Liberian President George Weah has declared rape an emergency and ordered new measures to address the issue following the country's recent spike in cases.

The move comes after thousands of Liberians protested the increased rape rates in the capital of Monrovia last month to draw attention to the alarming rate of sexual assault.

Weah said he will appoint a special prosecutor for rape cases in Liberia, as well as create a national register of sex offenders. The government will also create a so-called national security task force to combat sexual and gender-based violence.

The high rate of rape in Liberia has long been a concern. A 2016 UN report recorded 803 cases of rape in a country with a population of 4.5 million, with only two percent of cases of sexual violence being legally assessed.

A sense of impunity and the legacy of a 14-year civil war between 1989 and 2003, when rape was common, created the current issue.