November 2002

AI Amnesty International

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

CAW Children Affected by the War

GBV Gender Based Violence

GNP Gross National Product

HIPC Highly Indebted Poor County

HIV Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus

HRW Human Rights Watch

IDA International Development Association

IDP Internally Displaced People

IMF International Monetary Fund

IMR Infant Mortality Rate

MMR Mother Mortality Rate

MOP Movement for Progress Party

MSF Médecins Sans Frontières

MSWGCA Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children’s Affairs

NGO Non-Government Organization

NHAP National Health Action Plan

NRC Norwegian Refugee Council

PHR Physicians for Human Rights

RI Refugees International

RUF Revolutionary United Front

SCSL Special Court for Sierra Leone

SLANGO Sierra Leone Association of Non-Governmental Organizations

SLPP Sierra Leone People’s Party

SRSG Special Representative of the Secretary-General

TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission

USCR United States Committee for Refugees

UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women

UNSCR United Nations Security Council Resolution

USD United States Dollar

WB World Bank

WRF World Rehabilitation Fund

There is no shortage of personal accounts, detailed reports or articles detailing the horrific atrocities experienced by the Sierra Leonean people over the past decade. Due to a series of corrupt and suppressive leaders since the country gained independence from Great Britain in 1961, Sierra Leone fell into civil war in 1991. Though relative peace has been restored to the nation since the signing of the July 1999 Lomé Peace Accords, women remain to be extremely marginalized and abused in various forms throughout Sierra Leone. In addition to the ongoing trials and tribulations of every-day life, women and children continue to suffer from the physical, emotional, and psychological trauma of massive human rights abuses during the war and after the war. Two specific realms of women’s inequality will be explored in this paper: access to education and healthcare facilities, and access to property and employment rights. In order to have a thorough understanding of how women are currently incorporated within these realms in Sierra Leone, answers to the following questions are necessary:

Before exploring to what extent gender equality has been mainstreamed in Sierra Leone, it is important to first understand the recent history of the country. The ten-year civil war was, and continues to be, a serious impediment for women receiving access to educational and healthcare facilities. It also is, together with local customs and practices, one of the primary inhibiters for women receiving equal access to property and employment.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International (AI), the US Committee for Refugees (USCR), and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) are four of the prominent international organizations that publish and disseminate reports detailing atrocities committed primarily by the rebel forces of Sierra Leone. USCR reported in July 2002 "72% of Sierra Leonean women surveyed had experienced human rights abuses, and more than 50% had been victims of sexual violence." PHR estimates (based on a 2001 survey) that approximately 50,000 – 64,000 female internally displaced persons (IDPs) have histories of war-related assault. Repeated gang rape, often in front of family members, was a common tactic used to terrorize people into submission and retreat. Rebel groups forced boys and men to rape their mothers; mutilated women’s genitals with knives, burning wood and gun barrels; sexually assaulted and disemboweled pregnant women; and kidnapped girls and young women and forced them into sexual slavery. Adama, a woman in her 30s who was captured by rebel forces, spoke of her ordeal with a member of the USCR. According to her, they would bring pregnant women before witnesses and "they would place bets on whether the baby in the womb was male of female, then they would slit the women’s belly open." In the 1999 Lomé Accords, the individuals who committed these atrocities were given blanket amnesty for their crimes. The elderly, young girls and infants were often systematically targeted for violent acts such as those listed above. Two young female captives in their early teens reported the following:

Corinne Dufka of HRW reported interviewing a woman who was three months pregnant and was accused of stealing money from one of the rebel soldiers. As punishment, the soldier "took an umbrella and shoved it inside of her, causing an abortion and horrific problems and complications." Another fear and punishment tactic used by the rebels was pouring hot oil on and inside of women. The atrocities committed against women in Sierra Leone during the civil are horrifying to imagine for those who did not experience them, and nearly impossible to overcome for those who did.

As a result of the war, there are an estimated 1.2 million IDPs and almost 1.5 million refugees living in neighboring countries. Though the Lomé Peace Accords were signed in 1999, HRW reported in 2000 "a ‘hellish cycle of rape, sexual assault, and mutilation’ of women and girls continued to be perpetrated by ‘all sides’, including pro-government forces." Regardless, all but 11 of Sierra Leone’s chiefdoms have been declared safe for resettlement, and from 2001 through April 2002 more than 65,000 IDPs had been helped to return to their homes. Sierra Leonean refugees are flowing back across the border with Liberia. In addition, Liberian refugees are fleeing to Sierra Leone due to the incredibly unstable and explosive situation in Liberia. The state of the human condition in Sierra Leone is appalling, and women and children are at serve risk in regards to health and safety.

Given the previous conditions of post-conflict Sierra Leone, it is obvious why women have had so little access to healthcare and education facilities. Furthermore, property rights and access to employment have not been top priorities for women on the brink of survival. Now that a ceasefire has been established, these issues must be immediately addressed by international, national, and local organizations in Sierra Leone.

The majority of people who live in Sierra Leone, roughly 60%, are Muslim. The remainder of the population is comprised of traditional African religions (30%) and Christians (10%). The gross national product (GNP) of the country was $130 USD per person in 2000, down from $370 in 1980, which makes Sierra Leone one of the poorest countries in the world. Though Sub-Saharan Africa on aggregate experienced a 30% decline in GNP from $660 in 1980 to $470 in 2000, Sierra Leone’s decline exceeded 60%. Women are employed primarily in the private and agricultural sectors and make up approximately 37% of the labor force in Sierra Leone. While income levels continued to decline throughout the last fifth of the twentieth century, population was increasing at an alarming rate despite the casualties from conflict. Population in Sierra Leone grew from around 3.2 million in 1980 to over 5 million by 2000. It is estimated now that over 80% of Sierra Leoneans, predominately women and children, now live below the poverty line. Life expectance at birth in Sierra Leone is among the lowest in the world: 38 for males and 41 for females.

