Girls in Sierra Leone face severe difficulties. Sexualized violence is widespread and is often even directed against very young girls. Almost 90 percent of women and girls are affected by female genital cutting. In order to effect changes that are more than just occasional or short-term improvements, the organization Girl2Girl is training girls to be contact persons for their communities – with impressive results.
Once a week the girls come in from the surrounding areas to the organization's office in Freetown. The topics they deal with can be very oppressive, ranging from dropping out of school and unwanted pregnancies through discrimination to genital cutting*. The girls talk about what they have seen in their communities or experienced themselves. They discuss possible solutions and are given space for questions, anger, and any feelings of being overwhelmed.
Education about women's rights: Girls passing on their knowledge
Girl2Girl offers the girls a very special form of training. Firstly, they receive practical information which they otherwise rarely hear: the rights they have as girls; the laws which exist to protect them; and the people they can turn to in cases of emergencies. Then, they also receive training in how to set up their own girls’ groups. Their task is to help to establish an awareness in other people, too, of violence against women and girls and the fact that this is a breach of human rights.
Networks against gender-based violence: Bringing parents and communities on board
If Girl2Girl left the girls to carry out this task alone, in many communities the willingness to change would probably not survive very long. So the organization’s project managers ensure that the girls receive support from groups of parents and that they are integrated into broader village or community work. There is a lot of persuasions needed to achieve this: “Many people do not even realize that gender-based violence is a crime. They genuinely believe that women are the property of men,” says a project manager from Girl2Girl. “So a conversation with us is often very challenging, but for many, it is also an eye-opener.”
Female genital cutting in Sierra Leone: Reacting quickly to violence
The efforts of Girl2Girl to involve the community at all levels of their work do pay off. Their staff members enjoy high levels of trust – even in very thorny issues. One worker told us of a case at the end of 2019. In one of the communities where the organization is active, 50 young girls were about to be subjected to genital cutting. Several young women heard about the plan and informed Girl2Girl, whose staff reacted very quickly. They involved the Family Unit of the police which put a stop to the plans.
Empowerment – Knowledge is power against breaches of human rights
It was important for the staff at Girl2Girl to know who to turn to in a case like this. However, the decisive factor was the presence within the community of empowered and informed young women who could notify Girl2Girl quickly enough, responsibly carrying out their role and acting upon their knowledge that female genital cutting is a violation of human rights which they and other girls can defend themselves against.
*Readers may be more familiar with the term “female genital mutilation”, which has established itself internationally. However, it is disputed since those affected can feel stigmatized by the label “mutilated”. Many do consider themselves to be “circumcised”. However, “female circumcision” is rejected by the World Health Organisation as downplaying the nature of the act. The discussion has led to the term “female genital cutting”, which is thought to reflect a critical, reflected, and anti-racist approach.
Published in the memo (2020/02), p. 8 (german)
We're working with our partner Fambul Initiative Network for Equality - Sierra Leone (FINE Salone) to support survivors of gender-based violence and challenge the harmful attitudes that can see perpetrators go unpunished.
In Sierra Leone, as in many countries, domestic violence tends to be seen as a 'private issue'. This and other types of gender-based violence (GBV), including rape and sexual assault, go under-reported.
In Kenema, we've been supporting the local organization FINE Salone to raise awareness of women's rights and the law, change attitudes, and support survivors to prosecute their perpetrators.
VSO/Heather Alcock
Karitu Joe, whose husband beat her so hard he broke her arm, says things are "more peaceful now".
Husband schools
Karitu Joe works selling water in order to support six children aged between 2-15. She supports her husband too – despite the fact that until recently she only saw him when he came home to beat her.
“I was missing a tooth and had a broken arm. He said he wasn’t happy with the relationship,” she says.
Kari's experience is sadly too common. Women are statistically most likely to experience violence at the hands of the people it may be most difficult to challenge or report: their intimate partners.
When Karitu heard about VSO's local partner FINE Salone she turned to them in hope of help. Their remarkable ‘husband schools’ approach sees husbands like Karitu’s trained by volunteers to empathize with women and to control their anger. FINE Salone worked with him and Karitu over a period of seven months:
“They explained to him the impact of violence and the consequences of his actions. They also explained the legal consequences.
“Finally, he took an oath before the local authorities and promised not to beat me again. Things are more peaceful now.”
VSO/Heather Alcock
Ibrahim Kallan, 52, has gone from taking out aggression on his family, to trying to reduce conflicts between his neighbors
"I used to beat my children"
Ibrahim Kallan, 52, hasn't worked since the Ebola outbreak of 2015 shut the factory where he worked. He has struggled with his anger, which he used to take out on his family.
"I used to get annoyed over small issues. In fact, I used to beat my own children. I have seen domestic violence between my neighbors too," he says.
He was approached by a male community volunteer engaged in FINE Salone's VSO-supported project. He decided to join in the training on offer in order to play his part to 'make peace in his community. But the effects are being felt at home too:
"My wife is pleased that I am not beating the children anymore. We didn’t really realize that it was a crime before. She is very pleased because they are raising awareness about issues facing women. I hope that we will keep on talking."
"Since the training, I have helped to settle quarrels in the community – before I would say that it wasn’t my business," says Ibrahim.
We are all citizens of our community and we all have a role to play. It is our social responsibility to volunteer for our community and make a difference.
Moribo Shakia, 52, community volunteer
"We all have a role to play"
Moribo Shakia, 52, is one of the community volunteers who have been recruited to reach out to fellow men like Ibrahim. He also raises awareness in the community through theatre plays and radio talks, and by speaking to boys and young men in schools.
Moribo says he is seeing a difference: “We are seeing changes in our own communities. There have been cases where people are going to jail and being prosecuted for gender-based violence.”
"I just wanted justice to prevail"
FINE Salone also directly supports women and girls in seeking justice for abuses committed against them.
Aminata*, 15, was kidnapped and raped one early August evening as she went running a simple errand for her aunt Yaema. When the girl was found dazed on the street the next day after her attacker had finally released her, Yaema was determined to get justice.
They were encouraged by FINE Salone to liaise with the police and give evidence that eventually led to a successful prosecution. That support was vital, as the wider community was pressuring the family to drop the case against the rapist, who had confessed.
"They were trying to get me to compromise but I knew that he would continue if he was not reprimanded. I just wanted justice to prevail,” says Yaema.
Chief Mohamed Possible, a local leader, who has helped create new bye-laws against gender-based violence since becoming involved in our project with FINE Salone
"We are afraid of the laws now"
Such cases are usually treated as local 'disputes', settled in private, often with money changing hands. Since FINE Salone and its community volunteers began their work things have begun to change.
Local leaders, such as Chief Mohamed Possible, have been engaged to come together to make local bye-laws against GBV. He says men now know that atrocities such as rape and wife beating are crimes for which they will be prosecuted.
Before this project started, we would make compromise marriages and settle cases out of court. But not now. All of us are changing – we are afraid of the laws. We know that if you commit that crime you will be punished.
Chief Mohamed Possible