A Reason to Care

I listened today to descriptions of the world women are faced with in Nairobi's slums.  Rape and battery are daily occurrences.  The local police not only do not offer protection, they often are part of the problem.  In trying to report violence, the women are attacked themselves, both verbally and sometimes physcially.  The language used against them is visceral.  Some of the examples I heard were "why are you fucking here, you bitch," and "what the fuck do you want us to do?"

A 5 year old girl recently was viciously raped and throttled by her attacker.  She has permanent damage to her trachea and now can breathe only with a tube.  The little girl cleans the tube with her dress, which is filthy.  The rapist is known -- he lives in the child's own neighborhood.  His mother apparently paid off the local authorities telling them that her son was “troubled.”  He spent one day in a mental facility and was released.  He has not been charged with any crime.