The fertility rate in Sierra Leone has decreased to 5.8 per woman, down from 6.5 in 1980; however, this decrease can more accurately be attributed to a decline in the welfare of women and an increased mother mortality rate (MMR) than to increased education and practice of family planning techniques. Currently, the MMR in Sierra Leone is 1,800/100,000 and the infant mortality rate (IMR) is 316/1000; both rates also among the highest in the world. Only 30% of women in Sierra Leone received prenatal care in 1996 during the height of the war. At present, 33% of children under the age of 5 are underweight and 66% of pregnant women have iron deficiency anemia. Even with immediate expansion of prenatal healthcare facilities, the ripple effects from years of neglect have caused permanent health problems for many women in Sierra Leone.

Unfortunately, reproductive health problems are only one of a plethora of fatal threats suffered by women in Sierra Leone. One of the most common forms of abuse against women is physical abuse inflicted on them by a male family member, usually the husband. Many women believe their husband has the right to beat them and those who report beatings to the police are often punished by more beatings from their husbands. The majority of the police force in Sierra Leone is male. Often reporting to authorities, particularly in small communities, does more harm than good to women. In addition, property ownership and inheritance rights predominantly favor males, including the right to own land. According to the USCR,

One of the largest, and few, international agencies that facilitates repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees from neighboring states is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Having lost their husband and/or male children in the war, many women are returning to find that they have lost their previous land and home. Although the UNHCR cannot be entirely responsible for the local traditions and practices of the various tribes in Sierra Leone, alternative subsistence assistance is significantly limited for single women.

Despite the dismal situation Sierra Leonean women face, Sierra Leone is a nation with an extreme amount of potential for enhancing gender justice, equality, and understanding. According to the UNHCR, "Sierra Leone’s remarkable progress in implementing the peace process has opened up human rights work in the country to address past abuses and violations, advocacy, capacity building, education and institution building." The Special Court of Sierra Leone (SCSL) and the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) have been established to account for war crimes, including gender-based violence (GBV). Sierra Leone faces an immense challenge for reaching gender equality given the current situation in the country. This challenge is being attacked by dozens of international, national, and local organizations determined to fight for and with the women of Sierra Leone.

In addition to understanding the previous mentioned conditions, it is essential to realize what life was like for women who survived the past decade in refugee camps. These women are now returning to Sierra Leone and are in desperate need of access to education and healthcare facilities, as well as property and employment, so they can begin to put their lives back together. Returning refugees and IDPs face additional challenges compared with women who remained in their own communities.

Having escaped the war in Sierra Leone and made it to refugee camps in neighboring Liberia and Guinea, Sierra Leonean women rarely found themselves in the protected environment for which they had perhaps hoped. The USCR reported:

In addition to the mental, financial, physical, and psychological problems already burdening refugee women, exploitation and abuse in refugee camps further augments the already desperate situation of these women and their children. UNHCR will only assist in the repatriation of refugees when their country is declared safe for return; or, as is the case in Liberia, the lives of the refugees are more threatened if they remain in the host country. Though the majority of Sierra Leone is relatively safe for return, women are returning to areas where serious physical threats still exist due to the push factor in Liberia of pending civil unrest and violent outbreaks. Refugee women speaking at The Dialogue with Refugee Women in Geneva in 2000 expressed the necessity for refugee women to have a voice in relation to voluntary repatriation. Often, returning home means a reduction in food subsidies, healthcare services, and protection, ‘luxuries’ that may have been available in the refugee camp they leave behind.

The lack of resources available to refugee women upon returning to Sierra Leone is of great concern to international reporting organizations such as Refugees International (RI) and the USCR. "They are extremely vulnerable, they have no one to help them do anything. When you’re leaving a refugee camp, to some degree you’re losing support. It’s rebuilding your life all over again." In many cases, single women attempt to seek shelter and protection from her in-laws. "If the husband is killed or dies and the wife does not have an older son who can claim the property, she often must yield to her husband’s in-laws, who decide whether to allow her back." Unfortunately, in-laws are not always sympathetic to the plight of these women. Thirty-nine-year-old Hawa Sesay witnessed the assassination of her husband by RUF rebels in 1995 and was forced to leave her home in Kambia by her parents-in-law. "After my husband was killed, they tried to make me leave, but I had to stay. So they came and took everything except the bed." Micro-credit programs are available in some camps to help women better equip themselves with skills needed for earning a sufficient livelihood after they return to Sierra Leone. Education programs about GBV are also implemented in various UNHCR camps throughout West Africa. However, as a result of large-scale budget cuts in organizations like UNHCR, such programs are becoming more and more difficult to implement and sustain.

Over 25 years ago, a global collective women’s action for gender justice and equality began in Mexico City. The documents drafted at this convention, in particular the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), laid the foundation for women’s equality that would be followed and incorporated into almost every UN member state. Though conditions on the ground in Sierra Leone reflect little of what this and subsequent conventions called for, it cannot be attributed to a failure of these conventions to thoroughly address the magnitude and severity of women’s subordination throughout the world. The first conference in Mexico City has been followed with a subsequent conference almost every five years, which include: Copenhagen (1980); Nairobi (1985); Beijing (1995); and Beijing + 5, which took place in New York City (2000).

Similar conferences to those described above took place in Rio de Janeiro, Vienna, and Cairo. Through these conferences, women’s activists have learned how to lobby and how to attach women’s issues to the popular development theory of the period. The international women’s movement, also referred to by scholars as a Global Gender Regime, continues to grow stronger. Concerning Sierra Leone, "recent activities at the international, national, and local level show promise in addressing and improving the rights of Sierra Leonean women and girls."

