By Kemo Cham and Mabinty Kamara
Around the iconic Cotton Tree in the center of Freetown a new billboard stands out among the fading portrait of Sierra Leone’s past and present leaders. It depicts an anti-sexual violence message from President Ernest Bai Koroma.
This one, like several others erected across strategic positions in the capital city, carries a familiar message from the President: “Violence against women is violence against the state”.
For the government, this represents an undisputable demonstration of how much Koroma abhors violence against women. But the reality on the ground suggests that it is all talk than action and women's groups are increasing inpatient with the government's apparent inability to stem the scourge.
Corruption, bribery, negligence, and what seems like total indifference on the part of government officials are among the major factors at play.
Lying on the floor in the entrance of the Kissy Mess-Mess Police Station in the east end of Freetown was Fatmata, a teenage mother. She has come to report her husband for domestic violence. But officials of the Family Support Unit (FSU) will not even listen to her complaint.
Few minutes later a senior police officer enters. When he enquires about the woman his female colleague, in plain clothes, says: “She came with a report without a dime to even buy recharge card.”
“We are not in the station for idleness and fun,” another one, in a police uniform, chips in before asking the woman to vacate the vicinity.
A Politico reporter at the scene offers Fatmata Le4, 000. She heads straight for the FSU officers’ desk, takes Le2, 000 from the money, encloses it in an envelope and refers her to the FSU station at the nearby Shell police post in Kissy.
Fatmata immediately goes to hand over the money to the person on desk there, as instructed, so that her case is attended to.
Women’s rights campaigners and victims say many cases of sexual and gender-based violence in Sierra Leone have been swept under the carpet either because of monetary demands like this, or other factors ranging from bribery at the level of the court. Yet Sierra Leone is a signatory to almost all international statutes and treaties seeking the protection of women and girls, notably the international bill of rights of women, better known as CEDAW [the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women].
Three Gender Laws
The Three Gender Laws, a landmark legislation passed in 2009 to protect women’s rights; the Child Rights Act, passed in 2007; as well as the most recent ratification of the Moputo Protocol [the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa], all seek to protect women in the country.
Brother Lother Wagner, Executive Director of Don Bosco Fambul, says the culture of impunity has kept the statistics of violence against women going up all these years, and he blames both the lack of strict implementation of the relevant laws and a culture of compromise occasioned by cultural traditions, and bribery.
Don Bosco, a German religious mission, runs an orphanage which houses street kids, especially abused ones. According to the charity’s latest statistics, 745 girls and 34 boys reported sexual violence against them in the past years.
“It is not just the rate of attacks that has increased, but also the level of brutality of the perpetrators against the victims,” Lother tells Politico.
Gang rape is noticeably on the increase, he says. The case of the teenager, Hannah Bockarie, whose body was found near the beach at Aberdeen in August, is still fresh in many minds.That case is still dragging on in court.
Don Bosco has in record the case of a 13-year old girl raped by five boys. She died five days later from injuries. Unlike the Hannah case, this one was never investigated, according to Lother.
The FSU is the Sierra Leone Police’s answer to domestic violence and sexual abuse. But the unit is so ludicrously underfunded that it barely functions.
Back at the Kissy Mess-Mess police station, the officer in charge, Alim Sesay, implicitly defends the act of police officers requesting money from victims.
“Some of the challenges that we are faced with is funding and transportation,” he says, adding that that is why they are sometimes “forced” to use their personal cell phones to make follow up calls.
Sesay says difficulty to secure medical report by victims of domestic violence, which they have to pay for, makes the whole experience frustrating.According to a government policy, it is only in cases of rape that medical report is obtained for free.
The FSU is run with the support of social workers from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children’s Affairs (SGCA).
Charles Vandi, Director of Gender at the SGCA, tells Politico that although they help in the mobilization of funding for the FSU, it falls directly under the supervision of the police. But he says all services of the unit are supposed to be offered free of charge.
Vandi alludes to knowing about the existence of the problem of officers demanding money from victims. He says the minister has severally warned social workers off such acts and asked them instead to make claims of all personal resources expended in the execution of their duties for reimbursement.
A report in March this year by the Center for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL), found that only Le 4 million (US$800) was allocated to the FSU yearly. This fund is even disbursed to the unit by the Police leadership on a quarterly basis of Le 1million (about US$ 200), for a unit with 62 offices and 528 staff across the country.
The CARL report finds that US$30, 000 is needed ideally to run the unit for a month.
16-days of Activism
Consequently, many women who fall victim of abuse choose to stay away from the police because they believe it’s a waste of time. And for many this is based on practical experiences.
Josephine, a house wife, had reported her husband to the FSU at the Kissy Mess-mess police station more than once. On both occasions, she says, they were asked to settle the matter at home.
Josephine says her husband doesn’t want her to engage in any income earning activity, yet he doesn’t adequately provide for her needs. Whenever an argument ensues over this she is beaten up.
“Because the men know that nothing will come out of it even if the case is taken to the police, they do what they want to do,” she explains to Politico.
Mr Vandi says complaints that do not involve heavy bodily harm could be sent to be addressed at home if the two parties agreed to do so. But in Josephine’s case, she has never had a choice.
Don Bosco’s Brother Lother says the attitude of the police, judiciary and the Director of Prosecution (DPPs) all contribute in frustrating cases, making it hard for victims to want to seek justice.
Some victims in their custody have alleged corruption and bribery by officials at the DPP’s office which prevents multitude of cases from reaching the court, he said. The DPP’s office could not talk about this.
And when cases get to the court, they remain there forever.
The international campaign ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence’ provides a unique platform for women the world over to raise awareness about issues affecting their lives. This year’s event was launched on November 25 in Sierra Leone. The 50/50 Group spearheaded the campaign, at the end of which it came up with a position paper.
Aisha Ibrahim Fofana, President of the 5050 Group, says the position paper demanding action against gender based violence is due to be presented to President Koroma.
The content of the paper is not different from previous position papers, indicating that the concerns of Sierra Leonean women aren't new. It touches on the high rate of rape and the impunity around it, as well as the almost non-functioning justice system.
The concerns include delay in court cases and cases not making it to court in the first place because “powerful people” use their influence to ensure this.
Gender based violence can be minimized only if there was a friendly and working system that can be trusted by all, says Mrs Fofana.
She says as activists they envisage a different FSU in 2016, both in terms of its operations and how it is treated. She also wants to see change in perception of women towards themselves.
As for the men, she says: “If you take them [women] to be your properties then handle them with care as you do with a property you love so that it doesn’t wear out easily.”
(C) Politico 21/12/15
