly interview and broadcast the girl on social media in a manner that compromises her dignity, privacy, and well-being. “A child’s face, name, school, home and family details should never be unnecessarily exposed,” WONGOSOL said. “A child’s trauma should never become public entertainment.”
WONGOSOL urged media practitioners, bloggers, and social media users to exercise greater care when interviewing, recording, or sharing content involving children, and appealed to the public not to repost or circulate material that exposes or humiliates the girl. The organization acknowledged that those involved may have acted in good faith, but cautioned that “ignorance of the law is not an excuse.”
WONGOSOL pointed to Liberia’s Children’s Law (2011), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, all of which establish protections for children’s privacy, dignity, and freedom from abuse and exploitation. The organization also warned against blaming or shaming the girl. “If she was exploited, she deserves protection, support, and access to justice, not public condemnation,” WONGOSOL said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has also condemned the act. In a press release issued over the weekend, the Ministry noted: “Whether or not the video was produced for content, entertainment, or any other purpose, the circumstances depicted are deeply troubling, disturbing, and unacceptable.”
The Ministry said it considers any content that “exposes, bullies, sensationalizes, or potentially exploits a child in such a manner as inappropriate,” and confirmed it is making frantic efforts to contact the blogger to understand the circumstances that led to the video and to identify the survivor.
The Ministry said it has also promptly engaged the Liberia National Police (LNP) to assist in apprehending the alleged perpetrator and all those associated. According to the Ministry, the LNP has assured its fullest support and cooperation in establishing the facts and determining the whereabouts and welfare of the child.
The Ministry cautioned the Bloggers Association of Liberia and the wider blogging community to exercise the highest degree of responsibility, professionalism, and sensitivity when producing and disseminating content involving children. “The Ministry remains firmly committed to protecting the rights, dignity, safety, welfare, and best interests of every child in Liberia,” the release stated.