Sierra Leone signed CEDAW on 21 September 1988 and ratified it less than a month later. It also signed the Optional Protocol on 8 September 2000, but it has failed to ratify it as of yet. Despite Sierra Leone’s apparent commitment to women’s equality and protection through adopting CEDAW, it has missed all four deadlines for turning in progress reports to the CEDAW Committee due to the civil war. Likewise, implementing CEDAW guidelines has been impossible for the government up to this point. "Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women provides that States parties shale undertake to submit to the Secretary-General of the United Nations… a report on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures that they have adopted to give effect to the provisions of the Convention and on the progress made in that respect. Reports are submitted within one year of entry into force of the Convention for the State concerned and thereafter at least every four years, and further whenever the committee so requests." To date, Sierra Leone has not turned in a single report documenting progress toward gender justice. Now that a ceasefire has been declared, and relative peace has been restored to the country, the government will have the opportunity to prove its written commitments with action.

The Global Gender Regime is defined by Dr. Nüket Kardam as an organized gender equality movement where gender accountability receives "a high level of acceptance by states and comes close to international law." Based on the UN conferences alone, it is clear to see that the Global Gender Regime has been activated. Even in countries like Sierra Leone, where atrocities against women are among the worst in the world, the Constitution and other official documents declare that discrimination of any form based on gender is illegal. However, due to a lack of infrastructure, resources, and other complications, what is written into Sierra Leonean law rarely translates into protection and equal treatment of women.

The Global Gender Regime is made up of "implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules and decision-making procedures around which actors’ expectations converge in a given area of international relations." In this definition, principles are understood as the beliefs of facts and causations of gender inequality. Often, these principles differ greatly within a country and across borders, one major such principle is different religious beliefs about the roles of women in society. Such differences in principles make it difficult for programs initiated by international organizations to actually reach the women for which they were designed. Norms are understood as homogeneity in rights and obligations among the key actors. Rules are defined as the legal agreements made by the state to promote gender justice, rules which are "embodied in treaties and other documents, such as platforms of actions." Lastly, decision-making procedures are defined as "supervisory and monitoring mechanisms to formulate and enforce the rules.[…] By focusing on equality, the gender regime has, with some regional differences, brought about a view of women as full and equal partners." These procedures measure the level to which a country complies with the Regime’s norms and rules for gender equality and justice.

In certain aspects, the Global Gender Regime has made its way into Sierra Leone. At least on paper, the government of Sierra Leone takes responsibility for the fair and equal treatment of women and girls throughout the country. Later in this report, a detailed analysis of the Sierra Leonean Constitution and government ministries will demonstrate the states commitment to documenting the importance of gender justice. However, documentation is one thing, implementation is quite another. Due to the war and continued lack of resources, the Sierra Leonean government has done little to match Regime norms to increase education and healthcare access, as well as access to property and employment, for women. Government officials are more or less meeting the rules of the Global Gender Regime by writing into law gender equality; however, they are not taking the necessary procedures required for gender justice. In addition, local traditional practices greatly conflict with many of the Global Gender Regime ideals. In a country struggling to recover from a decade-long, massive civil war, the government does not have adequate resources for implementing gender justice throughout much of the nation. To understand the extent to which the Global Gender Regime norms for access to education and healthcare services – as well as property and employment opportunities – has penetrated Sierra Leonean society at the ground level, a thorough examination of the organizations (international and national), as well as the formal and informal structures available to women in Sierra Leone, must be analyzed.

International multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors are critical for the implementation of gender justice in the areas of access to education and healthcare, as well as property and employment opportunities, in Sierra Leone. One of the poorest countries in the world, Sierra Leone does not have the ability to adequately provide the necessary resources to women for the entire country. Assistance from multi-lateral donors such as the World Bank (WB), the World Rehabilitation Fund (WRF), and the United Nations – combined with assistance from bi-lateral donors such as the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) – provide desperately needed resources and services for women in Sierra Leone. On 21 March 2002, at a World-Bank-hosted event in Paris, multilateral and bilateral donors pledged $640.6 million USD for Sierra Leone’s economic recovery. The assistance package is to be distributed as follows: $274.7 in grants, $23.8 in debt relief, and $342 in loans. Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance Thaimu Bangwa, head of Sierra Leone delegation at the meeting, stated "the government has been implementing comprehensive stabilization and reform policies with the support of the African Development Bank, the EU, and the World Bank." These reform policies follow the National Strategic Vision, which was prepared in coordination with women’s groups. These reform policies, combined with the assistance package pledged in Paris, may give the women of Sierra Leone a chance at economic, mental, and physical recovery. However, assistance and change in Sierra Leon has been slow and tedious up to this point due to the instability of the region. Little has been done on the ground, but proposals and projects like this one are multiplying the longer the country remains in relative peace.

The WB recently developed new strategies for dealing with Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs), such as Sierra Leone. These strategies will ideally help the government to divert limited funds from loan service payments to domestic concerns, such as educational and healthcare services for women and children. One such strategy is a conditional $950 million USD debt service relief package, which alleviates Sierra Leone from the overwhelming burden of making extremely high loan interest payments. However, it is important to look at relief packages such as this one with a critical eye. The WB reported that "projections indicate" that HIPC relief will be directed primarily at increased expenditures on education, health, and rural development; however, none of the conditions of the relief package require the government to increase spending in these areas or mandate increased implementation of gender equality programs. Furthermore, one of the conditions of the WB relief package is that Sierra Leone commits to "the financial and economic programs supported by the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility." Ironically, the IMF usually demands a reduction in government spending in order to qualify for increased assistance, which often equates to less money and resources for education, health, and rural development.

