Post-prison Support for 300 Women in Sierra Leone

Sia a 30 years old woman was living a stable life in Freetown with her husband and their five children before her life was upended. Her ordeal began following the death of her childless uncle. Upon his passing, Sia was alleged to have taken a substantial, unquantified sum of money, which she subsequently handed over to her brother for safekeeping.

A severe family dispute emerged when Sia’s aunt arrived, expecting to inherit or manage the deceased’s funds, only to find the money gone. This misunderstanding led the aunt to report Sia to the police and the case was escalated to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and Sia was placed in custody for the offence of Larceny and House Breaking. While Sia languished in detention, her brother reportedly used the very money at the centre of the dispute to travel to the United Kingdom, leaving her to face the legal fallout alone.

Sia spent two years and three months trapped in pre-trial detention at the Freetown Female Correctional Centre. Her case suffered from chronic, systemic court delays; though she attended her scheduled hearings, the complainant repeatedly failed to appear, forcing continuous adjournments. During this agonizing period, Sia experienced compounding, devastating personal tragedies; she suffered the heartbreaking loss of her son. her mother, who was her sole source of emotional and material support in prison, also passed away while Sia was behind bars.

Her husband never visited her once during her entire two years detention and subsequently took another partner. These severe traumas profoundly fractured Sia’s mental and emotional wellbeing. Overwhelmed by grief and depression, her psychological distress manifested as severe behavioral changes. She became highly volatile and aggressive, causing immense tension among the other women in detention and correctional staff alike, to the point where many within the facility incorrectly stigmatized her as being completely mentally unstable.

Recognizing her severe vulnerability, AdvocAid’s social worker conducted individual psychosocial counselling support for her as well as group sessions at the centre once every month and also visited occasionally to address the welfare concerns. Counselling Sia was initially exceptionally challenging due to her deep-seated trauma, behavioral state, and aggressive defence mechanisms. However, the social worker continued using professional skills and counselling techniques to calm her down and encourage her to express herself. At the end of most sessions, Sia would often respond by saying, “I am depressed, I just want to be out of here.”

Through this targeted, trauma-informed care, our team successfully built rapport, providing her a safe space to de-escalate and voice her pain. In April, justice was finally served when the court dismissed the stagnant case due to lack of prosecution, and Sia was discharged.

Upon her unexpected release from the correctional centre, Sia faced an immediate and overwhelming hurdle. While the freedom of release brought relief, it also brought the harsh reality of being completely stranded. Sia was entirely cash-strapped, leaving her with no means to afford transportation. Because her home community is situated incredibly far from the correctional facility, walking was simply not an option. Without immediate intervention, she would have been left vulnerable outside the prison gates with no way to get home.

Recognizing the critical importance of the first few hours post-release, AdvocAid stepped in immediately with our Post-Prison Support. To ensure her safety and dignity, Sia was provided with direct cash assistance specifically for her transportation. This timely support bridged the gap between incarceration and her journey home, allowing her to secure safe and immediate transport directly to her community.

Had it not been for this vital support, Sia would have been left completely stranded and isolated in an unfamiliar area. The transportation cash was not just financial aid; it was a literal lifeline that protected her from immediate hardship and ensured she could return to the safety of her home and community without delay. Today, she is safely back with her support system, taking her first steps toward successful reintegration.

While safely back in her community, Sia reintegration landscape remains precarious and emotionally fraught. Upon returning, her husband explicitly rejected her, telling her to "move on with her life." Furthermore, he fractured the family unit: keeping only two children with him, distributing the other two among unknown relatives, and refusing to disclose their locations or identities to Sia.

At the time of the post-release interview, Sia appeared emotionally distressed and vulnerable. Her story reflects the heavy psychological, emotional, and social impact that detention had on her life including family separation, bereavement, stigma, depression, and severe instability after release.

Our social worker continues to closely monitor Sia, prioritizing ongoing psychosocial counselling, family mediation efforts to locate her missing children, and livelihood support to help her rebuild her life from scratch.