allAfrica.com: Sierra Leone: From Frameworks And Norms On SGBV to Action (Page 1 of 5)

FAWE is a Pan- African organization with operations in thirty-five countries in Africa. FAWE Sierra Leone was started in 1995, at the height of the civil war.

One of the Chapter's many emergency intervention which was borne from the determination of women to restore dignity to other women and girls is the programme of assistance to victims of gender -based violence in internally displaced camps, returnees and juveniles in domestic settings. In February 1999, after the allied forces regained control of the capital, it was reported that a number of FAWE school students were raped while the rebels were retreating. As some of these victims had already been subjected to rape in their areas of origin, FAWE decided to address the issue of rape once and for all, break the silence and create a culture that says no to violence against women.

The invasion of January 6 necessitated an intervention which included medical and counseling services for abducted girls and later boys too. FAWE's mandate of helping the girl -child to be educated to her full potential compelled the intervention. After deliberations with other agencies, the Rape victims programme was started. The initial collaborating agencies were FAWE, Sierra Leone Association of University Women (SLAUW), Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children Affairs and MSF- Holland. Each local partner contributed counselors while MSF- Holland conducted counseling workshops to help improve skills. Later in the programme, UNICEF also became a strong partner.

The first step of the intervention was public sensitization on radio and television. During the first three months, April -June 1999, the programme was supported by FAWE international with MSF -Holland providing drugs. By the end of June over one hundred and twenty- nine (129) victims have been treated medically and counseled. The need to continue the programme became evident as abductees escaped or were released in batches. After consultations with MSF Holland, FAWE was able to get additional support from them in the form of funding for the whole programme. In collaboration with other agencies the Rape Victims programme started. Different teams were set up - sensitization, medical, counseling and Skills training - to implement the programme. In the end, 2110 abductees benefited from this programme in the western Area of whom 1,168 were raped victims. From 1999 - 2002, a total of seven thousand raped victims from nine displaced camps and settlements in six provincial towns were assisted.

FAWE continued its work in the country encouraging victims of sexual and gender based violence to come before. FAWE partnered with other organizations such as the Rainbo Centre to provide free medical facility and the Lawyers Centre for Legal Assistance (LAWCLA) to provide legal assistance to victims. A case in point is that of a 10 years old girl (at the time of the assault in 2003), who was raped by a 60 year old man in her community. Despite repeated court appearances by LAWCLA personals, the case is still been dragged on because overnight, the files - all the documents - relating to the case disappeared from the magistrate court.

The Rainbow programme of the International Rescue Committee established Centres in different parts of the country. These Centres are safe, private and friendly places were survivors of sexual assaults can get free help after an incident of rape or other forms of sexual assault. In 2007 alone, 1,176 clients accessed these centres (this is up from 989 in 2006) all of whom were women. 760 of them were between the ages of 0- 15 years at the time of the sexual assault. 63% of the clients reported having been raped by people they can identify. The youngest client to access the centre was 2 months old at the time of the assault. Only 13 cases were successfully convicted in Kenema and Kono courts with perpetrators sentenced to between nine months to seven years imprisonment.

The horrific and brutal experiences of women during the war made it necessary to examine whether the laws of Sierra Leone offer adequate protection in relation to sexual and gender based violence. Organizations realized that this epidemic in our societies should be stopped once and for all. This was not an easy thing to do. We were asked to identify the gaps in the laws of the land, areas which are discriminatory against women and which consciously or unconsciously are helping to perpetuate sexual and gender based violence. LAWCLA in collaboration with FAWE and the 50/50 group of women with funds provided by the Westminster Foundation of Democracy came together and put forward an abridged and simplified version of a book entitled "Unequal Rights and Discriminatory Laws against Women in Sierra Leone". Country wide sensitization campaigns were undertaken. Other organizations also jumped on the band wagon and the out going President during the March 8th International Women's Day celebration asked that the three Bills be tabled to Parliament through an Emergency Order.

BACKGROUND TO THE THREE GENDER ACTS

The Domestic Violence Act 2007 (Act No 20 Of 2007), The Devolution Of Estates Act 2007 (Act No. 21 Of 2007) And The Registration Of Customary Marriage And Divorce Act 2007 (Act no.24 of 2007) commonly known as the Gender Acts were passed into law by the Sierra Leonean Parliament on 14th June 2007 with the full support of all the major political parties. The Bills were drafted through the joint efforts of the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee and the Law Reform Commission working with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs and Civil Society Organizations. The Bills also benefited from extensive consultation with the stakeholders in all 12 districts, including lawyers, human rights groups, women's groups, key community figures and grassroots men and women. Finally, all three Bills were considered by the Human Rights and appropriate advice was given. Together, the three new Acts make extensive headway into domesticating the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) signed and ratified by Sierra Leone in 1988. The intention of the laws was to 'push for a system that safeguards women's rights and interests more effectively'.

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