ABOUT ADVOCAID

Since 2006, AdvocAid has grown from a small grassroots organisation supporting female prisoners to a leading organisation in Sierra Leone for providing access to justice for women and girls.

Our key activities include facilitating access to legal representation for indigent women, literacy classes, welfare support, post prison support and research/ advocacy on issues related to women’s rights. We have offices in Freetown, Makeni and Kenema.

For more information visit www.advocaidsl.org  | www.facebook.com/advocaidsierraleone  | www.twitter.com/advocaid 

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 LEGAL INTERNS

We are looking for university students or graduates with an interest in criminal law and human rights who want to gain experience in the human rights sphere.

We are looking for enthusiastic candidates who are willing to learn and gain experience in an often-challenging environment.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Each intern/ fellow will identify a specific project to work on for the duration of their internship, as agreed with AdvocAid. This will be subject to the interest of the intern/ fellow and AdvocAid’s priorities at the time of the internship.

Possible projects could include:

• Death penalty appeals. In Sierra Leone there are presently 2 women and about 30 men with death penalty sentences. We have an active appeal for one of the women. An internship could involve working on this appeal, or preparing an appeal if additional women receive a death penalty sentence. Whilst AdvocAid traditionally works with women and girls in conflict with the law, we are open to supporting men on death row. This project could involve familiarization with the cases of men with death penalty sentences, identification of cases with scope for appeal, and preparation of the appeal. This would involve working with the Death Penalty Project (a global NGO working on death penalty litigation), who support AdvocAid.
• Research to inform campaigns and advocacy. Interns could pursue a research question, drawing on AdvocAid’s support to clients. For example, this could include qualitative research with clients to understand factors that lead women to committing serious offences or with former detainees to understand the impact of detention. This could include analysis of quantitative data from monitoring of police stations, correctional centres and courts, to identify trends and generate insights into Sierra Leone’s criminal justice sector. AdvocAid has previously published research on various topics such as children detained with a parent and women detained for debt. We currently have campaigns on decriminalizing petty offences and combating abuses sex workers face by police.
• Legal Advice services. This could include shadowing a paralegal to visit police lock-ups and courts on a daily basis for monitoring duties, providing women and girls with information on their legal rights, performing basic interventions with the police and / or court officials, and or supporting clients to submit a complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Board, where appropriate.
• Legal education. This could include refreshing a legal education curriculum and resources and, in partnership with paralegals, deliver legal education sessions at detention centres, including Female Correctional Centres and/or the Remand Home and Approved School facilities for juveniles. This could also include working with programmes staff to design communication materials for public legal education and awareness, through community engagement activities and / or media & communication platforms.
• Strategic Litigation. AdvocAid is looking to expand its strategic litigation work. Currently we have a case pending before the Supreme Court challenging the imposition of the mandatory death penalty. Work in this area could include identifying potential strategic litigation cases and working with the Legal Officer on these cases.

This is not an exhaustive list and interns are encouraged to visit the AdvocAid website and social media platforms.

PERSON SPECIFICATION:

This internship is open to current students or recent graduates. We are looking for:

1. Demonstrable interest in criminal law and human rights;
2. Strong research and writing skills;
3. Strong written and verbal communication skills;
4. Ability to build effective working relationships with staff and partners, and work well within a team in a cross cultural setting;
5. Individuals that can complete tasks on time and to a high-standard, whilst also having the initative to suggest new and / or creative ways in which AdvocAid can strengthen its work;
6. Willing to live and work in a low-resource environment;
7. Commitment to the ethos and mandate of AdvocAid.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, submit your CV and a cover letter (maximum one page) to info@advocaidsl.org. In your cover letter please state the dates and duration you are available for. Please also describe a possible project you would be interested in pursuing at AdvocAid – this does not commit you to this idea only, but gives us an indication of your interests.

Please address your application to the Legal Officer, and write “Legal intern application”. There is no set deadline for applications – they will be reviewed on a regular basis.