Access to Justice for 500 Women in Sierra Leone

AdvocAid works to ensure that no woman goes through trial without representation. Our team of paralegals make daily visits to police stations, correctional centres and courts to identify women in conflict with the law without legal representation. In addition, clients are often referred to AdvocAid from partners and other organisations.

AdvocAid met *Faith, a 16-year-old girl, during a routine visit to the Freetown Remand Home. The Remand Home houses juveniles charged with an offence who are awaiting trial. Faith grew up in the provinces of Sierra Leone. When her father passed away and her mother re-married, the step-father refused to care for her and she had to leave home. Faith was taken in by an aunt, but she later ran away, explaining that the aunt had been abusing her. Faith ended up living by herself on the streets. She later became pregnant and gave birth to twins, but her boyfriend ran away and refused to help her with the newborns. Faith was reliant on what she received from friendly people she met. Life was tough and she found it unbearably hard to provide for her children as a single teenage mother living on the streets. She decided the best she could do for her twins was to take them back to the provinces and give them to her mum to care for. Faith needed to raise money to pay for the transport, but was unable to do so. To raise the funds, she stole some market goods worth SLL 250,000 (about £25) and sold them on. She used this money to travel to the provinces and leave the children with her mother.

Faith was subsequently arrested and charged with larceny. Faith’s case was first heard at the Magistrate Court, then re-allocated to the Juvenile Court. AdvocAid’s Legal Officer Josephine Hinga represented her in Court. Faith plead guilty to the offence and Ms Hinga submitted a plea to the Magistrate to consider mitigating circumstances. Faith’s case was subsequently discharged and she was released from the Remand Home.

It is with your help that AdvocAid is able to uphold the legal rights of women and girls in Sierra Leone. Without support from you, our donors, Faith would not have received legal representation in Court. On behalf of the women and girls we work with, we thank you for your generosity.

For all new recurring donors signing up this December to support AdvocAid, Global Giving will provide match-funding from month four onwards. For example, if you sign up as a recurring donor during December to donate $10 a month, Global Giving will match this donation from April onwards and AdvocAid will receive $20 a month.

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*Names have been changed to protect the individuals’ identities.

AdvocAid works to ensure that no woman goes through trial without representation. Our team of paralegals make daily visits to police stations, correctional centres and courts to identify women in conflict with the law without legal representation.  In addition, clients are often referred to AdvocAid from partners and other organisations. 

In Sento’s* case, her older sister Kadie* was referred to AdvocAid by a police officer. Sento, a 17-year old girl, was arrested in July 2018. Sento was alleged to have taken a 4-year old girl from her home in Freetown to a village. It took one week for the family to locate the girl, who was returned unharmed.

Once arrested, Sento was detained in a police cell for several days. During this, an AdvocAid paralegal ensured that Sento understood her rights whilst in detention and advocated for her bail.

Unfortunately, due to the severity of the allegation, Sento was denied bail and her file was sent to Court. Although Sento was 17 years old, she was charged to the Magistrate Court. AdvocAid’s Legal Officer represented Sento and requested an age assessment, to ensure she is not tried as an adult. Age assessments are often conducted by courts to determine the age of the suspect – this is required as many children do not have a birth certificate or other evidence of their age. Following this assessment, Sento’s case was referred to the Juvenile Court.

In addition, AdvocAid’s Legal Officer also requested the court conduct a medical assessment of Sento. AdvocAid’s paralegal discovered that Sento was neglected by her parents, and lived with and was cared for by her sister Kadie, who herself is 20 years old. Kadie suspected that Sento may be experiencing depression and the state of her mental health led her to take the 4-year old girl from her home.  Following the requested medical assessment, the Juvenile Court acquitted Jitta and discharged the case. On release, an AdvocAid social worker met with Jitta and Kadie to discuss mental health care options.

It is with your help that AdvocAid is able to support and promote women’s legal rights in Sierra Leone. Without support from you, our donors, Jitta may not have been tried in the Juvenile Court or had her case be informed by a medical assessment. On behalf of the women and girls we work with, we thank you for your generosity and urge you to share the work of AdvocAid with your contacts. 

Please sign up to our newsletter, via our website, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to get the latest news about AdvocAid’s work.

*Names have been changed to protect the individuals’ identities.