The WB has provided assistance in the areas of resettlement, rehabilitation and reintegration of refugee women. In addition, the WB reports that it has assisted Sierra Leone in governance improvements such as:

On 14 March 2002, the WB approved an IDA credit of $20 million USD to "help increase access to quality health care in Sierra Leone through community involvement in the delivery of basic health services." Areas given the highest priority will be: maternal and child health, communicable disease control, sanitation, clean water and health education. The package will be implemented through health management teams in each district, technical assistance, and training in health management and health care, family planning and nutrition. The World Bank Group reports that "community representation and accountability" are the underlining aspects of this proposal. Though $20 million USD appears to be a lot of money, and is certainly better than nothing at all, this equates to less than $5 USD per person in Sierra Leone. The agenda for this loan package will be impossible to meet with only $20 million USD. Furthermore, by adding that the program is designed around "community representation and accountability," the local communities can be blamed when the project inevitably fails to meet its projected goals. The WB has failed to incorporate gender issues into their mandate until very recently, and has historically focused on macroeconomic policies rather than the needs of the marginalized members of society. However, the recently adopted Comprehensive Development Framework (1999) emphasizes "partnerships among governments, donors, civil society, the private sector, and other development actors." Hopefully this will equate to greater cooperation with women’s NGOs and grassroots efforts fighting for gender equality in Sierra Leone.

The WRF works with two local NGOs, The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and Children Affected by the War (CAW), primarily in the western and southern territories. It provides counseling, healthcare, rehabilitation, and skills development training to women and girls. A counselor at one of the centers stated, "psychosocial counseling, when coupled with economic development and opportunity in areas recovering from conflict, will bring greater success than counseling on its own." Over 300 women have participated in the counseling services, which are tailored to the local custom, culture, and need of each individual. Counselors are native to Sierra Leone to enhance the trust and understanding between the counselors and those seeking assistance. Counseling sessions are conducted in a small group setting to help women and girls realize they are not alone in their struggles, that other women have experienced similar abuses and that together they can help each other overcome the past to make a better future for themselves and their children. Traditional fish salting skills are taught to those who had previously not practiced the technique, in addition to crèche management and childcare skills. By increasing their skills, women who participate in WRF programs increase their employment potential as well. Micro-enterprise opportunities are soon to be added to the WRF agenda.

UNICEF, together with the Sierra Leone Ministry of Youth Education and Sports, recently organized a three-day workshop to standardize the quality of non-formal education, as well as testing mechanisms for reading, writing and mathematics. UNICEF has been notably successful in its efforts at vaccinating hundreds of thousands of children against polio and in its efforts to distribute necessary vitamin A supplements to children. In regards to pregnant mothers, UNICEF distributed thirteen midwifery kits as well as flipchart boards, pads, and markers in support of the training of the District Health Management Team, which strives to decrease the MMR and IMR in Sierra Leone. Over 100 tins of Ferrous Sulphate, used for anemia prevention in pregnant women, and 220 traditional birth attendant kits were also distributed. The Teacher Development Initiative, a training program that includes gender education and sensitivity, was developed and implemented by UNICEF in coordination with local schools in Freetown. There were transparent indications upon follow-up visits by UNICEF that the pilot schools in Freetown were implementing the Initiative. UNICEF has been a strong supporter for ground-level projects and programs to improve the state of the human condition of women and children in Sierra Leone, in particular in the area of access to healthcare facilities. However, as with most UN organizations, paralyzing budget cuts have inhibited growth and expansion of many programs, and has forced some programs to cease entirely.

From 21-26 of January 2002, UNIFEM sent a six-member delegation team to Sierra Leone to examine the impact of the ten-year war on women. During their assessment, members of the delegation held sessions with various dignitaries including the President of Sierra Leone and several Ministers, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), international NGOs, and local women’s rights organizations. They visited the Kambia district and the Grafton IDP Camp to talk with recently resettled IDPs, as well as a project run by the FAWE. Negotiations centered on the immediate and thorough implementation of CEDAW in Sierra Leone. UNIFEM has published several books and reports about women and conflict, which have been disseminated throughout the world and are available on-line.

The primary responsibilities of UNHCR are to provide shelter and basic necessities to refugees who have fled their native country due to civil war, and to facilitate their repatriation once their native country has been declared safe for return. In the case of Sierra Leone, UNHCR has assisted refugees who fled to neighboring Liberia and Guinea for the past decade, and is now assisting Sierra Leoneans in voluntary repatriation. RI and USCR have stressed that UNHCR must increase its capacity for returning refugees due to a pending explosive violent outbreak in Liberia. UNHCR has also been informed of the desperate situation many single mothers are in upon returning to Sierra Leone. As previously stated, many traditional tribes prohibit women from owning property; property inheritance rights are passed through paternal lines. UNHCR is held responsible by many local organizations for not providing sufficient alternative resources to assist landless single mothers.

Adding to UNHCR’s responsibilities is responding to many incidents of sexual abuse by aid workers of women and girls in refugee camps. On 12 December 2001, UNHCR put out 5 commitments as a result of these sexual abuse accounts. These commitments are:

In addition to the above-mentioned commitments, UNHCR put out a Code of Conduct mandate in 2001 that highlights their zero tolerance approach to sexual exploitation of any form in refugee camps and field offices. Furthermore, this year’s World Refugees Day (20 June) in Washington DC was devoted entirely to women. The four-day event (20-24 June) included speeches by Secretary of State Colin Powell, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie, and a refugee woman from Afghanistan; dozens of dance performers representing their various countries of origin; videos and displays representing life in an actual refugee camp; and magazines and brochures full of information about UNHCR and the plight of refugee women in particular.

In Sierra Leone specifically, the Mano River Women Peace Network met with UNHCR to discuss ways in which they could bring together women who have been affected by the war from Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Programs of experience sharing for women like this one are emerging at the grassroots level in Sierra Leone, and are extremely powerful resources for international organizations to connect with ground-level movements. In 2001, UNHCR retained a consultant to explore the possibility of developing a Sierra Leone Women’s Initiative, guided by the FAWE, to support and coordinate women’s development projects. Though efforts are underway in Sierra Leone and several organizations are working hard to improve the conditions of Sierra Leonean women, resources are still extremely scarce and programs are fragile as a result. Outside of the capitol Freetown, few services are available.

