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Africa

As protests shake Senegal, women fear that sexual assault victims will be silenced

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March 7, 2021 at 6:47 a.m. EST
Supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who was arrested after sexual assault accusations, stand behind barricades during protests in Dakar, Senegal, on March 5. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

DAKAR, Senegal — As the street cleaner swept away charred rubble, she thought of the woman at the center of the biggest protests to shake Senegal in years: a masseuse who accused a popular opposition leader of rape and then went into hiding.

Thousands of Senegalese — mostly men — marched throughout the West African nation last week, rallying against a government they say framed him.