Sitting in a circle, brandishing placards and wearing purple T-shirts reading ‘Justice for Louise’, several dozen Senegalese feminists gathered in Dakar's Place de la Nation on Saturday to protest what they called a culture of rape and impunity in the country.
The women, and some men, were demanding justice for a 15-year-old girl, known as ‘Louise’, who was allegedly raped by the 19-year-old son of a celebrity journalist in May. A video of the incident was widely seen after being posted online.
The victim’s mother lodged a complaint, but police were slow to act. Worried about a potential cover-up, activists launched the digital campaign #JusticePourLouise in late June. The hashtag started trending on social media, both in Senegal and among the diaspora. On 29 June, the accused was charged with rape – a month after the alleged attack took place.
