NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Rapists in Somaliland face up to 20 years in jail after the break-away conservative Islamic region passed its first law against rape in a drive to combat gender violence, a senior official said on Monday.

The bill, which passed parliament’s upper house on Saturday, also criminalises other forms of gender violence such as forced marriage, trafficking for sexual slavery and sexual harassment.

Ayan Mahamoud, Somaliland’s representative in Britain, said the draft law had been awaiting parliamentary approval for years – and that President Musa Bihi Abdi’s government, which was elected in November, saw curbing sex crimes as a priority.

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