Several bi-lateral donors are present in Sierra Leone, such as the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The NRC constructed eight schools in the Lokomassama chiefdom, distributed learning materials for returnees (1,571 beneficiaries), and built school furniture for children. Though most of the NRC’s work is centered on children, single mothers are indirect beneficiaries of such efforts. MSF, together with the local NGO FAWE, treated approximately 2,000 women victims of rapes that occurred in and around Freetown during the January 1999 rebel incursion. They also treated another 2,000 victims (mostly IDPs) living in camps in the Bo and Kenema regions. Almost all had sexually transmitted diseases, some had severe gynecological problems and about 10% were pregnant. An Italian NGO, Cooperazione Internationale, provided assisted living, community activity centers, and health awareness education. An Irish NGO, GOAL, focused on the welfare of street children and commercial sex workers. GOAL provided sex education classes, transit shelters, and reintegration support to prostitutes seeking to exit the industry.

Unfortunately, regardless of these efforts, a UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women reported in early 2001 that the international community was not responding appropriately to the needs of Sierra Leonean women. At the International Expert Seminar in Oslo, Norway earlier this year, experts reported "the gap between policies adopted at headquarters and their implementation in the field; the continued failure to address the need of uprooted populations who remained internally displaced, especially those not located in camps; the continued inability of those who suffer from gender-based persecution to obtain asylum for this reason; the failure of gender programs to address the attitudes and the situation of men; and the lack of long-term commitment from the international community in order to improve the above-mentioned impediments" are the main areas of concern. Furthermore, few international organizations exist that work to increase women’s rights to property and employment opportunities.

President: Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah

Vice President: Soloman Berewa

After the war, the Sierra Leonean government - in an effort to coordinate assistance to IDPs, returning refugees, and ex-combatants - created the National Commission for Reconstruction, Resettlement, and Rehabilitation (NCRRR). The Special Court of Sierra Leone (SCSL) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) were also established to provide an arena for justice and resolution for victims of the war, specifically women and children. The new Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA) is a voice and ministerial resource for the women and children of Sierra Leone.

Despite these new efforts by the government, inadequate government accountability remains to be one of the most important components for the lack of gender justice in Sierra Leone. Without the rule of law; that is, documented laws that are systematically enforced, perpetrators who prey on women and children will not be held accountable for their actions and there will be limited deterrence of gender related crimes in the future. Written constitutional laws are meaningless without the resources and government will to enforce them. In Sierra Leone, women’s rights are well documented in the Constitution, but are rarely enforced.

The current Constitution of Sierra Leone was adopted in 1991. Women’s rights are clearly and thoroughly defined in the Constitution, including equal pay for equal work and equity in every public and private arena. However, as stated several times throughout this analysis, little has been done to implement these rights due mostly to a lack of government resources. Women still disproportionately lack access to education and healthcare facilities, as well as property and employment opportunities.

Selected excerpts from the Sierra Leone Constitution:

Given the explicitly and detail of women’s rights in the Constitution, women in Sierra Leone should be free from gender-based discrimination, especially now that the country is no longer in a state of war. It is obvious that "the government has taken the initiative to design national policies on gender mainstreaming and the advancement of women that include provisions for improving protections for women against violence, and has designated the MSWGCA to monitor the implementation of those policies. Most significantly, efforts at the local level have resulted in increased awareness of and response to survivors of Gender Based Violence." Unfortunately, the Constitution is not a reflection of what life is like for women in Sierra Leone. Women continue to be the victims of GBV and are denied desperately needed access to land and work. Women lack the educational opportunities and skills necessary to compete with men for the limited employment opportunities available in the country, particularly in rural areas. FGM is practiced throughout the country and it is estimated that 90% of Sierra Leonean women have been circumcised. The few rapes that are punished by the state typically result in a fine paid the father or another male relative of the victim. Abortions in the case of rape or incest, fetal impairment, economic or social reasons are illegal. In order to understand how international and government policies are not reaching the majority of women in Sierra Leone, it is necessary go beyond these two arenas.

In 1994, the Sierra Leonean government adopted the National Health Action Plan (NHAP) aimed at making low-cost, basic, preventative and curative health care available throughout the county; however, NHAP failed due to the civil war. Donor agencies took the responsibility to guiding the government in policy-making of education and health related programs, yet these donors agencies rarely understood the intricate complications the government faced when trying to implement new policies due to the massive civil unrest. Learning a lesson from the 1994 failure, yet still based on the original NHAP principles and guidelines, the government will help coordinate and guide donor efforts in the future. The government is working to reactivate the NHAP given the current relative state of peace.

Some view the SCSL, established on 14 August 2000, as a revolutionary step for Sierra Leone, while others believe it has little more than a symbolic role. Several of the specific responsibilities and roles of the SCSL are as follows:

Due to a serious lack of financial and human resources, trained judges, and trial facilities, most gender-based war crimes have failed to come to trial. Many women in Sierra Leone either know little or nothing at all about the SCSL, or that they have a right to persecute those who committed crimes against them. Many women cannot remember exactly who was responsible for crimes such as gang rape, where multiple perpetrators were responsible. Unable to travel to Freetown or other large cities where trials can be held, and struggling to meet the very basic of necessities for themselves and their children, most rural women will never seek justice for the horrific and repeated crimes inflicted upon them throughout the war and after. The SCSL is a step in the right direction by the government of Sierra Leone; however, under current conditions, the Court will continue to have little more than a symbolic role.

The TRC, similar to it predecessor in South Africa, is designed to bring a sense of truth and understanding about the atrocities committed during the decade long war. In most cases, amnesty is granted for perpetrators of crimes in exchange for a truthful recollection of the crime they committed, why they committed a crime, and a sincere acknowledgment and apology to the victim(s) for the crime(s) they committed. The TRC is mandated to pay attention to the needs of women and children and explores ways to "mainstream women’s participation in the work of the Commission," which is essential for a true gender-equal evaluation of the perpetrators testimony. The Commission has the responsibility to engage "women with cascading effect in the districts and communities" as it travels around the country to meet the people. "Indeed one of the measurable outputs for the Commission’s work will be agenda setting for the transformation of this country, particularly in relation to the rights and position of women and children in our public domains."

