Rape and other modes of sexual violence have always been a part of society. These offences have been mentioned in antiquity’s myth, the religious chronicles of the Bible and the Quran. Unfortunately, these crimes still remain a huge modern-day concern. For the most time, women and girls suffer the brunt of these crimes in Sierra Leone. Of all personal crimes, sex- related are perhaps the most intrusive and humiliating.
There have been numerous challenges in combating sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women and girls in Sierra Leone. In 2019, President Bio declared sexual violence a national public emergency. This prompted the amendment of the Sexual Offences Act 2012. The current Sexual Offences Amendment Act 2019 significantly altered the former legislation to address the gaps which were identified in the sexual offences law. The 2019 Amendment Act modified or increased the custodial sentence for adult offenders from just 15 years to life imprisonment and from 5 to 15 years imprisonment for children, and 10 years to life imprisonment for young persons. The declaration of sexual offences as a national public emergency also paved the way for the establishment of a sexual offences court in the criminal jurisdiction of the High Court of Sierra Leone.
The improved sexual offences legislation will be of little significance if there aren’t supportive structures in place to ensure its effective implementation. Stigmatization, entrenched patriarchal mindsets and lack of trust in the justice system cannot simply be addressed by legislative reforms. Most families would prefer an out of court settlement of a SGBV matter to being confronted by the absent infrastructures to support these legislative changes.
In rural communities across Sierra Leone, residents have complex familial relationships with one another, and most marriages take place within extended families. This means that cultural sensitivities make reporting cases of sexual abuse very difficult for the victims in those communities.
In recent times, a 5 year old girl child was sexually penetrated which left her paralyzed and later succumbed to the injuries. Another 5 year old also died from sexual penetration and strangulation.
Sitting in a hut at her home, Kadiatu (not her real name) wept as she narrated how her uncle raped her and said she would never get justice for the attack. The issue was dealt with by family mediation. Her parents did not involve the police because they did not want the family’s reputation to be smeared.
In Kenema, for example, Patrick (not his real name), the father of a young girl who was sexually penetrated said that his daughter had suffered appalling physical consequences including horrific complications like a fistula and was hospitalized for almost 3 months. The accused was sentenced to only 8 (eight) years’ imprisonment.
Quite recently, a popular female journalist was threatened with physical violence by a well-known male musician on Facebook live. Another senior government economist was alleged to have been physically assaulted in her office at a top government’s ministry.
These instances highlight the persistent sexual or gender-based violence in Sierra Leone despite the passage of a tough law. Although there is a legal and investigative structure in theory to support victims and ensure justice, they do not quite work in practice because of the many deficits and a lack of change of societal mentality towards women’s rights.
Notwithstanding the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act 2019, women and girls continue to be violated. Rape/sexual penetration is reported to have more than doubled since 2019, this is even so when these offences are always underreported. Statistics show that at least 70% of the victims are minors, and they most often find it difficult to access justice and only below 10% of these reported cases are successfully prosecuted.
The provision of scientific or forensic infrastructure would be a major help in successfully addressing sexual violence cases in Sierra Leone. For instance, the setting up of a forensic lab, availaibility of DNA rape kits, employment of more lab experts, and trained medical personnel and forensic investigators on SGBV etc., would enhance the implementation of the laws.
In conclusion, while it is commendable in passing very good laws with regards the protection of the rights of girls and women in the area of SGBV, adequate social and logistical infrastructures ought to augment these laws. Government should ensure full and effective implementation of the provisions in the Act by a demonstrable political will. This can be done by allocating sufficient resources to the state actors involved in the fight against SGBV such as the Family Support Units (FSUs), state prosecutors, medical facilities for SGBV, social service providers and the sexual offences court in a bid to effectively investigate and prosecute such offenses. Also, influencing a mindset change by various forms of education and messaging across the country would enhance the implementation of the laws on sexual violence. This is because laws alone can’t tackle the SGBV menace.
About the author:
Ms. Umu-Kulthum Sesay is an awaiting law graduate of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone who is currently undertaking a six-month internship with Marrah & Associates Law Firm.