FAHP and IHRDA file landmark cases to end FGM/C in Sierra Leone

The Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP) and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) have filed two groundbreaking legal cases to end Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) in Sierra Leone. One case will be pursued in Sierra Leone’s domestic courts, while the other will be presented at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice.

Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of FGM/C globally, affecting over 83 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 years old. The cases focus on a 34-year-old woman from Kenema, Sierra Leone, who was forcibly cut in 2016, representing the thousands of women and girls whose dignity and autonomy have been violated by this harmful practice.

Notably, Sierra Leone lacks specific laws criminalizing FGM/C. The FAHP and IHRDA aim to hold individual perpetrators accountable and highlight the government’s failure to protect its citizens from harm. They stress the urgent need for legal reform and concrete action by the government to uphold treaties, including the Maputo Protocol that recognizes FGM/C as a human rights violation.

The FAHP and IHRDA emphasize that FGM/C reflects unequal power relations between women and men, perpetuating systemic oppression affecting millions of girls and women worldwide.

Yasmin Jusu Sheriff, a Human Rights Lawyer, leads the fight against these unlawful practices, calling for recognition of these acts of violence as crimes against the state and addressed accordingly by the justice system.

Aminata Koroma, Executive Secretary of FAHP and a survivor herself, strongly advocates for an end to violence against women and girls, emphasizing the lack of justification for such acts.

Nicky Spencer-Coker, Senior Legal Advisor of Purposeful, supports strategic litigation in the fight against FGM/C.

These cases are expected to inspire other countries in the sub-region and across Africa in the global fight against FGM/C and set a precedent for jurisprudence in matters of FGM/C and women/girls’ rights on the continent.

The FAHP, established in 2014, is a coalition of national and international organizations working to end FGM/C in Sierra Leone. The IHRDA is a Pan-African non-governmental organization based in The Gambia, dedicated to promoting human rights in Africa.

The movement calls on individuals supporting a safe world for women and girls to join in this journey to justice. The fight to end FGM/C in Sierra Leone is strong, and these landmark cases offer hope for change for millions of girls worldwide.