Addressing Violence Against Women and Girls in Sierra Leone.

This research would focus on Violence against Women s and Girls in Sierra Leone . Therefore this study would address the relationship between Equity and Equality ,that simple mean Violence against women and girls in Sierra Leone . Nearly 1 in 3 women have been abused in their life time . In times of crises , the numbers rise , as seen during the COVID 19 pandemic and recent humanitarian crises , conflicts and climate change distracters .
The research would demonstrate a quantitative methodologies would examine a base line survey , focus groups discussion desk review , with the Ministry of Gender and Children s Affairs . MOGCA /SL .Also an in-depth review with like minded Organization s that are working on SGBV in Sierra Leone . Also a structured interviews would be conducted with 30 participants from both Western Urban Area and the Western Area Rural Districts . Violence against Women s and girls in Sierra Leone is a Persistent problem that can limit the ability of women to contribute to society and development . Violence in Sierra Leone is shaped by several factors related to cultural attitudes the history of conflicts ,the political environment and donor s interventions . Influenced by these factors women in Sierra Leone are subjected to numerous kinds of violence which are often interrelated . This include domestic violence physical economic and emotions / psychosocial community cultural violence , sexual violence and structural violence .Our analysis shows that domestic violence and customary practices such as female circumcision and child marriages are considered the most forms of violence in Sierra Leone .. According to the UN nearly Sierra Leone women s and girls suffer form of violence in their life time . Ensuring that both men and women understand violence as an infringement of their fundamental rights and have an adequate resources to redress for violence is therefore important in mobilizing the entire population in efforts to rebuild the Country and move towards development quote World Bank 2019 .
Women s experience of violence , however , often do not fit nearly into one category , but rather span several interrelated forms . Responses to violence must therefore understand the interconnections and how one forms can lead to others ,rather than approaching the issues of VAWG in a fragmented way.
In other to seek redress for these forms of violence ,at least three justice chains are potentially available for women and girls in Sierra Leone and represent differently and intersecting redress path that women s and girl s may explore . These include formal justice systems , the customary justice system and also the alternatives dispute resolution ADR channels.
Recommendation .
1. Create a case management platform and alternatives dispute resolution channels at the community levels .
2 .Lobby for the judiciary and law enforcing authorities technical and logistic support .
3. Improve policy review where implementation strategies is protected .
4. Review and popularize existing comprehensive psychosocial support services in Sierra Leone for more inclusive and accountable service provision at national , district , and community level.
5. Allocation of land for the establishing of safe homes for GBV survivors .
6. Lobby to the Government Ministries and other agencies to include land and other resources in their community planning .
7. Lobby to the central and local government as , well the communities support the development of safe homes .
8. Inclusion of the GBV protocol within the health packages.
9. Lobby for the operation and functioning of the existing safe homes for GBV survivors .
10. Advocacy and development of the GEWE Acts of 2022 and popularization with documentation of the abridge version into our local dialects.