By Rebecca Wood | Executive Director
Mental health is a complex challenge for correctional centres. Some incarcerated women have come into conflict with the law as a direct result of a mental health problem. Some women develop mental health problems whilst in detention. Circumstances are challenging, for example overcrowding of cells, enforced solitude, lack of privacy, inadequate health and hygiene facilities, and limited contact with one’s loved ones. All of this can result in poor or deteriorating mental health.
AdvocAid works on partnership with the Sierra Leone Correctional Service to protect the rights of incarcerated women in girls. This includes ensuring they have access to appropriate healthcare, both medical and psychological; they are treated with humanity and dignity; they’re protected from violence; and children in detention with their mothers are provided for. However, there are limited mental health services within Sierra Leone – this presents a challenge for the correctional service seeking to meet the needs of those in detention.
AdvocAid social workers provide one to one support and group psycho-social empowerment sessions, designed to support women with the emotional tools they may need whilst incarcerated. Despite this, we are aware of several women with acute mental health needs that require the support of a professional mental health specialist. With permission from the correctional service’s Medical Superintendent, AdvocAid now arranges for a mental health counsellor to visit the Freetown Female Correctional Service on a weekly basis to have one-to-one counselling sessions for women with the greatest need. AdvocAid has been able to provide this as a result of the generous donations made by our Global Giving donors.
It is with your help that several female detainees are now receiving much-needed mental healthcare. Through your generous donations, we hope to continue this for the months to come. In time, we would like to provide such support at all female correctional centres in Sierra Leone.
On behalf of the women and girls we work with, we thank you for your generosity. To get the latest news from AdvocAid please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and sign up to our newsletter via our website.
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