A/HRC/12/42 page 12 section 11.42 (1) of the JCPC. When advice is given against such detention, juveniles are usually released into the custody of parents pending adjudicatory or dispositional hearings. However, such cases are seldom followed through and are consequently abandoned by the courts. This leads to a vicious cycle with juveniles repeatedly coming into conflict with the law. Without diversionary or corrective measures by the Government for juvenile offenders, parents, frustrated with their children’s repeated unruly behaviour often resort to severe disciplinary actions amounting to physical abuse. Furthermore, the absence of appropriate measures negates the essence of pursuing such adjudicatory or dispositional hearings, especially if the juveniles require rehabilitation. Therefore, while the laws and procedures in respect of juveniles in conflict with the law and in need of care and protection exist in the statute books, they cannot be fully implemented due to the absence of a functioning juvenile justice apparatus. B. Implementation of the Act to Amend the New Penal Code Chapter 14, Sections 14.70 and 14.71 and to Provide for Gang Rape 19. Despite the 2006 amendments to the Penal Law which broadened the definition of rape and introduced more stringent penalties,22 rape and sexual violence remain a constant serious threat to women and girls in Liberia. There is still a high incidence of rape and sexual violence including victims as young as two years old. Between September 2008 and 8 June 2009, United Nations police recorded 442 rape crimes. The consequences of rape are numerous and in the case of young children may result in death. There is still a general lack of awareness within society and among some police officers about the penal law provisions on rape. For instance, although the rape provisions apply to both male and female children alike where the suspect is an adult, there were cases where police officers charged suspects with sodomy where the victim was a male child.23 20. The withdrawal of rape cases and the tendency to settle such cases out of court continues to be a concern. While the practice may be attributed to lack of awareness that rape is a criminal offence, owing to economic hardship parents have sometimes been persuaded to accept financial compensation in amicable settlements. On the other hand, as the offence of rape may attract a heavy sentence, many victims face societal pressures against pressing rape charges, especially when the persons involved live in the same village. Moreover, the problems associated with access to justice, health facilities and effective law enforcement have contributed to victims settling cases out of court or ultimately resulted in courts acquitting or dismissing rape cases. For example, due to the insufficient forensic skills of police officers, complete absence of LNP, and/or lack of health facilities and properly trained medical personnel in some villages, victims 22 See An Act to Amend the New Penal Code Chapter 14, Sections 14.70 and 14.71 and to Provide for Gang Rape. 23 Section 14.72 of the Penal Law provides for aggravated involuntary sodomy and section 14.73 for involuntary sodomy. Given that the new rape law specifically repealed section 14.71, it is unclear why these sections were not similarly repealed as the new definition of rape includes the acts contemplated by sections 14.72 and 14.73.