Supporting 350 Female Detainees in Sierra Leone

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. 

Links:

• Press Release - Urging for Cases of Women to be Reviewed
• Global Study on Children Deprived of their Liberty