Ending Violence Against Women And Girls Using Drugs in Sierra Leone: AdvocAid Takes Up Community Engagement

AdvocAid joined this year’s 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, engaging communities across the country on ending violence against women and girls using drugs in Sierra Leone. The organisation’s Project Officer, Fatmata Lamrana Bah said their campaign is targeting women who take Kush (a substance widely smoked by young people) in particular. 

“Our drive is two-way. We reach out to the communities to understand the issues that underpin drug and substance abuse and through advocacy, we relay these issues to the government”, she added.

Drug and substance abuse continue to plague Sierra Leonean’s youthful population. Most of the young people who engage in these activities point out unemployment as one of the key factors fueling the issues. There have been reports of crime and sexual violence being fueled by the Kush pandemic.

“We acknowledge the harm that drug and substance abuse is having on us, but we always find ourselves going back to it even after deciding to quit. This is particularly because we can’t find opportunities that will make us productive”, said Zainab Sesay (not her real name), a resident of Kissy, East Freetown.

It is for Zainab and her likes that the organisation is looking at providing a rehab facility as part of their support. With access to justice for women being one of their mandates, AdvocAid says 24 per cent of their cases for July, August and September were drug-related offences.

As part of their ongoing project which is funded by the Women and Harm Reduction International Network, AdvocAid is also advocating for the decriminalisation of kush and advancing alternative ways to support victims.

The organisation is hopeful that its double-edged efforts will pay off. Project officer Bah said that they are working closely with the country’s Gender Ministry in addition to their engagements with communities. The willingness and cooperation of both parties is what the organisation is hopeful will bring the desired outcomes.

Credit: Ibrahim Mansaray