By Rebecca Mweru Kabejja | Advocacy Specialist
As part of AdvocAid’s post-prison support programme, we have worked with formerly incarcerated women to form a support network called ‘Go Bifo’ (meaning ‘moving forward’). Over the years, this network has grown in numbers and strength, and in the last year the women have formalised their groups in Freetown, Makeni and Kenema to become registered associations. This case study provides an update on how AdvocAid and two of the Go Bifo Associations have worked together over the last few months.
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The launch of the Go Bifo Women's Association coincided with the Association’s first year engaging with the 16 Day of Activism Against Gender Based Violence. In 2022, the global theme was “UNITE! Activism To End Violence against Women and Girls”, with the AdvocAid theme being “There is Life After Incarceration”. The aim of the launches were to raise the visibility of the experiences of incarcerated women and build a movement in solidarity with them. The Association is an intervention formed as part of AdvocAid’s post-prison program with the aim of strengthening rehabilitation and reintegration approaches in the work that AdvocAid does.
The Go Bifo Women Association is a group of women that have experienced incarceration, and have benefited from AdvocAid’s support - from legal representation and legal education, to psychosocial and welfare support. Even with incarceration being the cause that brought them together, these women have other factors that unite them. They are entrepreneurs, students, wives, mothers, friends, have families, are part of communities and very willing to contribute to the development of their communities.
The successful registration and launches of the Go Bifo Associations in Makeni and Kenema were an instrumental step in realizing the fruition of Go Bifo. The launch events signified these women reintegrating themselves back into their communities. Different stakeholders attended the events and these included: representatives from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Gender and Children Affairs; Family Support Unit; Correctional Center; Binta Bah Foundation; Rainbo; and Media Matters.
During the launches, the women rallied around key advocacy messages which were:
1) An investment in economic programs and skills of women with experiences of GBV reduces the risk of recurrence of GBV; and
2) Gender-appropriate vocational and rehabilitation programs in and out of correctional centers.
The Chairperson of the Go Bifo Women Association in Makeni - Ms. Margaret Bah - was also a participant in AdvocAid’s EU Economic Empowerment Program where she was trained as a caterer. At the event she gave a speech in which she said:
"This training will allow us to face life the second time. This time, we shall be empowered to support ourselves and families because of our livelihood. We shall not depend on our abusive partners anymore."
Thank you for your continued support.
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By Julieta Castineira de Dios | Development Associate
By Rebecca Mweru Kabejja | Advocacy Specialist
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