It is obvious due to these two government initiatives, the SCSL and the TRC, that government resources are being used primarily for the purpose of healing from the war and holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes. Focusing on women’s equal access to education and healthcare, as well as access to property and employment opportunities, are not top priorities at the time being for the government of Sierra Leone.

As a side note, it is important to mention the unique political party composition of a certain sector in Sierra Leone. Of the ruling party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), only 24 of the 223 electoral candidates (about 10%) in the previous election were female. These women were predominately businesswomen and politicians, though a few were housewives and social workers and one was a teacher. However, a smaller party currently with little popular support in Sierra Leone is the Movement for Progress Party (MOP). In the last election, 8 of the 33 electoral candidates (about 25%) were women. All four candidates from the West-West district of the MOP were women, an occurrence not documented in any other political party or region in Sierra Leone. Occupations of the candidates of the MOP included politicians, businesswomen, housewives, traders, accountants, and social workers. Forming a partnership with the female MOP candidates in the West-West district could be a strong link between the international and local arenas to push for gender justice in communities. Furthermore, researching the factors behind the large female percentage of this political party may present new avenues for women’s equality in Sierra Leone.

Though women’s positions in high-level government arenas were practically non-existent throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, women have consistently held Minister positions since the early 1980’s. However, these positions have been minimal and are typically limited to the areas of food, agricultural, environmental, health-related, educational, or women/children affairs.

In order for the government to achieve gender equality for women in regards to access to education and healthcare facilities, as well as property and employment opportunities, gender equality must be mainstreamed into the at least the following ministries:

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation has shown significant progress in attending to the specific needs of women in Sierra Leone, specifically those most in need. In 1991, with the help of the NGO Christian Extension Services, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation completed the first phase of health education lessons on disease awareness and prevention to displaced women from the Koinadugu district, and it is currently developing an action plan on HIV/AIDS. On 23 April 2002, the Ministry completed its first Expanded Program of Immunization Evaluation Coverage Survey Report, and plans to follow-up on the findings of the report. The National PRSP Coordinator and Poverty Reduction Steering Committee (PRSP), under the chairmanship of the Minister of Development and Economic Planning and financially partnered with the World Bank, currently seeks a gender specialist for the Poverty Reduction Strategy Formulation. The specific responsibility of the expert is to develop a framework for mainstreaming gender into the PRSP. This initiative is a remarkable step toward government accountability of gender justice and equality in Sierra Leone. The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology is working toward full implementation of gender sensitive tuition-free education. Though several of the Ministries in Sierra Leone are showing progress in implementing gender equality programs and following the mandates of CEDAW, most fail to incorporate – or mainstream – gender issues into their policy-making decisions.

The Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA), established in 1996, is the strongest and most active Ministry striving for gender justice in Sierra Leone. Minister Shirley Gbujama and Deputy Minister Memunatu Koroma are proud of the fact that strong, competent women lead all major departments in the Ministry. Together, these women are setting a new precedent for women’s political leadership potential in Sierra Leone. Minister Shirley Gbujama has a long background of political involvement in Sierra Leone. Beginning in 1970 as Ambassador to Senegal, she continued her career in the Sierra Leonean Government as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Tourism before taking on her current position. One of the major impediments to MSWGCA moving forward with its mandate under CEDAW, according to Minister Gbujama, is their insufficient budget. She reported on a 100 million USD grant pledged to the MSWGCA by the US and the UN. By the time the grant worked its way through the bureaucracies of the US and the UN, "the grant had dwindled down to almost nothing," said Gbujama. Often government packages such as this one are sound at the time of announcement, but at the grassroots level where the resources are needed most of the packages are almost insignificant.

MSWGCA has a strong and expanding relationship with local NGOs and communities. In collaboration with the Women’s Forum – a network of national women NGOs and groups – the MSWGCA now sponsors an annual National Women’s Day celebration beginning in 2001. The celebration is typically a two-day exhibition that takes place on 8-9 March. The theme in 2001 was "Women United for Economic Advancement and Peace." With this event, women pushed for the enactment of the National Policy on Women and implementation of CEDAW. The MSWGCA also assisted UNICEF and the Council of Churches in a radio discussion on sexual violence. Together with UNICEF, the MSWGCA sponsored a National Young Peoples’ Forum for 120 children and youth from 12 districts of Sierra Leone. At this event, the two organizations prepared a Children’s Manifesto and Advocacy Paper for the Children’s Forum in New York. The importance of education, health, water sanitation, child protection, and HIV/AIDS was taught through skits, which in turn were broadcasted on national television and radio stations. At the Forum, UNICEF and MSWGCA also pushed for the passage of the Convention of the Rights of the Child into law. Though the National Young Peoples’ Forum focused on children, not women, many victims of GBV during the war were young girls. Furthermore, it is essential to instill in boys and girls at a very young age the importance of treating females as equals and protecting them in situations where other males are attempting to inflict harm on them. MSWGCA launched an aggressive campaign against sexual violence, taking over some of the responsibilities previously held by UNICEF, and was successful at the reunification of thousands of separated children and former child combatants with their relatives. Though MSWGCA has worked hard for women’s rights in the areas of education, healthcare, protection from violence, and even economic rights, few of its programs have incorporated the need for women to have the right to own and inherit property. Property rights are essential for single mother’s survival in Sierra Leone.

