Gender Equality Sierra Leone Project #27810

Supporting 350 Female Detainees in Sierra Leone

by AdvocAid

Supporting 350 Female Detainees in Sierra Leone

Project Report | Sep 20, 2022
International Women's Day celebration

By Julieta Castineira de Dios | Development Associate

To join the International Women's Day celebration, AdvocAid organised an event in the Freetown Female Correctional Centre in March 2022. The event counted the presence of dignitaries like the British High Commissioner, the Irish Aid Ambassador, CPS, several Stakeholders like Women in Media Sierra Leone, representatives from the Ministry of Gender, and the Sierra Leone Police Force.

“Imagine a gender equal world.

A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.

A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

A world where difference is valued and celebrated.

Together we can forge women's equality.

Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.”

As this year’s theme was “Break the bias,” the event aimed to increase understanding of the effects and social impact of gender bias, articulate possible strategies that different stakeholders can apply to eliminate gender bias and create wariness on available psychosocial support systems for women and girls detained in correctional centres.

During the event, the British High Commissioner stated that breaking the bias brings attention to the norms, traditions, and gender imbalances women experience in the private and public sectors. She highlighted the challenges women face in correctional centres, specifically related to the lack of proper sanitation for them and their children. She emphasised the need to align the conditions of the correctional centres with international standards in order to provide adequate treatment to women in detentions. Additionally, she remarked on the need to create opportunities for women so they can sustain themselves after being released.

After that, two formerly incarcerated women that work with AdvocAid, shared their life experiences before, during, and after incarceration. They covered aspects of reintegration in their communities, creative, supportive structures for families of incarcerated women, and available economic opportunities upon release.

To finalise the event, there was an auction, where women sold the supplies they made in the correctional centre, with beads and other materials that AdvocAid provides.

Your donations allow us to continue supporting these women - Tenki.

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May 28, 2022
Supporting Babies Detained with Their Mothers

By Rebecca Mweru Kabejja | Advocacy Specialist

AdvocAid's Makeni paralegal visiting the twins

Thanks to your donations, we are able to continue providing support to children who are detained in prison with their mothers.

For example, Mariatu* is detained with twin babies. She has been detained since October 2020, while pregnant, and gave birth in the Correctional Centre. She was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for wounding with intent and did not have adequate legal representation during the length of her trial. She had an altercation with a woman who was having an affair with her husband. The provocation and emotional abuse were not fully taken into consideration and she was given a severe sentence given that she has children to take care of inside and outside of detention.

AdvocAid has continued to provide food, clothes and other items for the twins as well as support to other children who are detained with their mothers. These children are invisible victims of imprisonment. A Global Study found that an estimated 19,000 children are living in prison with their parent, most often their mothers.

We continue to advocate for alternatives to incarceration for women with caring responsabilities, as provided for by regional and international standards. In January 2022, we issued a press release with our partner, Purposeful, highlighting the gender-disparity in the number of women who were granted Presidential Pardons. Only 5 women out of 160 incarcerated people were granted pardons during the Christmas and New Year's Day pardons. A number of women who are imprisoned with young children were not considered for a Presidential Pardon.

Your donations enable us to continue supporting these women and their children - Tenki.

A woman detained with her child

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Jan 14, 2022
16 Days of Activism - ensuring mental wellbeing for women

By Zynab Binta | Executive Director

A photo of the hygiene kit items for distribution

Every year, the period between 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) and 10 December (Human Rights Day) is known as the 16 Days of Activism. It is a period for organisations and individuals to come together and collectively raise their voices to demand the prevention and elimination of violence against women.

AdvocAid uses these 16 days to raise awareness of the rights of women in inarceration, and in December 2021 undertook a series of events in Freetown, Makeni, and Kenema to both support women currently incarcerated in Sierra Leone's Correctional Centres, as well as bring decision makers together to hold formal dialogues on how to make justice available to women and girls in Sierra Leone.

In the Correctional Centres, we were able to distribute hygiene kits for 85 women. This is needed because it is hard for women to get hold of the basic amenities they need for themselves and their babies, which naturally affects their mental wellbeing. The kits inlude items like soap, laundry powder, sanitary towels, deodorant, and toothbrush/toothpaste.

We also used the distribution of these kits as an opportunity to provide a legal education session to the women in the three centres. This is an important element of support to provide to women in incarceration, because all too often, they are incarcerated due to a lack of information about their rights. This leads to women doing things like paying to secure bail when asked (because they don't know that it is free), or signing false confessions because of being illiterate.

We held these sessions in partnership with the Ministry of Gender and the Correctional Centres.

Following the distribution of these kits and training sessions, we held a Christmas celebration for the women, including music and the handing out of lappa's - a long piece of fabric tied around the waste. In Freetown, we were able to leave the celebration karaoke set and speakers with the Correctional Centre as a donation to provide the women with an activity to support their ongoing mental wellbeing. "We do not have anything here for recreation and this is affecting our mind."

AdvocAid campaigns for Sierra Leone's Correctional Centres to be able to provide the specific support that women need, but until this is happening, it's vital that women receive sanitary and hygiene items for their health and wellbeing. On behalf of the women and girls we work with, thank you for your contined support. Each and every donation helps us provide women and girls with the support they need to improve their wellbeing.

A photo of the training session on rights

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