Title: Celebrate International Women’s Day with us!
Year: 2018
It has been a very busy start to the year for AdvocAid and one that has been full of success in our mission to empower women and girls in Sierra Leone. On a daily basis, women and girls across the country are released or bailed because of the advocacy of our paralegals. Day in, day out, our lawyers are in court cross-examining witnesses and defending the rights of our clients. Every week, we visit prisons, offering counselling, keeping women in contact with their families, and delivering toiletries and other necessities.
“Today, I say thank you to all the AdvocAid staff and especially the women, who work tirelessly for the rights of women and girls every day. AdvocAid fights for the rights of all women, including prisoners and sex workers. We should not forget these marginalised groups on International Women’s Day.” Sabrina Mahtani, Co-Founder & Board Member
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we would like to share with you some of our successes from 2018. Whether connecting inmates with mental health services, advocating for the rights of sex workers, or strengthening our social work capacity, we can only achieve our goals with your support. Please help empower women in Sierra Leone by donating to AdvocAid or encouraging your friends and family to support us today. Visit our Global Giving page to make a donation: https://www.globalgiving.org/donate/15052/advocaid/
Paving the way for progress in mental health provisions
In January, we were pleased to report on improved access to mental health care for women in detention. Our staff identified three women in the Kenema Correctional Centre with mental health needs. Working with the Correctional Service, our staff arranged for a visit by the district mental health nurse, who provided counselling and appropriate medication. The district nurse is now making regular, follow-up visits to the detention centre. You can read more on this story here.
Mental health intersects with AdvocAid’s work in different ways. Untreated mental health needs may lead to behaviour that brings a woman into conflict with the law. They may affect our client’s ability to enter a plea and should be considered as a mitigating factor during sentencing. However, the criminal justice system and its actors in Sierra Leone are not well equipped to deal with mental health.
Earlier this year, a Magistrate referred one of AdvocAid’s clients to the Kissy Psychiatric Hospital for an assessment of her ability to stand trial. Our Freetown Programme Officer visited the hospital to monitor conditions and check on our client. The hospital lacks necessities such as bedding and medication, with a serious impact on its ability to deliver care to patients. We are advocating for alternatives to committing women to the hospital for such assessments, such as bringing psychologists to the Correctional Centre for interviews and, where relevant, to support improvements in mental health services.
In February, AdvocAid joined the Ministry of Health’s steering committee on mental health. As part of this committee, we hope to advocate for the reform of the 1902 Lunacy Act, which still provides much of the legal framework for dealing with mental health.
An essential part of any work on mental health will be strengthening our own understanding on mental health and the criminal justice system. We look forward to welcoming a UK-based criminal barrister who specialises in mental health and who, later this month, will lead a training course with our staff on these issues.
Documentary about sex workers sees international success
Last December, AdvocAid launched “Kolonko,” a documentary about the lives of sex workers in Sierra Leone and the abuse they face at the hands of their clients and the police. We are delighted to report that the documentary has been well received. We have been interviewed by the BBC World Service and Voice of America about sex workers’ rights. AdvocAid also organised screenings with development actors in Freetown, such as UN Women, GIZ, and a coalition of organisations working on gender-based violence. We are very grateful to Mr. Richard Honey, a UK barrister and AdvocAid supporter, for hosting a screening at the Francis Taylor Building Chambers in London. Looking forward, we are submitting the documentary to human rights film festivals around the world.
We are using the documentary to advocate for changes in the lives of sex workers. At the end of January, AdvocAid met the new Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Richard Moigbe, to discuss the documentary. We were pleased that he had already discussed the film with police management and that they had instructed officers to only arrest sex workers when there is reasonable suspicion that they have committed a criminal offence, rather than simply for being outside at night. This is a big step forward and we will be watching to see if it leads to changes in practice.
AdvocAid also organised a meeting between the Independent Police Complaints Board (IPCB) and sex workers to discuss police accountability. The IPCB explained how sex workers can make complaints and we discussed how AdvocAid can support women through the complaints process.
Strengthened social work facilities to benefit women and girls nationwide
This year, AdvocAid has welcomed two new women into our social work department. They have been busy strengthening our social work systems at the same time as delivering counselling, family tracing, and welfare support to women and girls in detention. As a result of their work, we have a new Social Work Orientation Manual in place and are developing an online case management system to ensure we give all our clients the support they deserve.
Whilst we work tirelessly to provide support for the women and girls caught up in the legal system, the barriers to empowerment remain high. One of our volunteers, Debbie Warner, a social worker based in Canada, reflects on her first two months in Sierra Leone:
“The plight of women throughout in Sierra Leone is seen in the microcosm of the justice sector. Without the intervention of AdvocAid, many of these women would be utterly without hope, suffering in a system which barely recognises their existence, far less their rights to dignity and welfare support.” Debbie Warner RSW, Social Work Volunteer
It is with your support that AdvocAid can continue to protect and promote the rights of women and girls in Sierra Leone. In support of International Women’s Day, please consider donating to one of our projects: you can help give a voice to marginalised women in Sierra Leone, ensure they receive access to justice, or support their welfare rights. Empower women today!