According to James, “every morning we read intros about girls being raped. We read stories about fifty year and older men raping five years or younger girls. Many times I get calls from girls for me to mentor them. But most of the time these talks are centered round sexual violence and so I decided to form this Foundation in 2017.”

She added that at most times she discusses sexual reproductive issues especially during the Sixteen Days of Activism which started 25^th November to end on December 10.

Speaking with emotion, James lamented the plight of a five years old girl who is hospitalized and would possibly never walk again for the rest of her life because someone decided to have anal sex with her and damaged her spinal cord in the process.

“A friend brought this to my attention and I went to visit her in the hospital where I found her lying on her bed immobile; she can’t move. The girl is so brilliant. She said the perpetrator forcefully inserted his penis into her rectum. There is the report of another five years old girl that was raped in a bathroom. Then there is another case of a forty years old man who raped a fourteen years old girl. So this issue is serious and it is becoming something we cannot keep silent about any longer. We need to do something about it thus the reason why I formed the Foundation. So since this is the campaign period against such abuses, we need to raise awareness on these issues by going back to the drawing board to discuss and formulate policies and actions hence the reason why we must all wear black apparels today to demonstrate our resentment and disgust and anger against such practices. Black symbolizes grief and is a sign of sadness,” Asmaa James said.

She added that for the past two months, “we have reported over twelve cases of men raping girls and we need to enforce the laws. We have very good laws on sexual penetration but when offenders are taken to court, they are merely fined paltry sums and most of the times these abuses happen within the family setting and the family in most cases cover-up the crime saying it would bring shame to the family if the matter is exposed. So we need to intensify awareness-raising and sensitization more often.”