By Lewis S. Teh
MONROVIA, Liberia, August 28, 2026 — Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister Gbemie Horace-Kollie has urged unemployed or financially dependent married men whose working wives fail to support them and their children to report such cases to the Ministry for intervention.
Minister Horace-Kollie said men, like women, are entitled to seek assistance when they are being denied financial support within a marriage, stressing that Liberia’s domestic relations law places responsibilities on spouses to support their families.
“If you na geh work or not earning an income, and your wife is working or earning an income and she is not supporting you and the children, please be courageous enough to come to the Ministry of Gender and report it,” the Minister said.
She said the Ministry would intervene in such cases to ensure that dependent spouses and children receive support to which they are legally entitled.
“We will invoke Chapter 5.3(e) of the Domestic Relations Law of Liberia and make sure you get your support,” Horace-Kollie said.
According to the Minister, the law provides a basis for addressing situations in which a spouse who has the financial means fails to provide adequate support for the family.
Horace-Kollie emphasized that family-support obligations should not be viewed as applying only to men, arguing that women who are the primary income earners also have responsibilities toward dependent spouses and children.
She, however, cautioned that people seeking intervention from the Ministry must also demonstrate that they have fulfilled their own responsibilities within the relationship.
“But he who comes into equity must come with clean hands,” she said.
The Minister said the government’s objective is to protect vulnerable family members while promoting fairness and shared responsibility within households.
Her comments form part of the Ministry’s efforts to increase public awareness of legal protections available to people experiencing neglect or denial of financial support within families.
The Ministry provides mediation, counseling and legal referral services for family-related disputes, including cases involving neglect and failure to provide support.
Horace-Kollie encouraged people experiencing such problems to seek assistance from the Ministry in Monrovia or through its gender offices across the counties.
