Supporting 350 Female Detainees in Sierra Leone

To mark the significance of Sierra Leone’s Independence Day as well as AdvocAid’s 15 Year Anniversary, AdvocAid celebrated with the women at Freetown Correctional Centre.  The Vice President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Commissioner Madam Finda Koroma was the guest of honour for the occasion.

Madam Finda Koroma gave a speech to those in attendance at the correctional centre in Freetown. In her statement, Madam Finda Koroma acknowledged the power that empowerment can have on the lives of individuals and encouraged the women in the centre to empower themselves while in detention so that upon release they can reintegrate into society with more opportunities than previously.

Madam Koroma praised AdvocAid for our 15 years of service to women and girls who have encountered the law in Sierra Leone. Since 2006 we have supported over 6,000 women through our access to justice and post-prison services. AdvocAid was proudly able to continue our vital legal, advocacy and welfare services during the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020.

We wanted to attract people of high statuses to the event to make them aware of the challenges facing women accessing justice in Sierra Leone. Throughout the event, the prison band was on display and women in the correctional centre performed a piece on domestic violence created with the support of AdvocAid. Women who are in prison for violent offenses have usually committed the violent act in response to domestic and/or sexual abuse. In our Women Wahala Na Prison study, 72% of women told us they had suffered at least one form of abuse from their partner or spouse prior to prison. The women in the centre also had the opportunity to share their stories with Madam Finda Koroma. As a lawyer, the guest of honour provided legal education to the women who attended the interactive session and promised to channel their cases to the appropriate authorities.

AdvocAid continued to support the women detained in Freetown Correctional Centre on this day by providing a Ramadan gift, hygiene materials, food, and second-hand clothing to end the day on a climax. Amidst the dancing and jubilation that day, the women in the centre said the AdvocAid has instilled hope within them and put a smile on their faces.

 Finding sureties, or finding people to be responsible for someone being released from correctional custody while they await trial, is an important aspect of AdvocAid’s work. During our work in 2020 we found that a number of women, like Mariatu, struggled to meet the bail conditions required for their release, often due to the lack of family able or willing to stand as surety.

While she was heavily pregnant, Mariatu’s husband abandoned her and their three children to live with his new girlfriend. Struggling to feed herself and her children, Mariatu went to beg her husband to help care for his family. Her husband refused to return home or provide for his family. Distraught and jealous, Mariatua stabbed the girlfriend on her side during an argument.

Nine months pregnant with twins, Mariatu was arrested for wounding with intent and detained in a police station for 14 days. She was later transferred to the Kabala correctional center where she gave birth to a boy and girl. Unfortunately, she remained detained with her twins throughout the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra Leone. In October 2020, AdvocAid was able to convince the magistrate to reduce her bail conditions. Her bail conditions required a single family member to stand as surety while she awaits trial. In part because of the stigma, no one, including her husband, is willing to do so.

Mariatu is still at the Kabala Correctional center with her twins. AdvocAid continues to provide welfare support and we continue to work to secure the release of Mariatu and her twins. With your support AdvocAid will continue to hold more legal education sessions this new year to increase communities’ knowledge on legal rights processes including the importance of standing as surety for women like Mariatu. 

*name changed to protect her anonymity