The green shoots of a survivor centred approach to rape give Sierra Leone’s rape survivors hope for justice

A post currently circulating among Sierra Leone’s Facebook community shows a very young visibly pregnant girl, with a baby on her back. The caption reads – who do you blame - the government, society, the parents or the girl? Conspicuously absent from this discussion about blame, is any mention of the girl’s sexual partner, who by law should be investigated for statutory rape.

There’s nothing unusual in this. Victim blaming is just one of the reasons why, despite a President and First Lady who have taken a determined stand against what has been described as an epidemic of SGBV, tough new laws and an active anti-SGBV movement, there is so little justice for rape survivors in Sierra Leone. Other reasons include a culture of compensation and compromise, communities that stigmatise or expel rape survivors, and a lack of trust in the justice system.

Aberdeen Women’s Centre (AWC), sees first-hand the consequences. Alexandra Rigby, (Programme Coordinator) relates the story of a 16-year-old who came to AWC for support. She had attended a party, where she was raped by a boy she knew and became pregnant. Asked if she thought this was rape, she said: “No that isn’t rape. I knew him and chose to go to the party.” In another case, a 14-year-old, who was gang raped by three men and became pregnant, was disowned by her family and had to leave her community on the grounds that she had brought shame to them.

Fatmata Sorie, an attorney and president of the group Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality Rights and Social justice (LAWYERS), describes the complex set of circumstances that causes so many cases to fall by the wayside. “There are problems with the system including backlogs that go as far back as 2016, witness tracing and regular adjournments. Eventually choices have to be made between paying to travel to and from court or feeding your family. It is a struggle and people just run out of steam. They get tired of reliving their story. Their attacker may have been granted bail and then uses every means available to make the case go away, often with the support of community structures. There is also a culture of victim blaming and shaming, where, because of the lack of forensics, the burden falls on the complainant to establish the rape – victims are effectively retraumatised.”

But recent events including the launch of the Survivors Solidarity Fund - an activists-led initiative set up to increase investment in front line services, and a dedicated court for rape trials, are fuelling hope that the needs and rights of rape survivors are at last beginning to take priority over those of their rapists.

It has been a long and slow journey, which at times seems to have taken several steps backwards, despite a hardline response from the government that began with the declaration of a State of Public Emergency on 19 February 2019 and was followed by a tough new Sexual Offences Amendment Act, passed on 19 September. This allows all trials for sexual offences to proceed to the High Court without having to be heard in a Magistrate’s Court and prescribes life imprisonment as a maximum penalty for child rapists.

Nevertheless, horrific rape cases continue to hit the headlines with alarming frequency. The most recent was the rape and death of five year old Khadijah Saccoh which prompted a nationwide wave of anger and repulsion. The case exposed the growing trend towards very young rape victims and revealed just how unprepared and under resourced the system was at every stage.

In the immediate aftermath, front line campaigners made a commitment to work with the government on creating a more joined up system. The Survivor Solidarity Fund is the result - a collaboration of survivor leaders and their allies in Sierra Leone and across the world, including media personality - Isha Sesay, Idris Elba - the actor and Asmaa James, media personality and founder of the Sierra Leone Black Tuesday Movement. They have in just over a month, raised SLL 1,046,592,200 ($109,020) for the immediate needs of survivors and groups fighting on the frontlines of the crisis.

The Survivors Solidarity Fund is facilitated by Purposeful, a Sierra Leonean- founded international organisation with a track-record of multi-million-dollar fundraising and grant-making across the world. Chernoh Bah, Co-founder and CEO of Purposeful, explains its purpose: “The Survivor Solidarity Fund is a response to missing links in the process of accessing justice for rape survivors. It builds on the new laws brought in by this government - by providing services for sexual violence survivors at every stage of the process so that they receive the necessary medical care, counselling and support to make it through the system.”

The funds are being divided among the Rainbo Initiative, the Aberdeen Women’s Centre, LAWYERS and the SMART Women Initiative. It gives many more survivors of sexual violence, access to free and high-quality medical, psychosocial and legal support that prioritises their rights, needs and wishes.

Bah continues: “For many survivors of sexual violence, this is the first time their rights are acknowledged and respected. Women often don’t report their experiences of violence because a combination of social stigma, financial barriers and an unsympathetic system contributes to their dehumanisation. These constraints have the effect of marginalising girls and women further from safety and their human rights. The Survivors’ Solidarity Fund tells women and children who have survived sexual violence, that they have a voice, that their rights are valued and their right to justice is worth fighting for.”

For further information and to donate to the Survivors Solidarity Fund, visit: https://www.survivorsolidarityfund.org/