Despite MSWGCA’s efforts, two major obstacles inhibit the Ministry from meeting its mandate under CEDAW: a severe lack of financial and human resources; and local tribal traditions which are often discriminatory against women. Almost certainly, international and national government efforts to stop GBV and to increase women’s access to education, healthcare, employment and land rights will be unsuccessful without a grassroots effort as well. In order to improve the situation of women in Sierra Leone, "change must happen first at the local of chiefdom level, where most disputes are still settled by regional chiefs."

NGOs in Sierra Leone are expanding and growing at an impressive rate. As previously mentioned, without a grassroots effort by the women of Sierra Leone, their future is dismal. Sierra Leonean women are very active in civic and philanthropic organizations and there exist many NGOs in Sierra Leone designed specifically to facilitate the efforts of women in meeting their nutritional, mental, physical, educational, financial and psychological needs. The Sierra Leone Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (SLANGO) holds workshops for NGO personnel in Freetown to sensitize participants on diverse management issues and NGO policy. In line with CEDAW, SLANGO adopted a Code of Conduct Committee to design and implement a uniform standard for meeting women’s basic needs. One such initiative is the Functional Adult Literacy Program – contracted with UNICEF and the Ministry of Youth, Education, and Sports – to supply 1,180 units of school furniture in the Bombali District for adult literacy programs.

In 1994, the Sierra Leone’s Women’s Forum was established. It is made up of over forty local women’s organizations seeking to advance the education, welfare, and general status of women and girls. The strongest and possibly most influential aspect of the Women’s Forum is its supportive counseling classes taught through local traditions, storytelling, proverbs, and singing in the treatment process. The Maria Stopes Clinics, locally run and well respected, provide GBV education and counseling for male and female victims and perpetrators. The National Association on Violence Against Women, initiated by a senior female officer with the Sierra Leone police force, educates and sensitizes the police force about GBV and how to respond to victims of GBV. In addition, the Association educates the officers about proper enforcement of the non-discriminatory laws outlined in the Constitution, specifically in regards to women and children. Though the success of these NGOs and others signify a growing dedication to gender equality in Sierra Leone, beneficiaries of the programs are only a small fraction of those in need. Furthermore, beneficiaries are primarily in the Freetown area; rural areas lack desperately needed NGO programs like those available in the nations capitol.

Most notable of all NGO’s in Sierra Leone is the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), established in 1995. The slogan of FAWE, ‘Don’t hide. Come, your secrets will be safe,’ encourages women of GBV to seek assistance at their clinics through discrete, private, and free healthcare services. "FAWE formalized GBV data collection and advocacy efforts, and has assumed the lead in counseling with elders, the police, lawyers, and the judiciary to develop GBV prevention and response protocols." Primarily Sierra Leonean women who can relate to the trials and tribulations the patients have experienced, as well as the socio-culture background from which they come, run FAWE clinics. Based in Freetown, FAWE has 31 offices throughout Sub-Saharan Africa that form the Pan-African Forum for African Women Educationalists. Beatrice Olu Parkinson, a counselor at the FAWE center in Freetown, believes that "as women, we must do something to raise the dignity of fellow women." This is the attitude that will pull women together in Sierra Leone to use a collective force in fighting for their equality. Christiana Thorpe, FAWE chairperson, stated "the good thing in all this bad is that there has been a breakthrough in the culture of silence on rape. We're now going into schools, sensitizing people and communities."

Combined with efforts by UNICEF, UNIFEM, and the UNHCR, mass initiatives to educate men and women about the severity of GBV may significantly reduce the rate of GBV in Sierra Leone. From March 1999 to May 2002, FAWE worked with 725 girl mothers ages 12 to18 in Freetown. FAWE offered the girls basic education, reproductive and health education, motherhood skills, and training in sustainable livelihood skills to enhance self-reliance. With the support of UNDP, FAWE set up a Non-Formal Education Program in Conakry, Guinea for Sierra Leonean refugees. Over 3,300 men and women registered for the program; 1,892 of which were under the age of 18 and 1,500 of which were between the ages of 18 and 25. In addition, "FAWE influences policy and implements interventions to address the challenges facing the education of girls and women" and hosts radio talk shows to discuss war rape. Through community and theatre group coalitions, FAWE promotes open discussions about the issues of sexual exploitation and male-female relations in Sierra Leone.

CRS developed a pilot low-cost housing project in the Western Area of Freetown. It assisted in the construction of 100 houses on a self-help basis targeting homeless people in IDP camps, in particular women and single mothers. The Sierra Leone Housing Cooperation provided the land for the project. Unfortunately, few programs similar to this one by CRS exist in Sierra Leone. The country is struggling to find some sense of normalcy after a decade-long horrific civil war. Housing materials are one of the many necessities unavailable to the majority of the Sierra Leonean populace. As with all other areas mentioned above, greater assistance is needed by the international community to establish proper housing for returning refugees and IDPs.

The vibrant women’s organizations which are growing in Sierra Leone, as well as their successes at collaborating with international donors, has been imperative for enhancing women’s equality in the country. However, lasting effects from the war, continued instability in the region, a lack of enforcement of written laws, a lack of legal reform in land tenure laws, as well as a lack of human and financial resources continue to constrain NGOs in their struggles for women’s equality in the areas of education and healthcare, as well as property and employment opportunities, in Sierra Leone.

Many women in Sierra Leone, particularly in rural areas where access to education is more limited than in urban areas, accept GBV as a normal condition of the relationship between men and women. Domestic abuse such as rape and battering are daily occurrences in households, though they are slowly gaining more attention in public newspapers and the media. Domestic abuse – which is most prevalent in low-income households – is seen as a private issue in Sierra Leone, not one for the public or society at large. In a population-based research report of IDP women put out by PHR in 2001, more than half of those surveyed believed their husbands had the right to beat them. The women who do report domestic abuse to local authorities are often denied protection and are usually recommended to return home, where they may face additional violence for ‘causing a problem.’ Most police and authority figures in Sierra Leone are male and they typically have the same discriminatory attitudes toward women as the male family members who abuse them. Many rural girls under the legal marriage age of 16 are forced or encouraged into earlier sexual relationships or marriages, which reflects "the implementation of local customary law and practice in cases where national law is not enforced." Polygamy is also practiced in many parts of Sierra Leone.

Women without a male partner are especially vulnerable in Sierra Leone. Single women and mothers are negatively stereotyped and encounter grave difficulties in acquiring and maintaining property. "Customary inheritance laws often discriminate against women, and women are disproportionately excluded from education, professional employment, and community leadership." With limited access to education, women lack the necessary skills to compete with men for limited employment opportunities, which further increases their independence on a male partner to acquire food and shelter necessities. Tribal customs and practices differ throughout the country in relation to property rights. The Temne and Limba tribes in the north offer greater women’s rights for property inheritance, though women cannot become paramount chiefs or hold other prominent community leadership positions. The Mende tribe in the south holds preferences to male heirs and unmarried daughters for property inheritance. The inability for single mothers to own property under social/tribal norms is detrimental to their livelihood, as well as their children’s. In most rural areas, women perform much of the subsistence farming and earn an income through petty business. Women hold only 8% of administrative and managerial positions in the formal sector of employment in Sierra Leone. The government, through increasing women’s participation in the formal and decision-making sectors by establishing and enforcing quotas, will give women greater voice in Sierra Leone. Such quotas will also likely lead to an increase in women’s access to education and healthcare facilities, as well as property and employment rights.

"Women do not have equal access to education, economic opportunities, health facilities, or social freedoms." The aggregate literacy rate for women in Sierra Leone is about 15%, yet in rural areas only about 6% of women can read and write. Almost two million women in Sierra Leone are estimated to have undergone FGM, which equates to roughly 90% of the female population of the country. All population groups practice FGM except Creoles, including Temne, Mende, Loko, Limba, Kono, Kuranko, Susu, Fullah, Mandingo. Girls who were raped during the war who had gone through circumcision (FGM) experienced more tearing and infections due to the tightening of the vagina. Though, as detailed above, the Constitution of Sierra Leone states that the "State shall… discourage discrimination on the grounds of… sex, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association or ties," no specific law prohibits FGM in the country. By using the word "discourage" rather than prohibit, the State is not obligated to actively dissuade the practice of FGM. Though some headway had been made in recent years to curtail the practice of FGM, there have been very successful mass campaigns by local practitioners to counter efforts by NGOs to educated men and women about the harmful side effects of FGM. Furthermore, "there is currently no GBV coordination between local and international NGOs and the local government officials." Attacking the practice of FGM is a touchy situation because it crosses religious and social norms that have been practiced for decades, perhaps centuries, in Sierra Leone. If FGM is to be curtailed, efforts must come from the ground in Sierra Leone. If such efforts gain at least local and social support first, international and national partnerships will help to strengthen their movement.

To answer the question posed at the beginning of this paper ‘Overall, at what point in the ‘funnel’ of mainstreamed gender equality from global à international à national à local do barriers prevent gender equality and justice from occurring on the ground? What are these barriers?’, a summary of the arguments presented in this analysis at each level is necessary. At the global level, it can be argued that a Global Gender Regime is actually not in place, and that gender issues remain to be highly controversial between and within nations. At the international level, obviously a severe lack of funding – combined with inadequate coordination between donors – is the main obstacle. Nationally, again, a lack of financial and human resources inhibit the Sierra Leonean government from meeting the conditions set forth in CEDAW. However, the government has shown an impressive interest in gender justice and equality since relative peace has been restored to the country. Finally, at the local/NGO level, logistical and financial limitations as well as social norms and traditional practices are the largest barriers for gender justice and equality in Sierra Leone. Clearly, improvements must be made at all levels for significant progress to be made in Sierra Leone.

Presented throughout this analysis were many examples of how international, national, and local efforts have positively impacted women’s lives in Sierra Leone. Most organizations focus on education and healthcare access for women, as well as job skills and training to allow women to be more competitive candidates for jobs. However, few organizations at any level incorporate the immediate need for women’s access to property rights. Though local customs and traditions are the greatest obstacles, the government and other actors must provide land and housing to single mothers who are deprived of these rights by their local communities. Until land reform laws are strictly enforced, which is not likely to be in the near future given the plethora of responsibilities the government currently faces, alternative means for single mother’s livelihoods must be met by international organizations and NGOs.

Unique to Sierra Leone is the abundance of local organizations interested in promoting women’s development. These organizations have been critical in inspiring communities and the government to recognize the specific needs of and biases against women in Sierra Leone. These organizations are key to further mainstreaming women’s issues into the formal and non-formal sectors of Sierra Leonean society, as well as strengthening the resources and support for women and girls in the nation. Though commissions, courts, and expert groups are beginning to emerge and gain influence in Sierra Leone, there remains a serious lack of supervisory and monitoring mechanisms to enforce the rules of their efforts, as well as resources and infrastructure to facilitate justice for victims of the war.

The three primary arenas that hold the responsibility for gender accountability in Sierra Leone are the international community and multi-lateral/bi-lateral donors; government and state actors including Ministries and courts; and NGOs at the local level combined with women’s grassroots efforts. Each of these arenas, as discussed throughout this report, has its own specific agenda of what needs to be done to improve the situation of women in Sierra Leone. Of utmost importance is for these arenas to immediately increase communication and partnering with one another so as to establish a stable and lasting coalition to ensure that women in Sierra Leone have equal access to education and healthcare facilities, as well as property and employment opportunities.

AFROL Gender Profile – Sierra Leone, Social Data. Retrieved from www.afrol.com/

html on 16 November 2002.

watch/daw/cedaw/index.html on 13 December 2002.

080702.html on 24 October 2002.

"Women in Development." World Bank Group. Retrieved from http://genderstats.

worldbank.org/wdevelopment.pdf on 21 October 2002.