Sexual Exploitation

of Children in Sierra Leone

Conducted by Defence for Children International Sierra Leone
With the Support from the African Child Policy Forum

June 2019

1
2
Table of Contents

Acknowledgments.................................................................................................................................................. 4
Acronyms and Abbreviations................................................................................................................................5
1. Justification for this study.................................................................................................................................... 6
2. Objectives............................................................................................................................................................ 6
3. Methodology........................................................................................................................................................ 6
3.1 Study Location............................................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 Data collection............................................................................................................................................... 7
3.2.1 Desk Review............................................................................................................................................... 7
3.2.2 Primary data collection...............................................................................................................................8
3.3 Sample frame and size...................................................................................................................................8
4. Ethical Considerations and Data Storage.........................................................................................................8
Findings................................................................................................................................................................... 9
i. Background........................................................................................................................................................... 9
ii. The Legal Framework........................................................................................................................................ 11
iii. The Institutional Framework.............................................................................................................................15
iv. Incidence, Drivers and Consequences of Sexual Exploitation..........................................................................19
Case Study: Mabinty,* 24-years-old..................................................................................................................21
v. The Response to the Issue of Sexual Exploitation..............................................................................................23
Conclusions........................................................................................................................................................... 26
vi. Recommendations.............................................................................................................................................28
Government Level............................................................................................................................................. 28
CSOs and NGOs Level......................................................................................................................................29
Community Level.............................................................................................................................................. 30
References............................................................................................................................................................. 31
1. Reports and Articles...................................................................................................................................... 31
2. Policies and Acts............................................................................................................................................32
Annex 1: List of Interviewees..............................................................................................................................33
Key Informant Interviews..................................................................................................................................33
Focus Group Discussion....................................................................................................................................33
Annex 2: Definition of Child Sexual Exploitation.............................................................................................34

3
Acknowledgments

A special thanks goes to the African Child Policy Forum for its help with this much-
needed piece of research and for its important work in the protection of those who are
most vulnerable and who can often not speak up for themselves.

To Grace Bella Kamara for her sophisticated analysis of the legal framework around child
sexual exploitation.

To those who were so dedicated to this research and who worked hard to collect this data:
Grace Bella Kamara, Randa Baah, Banie Eillah Sesay, Mustapha Kieh, Issa Bangura,
Raymond Senesie, a big thank you.

4
Acronyms and Abbreviations

ACRWC African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

AMNet Advocacy Movement Network
AU African Union
CBO Community Based Organisation
CRA Child Rights Act
CSO Civil Society Organisation
DCI-SL Defence for Children - Sierra Leone
HQ Headquarters
FSU Family Support Unit
INGO International Non-Governmental Organisation
MDAs Ministries, Departments and Agencies
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
MSWGCA Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children's Affairs
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
SGBV Sexual and Gender Based Violence
SOA Sexual Offences Act
UN United Nations
UNCRC United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund

1. Justification for this study

Due to the increasing rate of sexual violence against children, the President of the
Republic of Sierra Leone declared in March 2019 a state of emergency on child sexual
abuse and introduced new laws, including life imprisonment for anyone who is found
guilty of raping a child. Since the declaration of the state of emergency, there are
measures being put in place to ensure that the rate of sexual violence against children is
drastically reduced.

However, these efforts by the government and partners would gain a more sustainable
achievement if informed by evidence. Hence, this research among other things can
provide invaluable data and information that shall be of significant use to the government
for the ongoing legal and institutional reforms to address sexual violence including sexual
exploitation. With the findings of this study, programme designers and policy makers will
be able to understand and distinguish between sexual exploitation and sexual violence
within Sierra Leonean context and ensure that sexual exploitation is adequately covered
by new or reformed legislations as well as programmes. Similarly, the report will also be

5
useful to decision makers and programme designers at the level of African Union (AU)
and other regional bodies.

2. Objectives
This proposed study on Sexual Exploitation of Children is aimed at putting the issue of
sexual exploitation of children on Africa’s political and public agenda in general, and
Sierra Leone in particular. Among other objectives, this study aims at:

1. Examining the level of country’s commitment and extent of delivery on those

commitments to prevent and respond to all forms of child sexual exploitation in
Sierra Leone.

2. Analysing the legal framework and deduce the extent at which it covers all the
different kinds of sexual exploitation and conformity with international standards

3. Assessing the capacity of the relevant institutional structures and mechanisms in

terms of plan of action, specialized services, human and other resources

4. Examining the programme and services in terms of their scope, target groups,
affordability and efforts to address gaps in the justice system including protective
measures for victims and witnesses

3. Methodology

3.1 Study Location

This study was conducted in four main regions of the country, thus soliciting both rural
and urban perspectives. The study was, in fact, conducted in Freetown and environs
(Western region), Bo and environs (southern region), Kenema and environ (Eastern
region) and Makeni and environ (Northern region). These locations have been chosen
because they are the only locations where both government officials and community
mechanisms, including the leaders that provide the required data, are present.

3.2 Data collection

The country case study on sexual exploitation of children was conducted using a mix of
complementary methods, involving desk-review, primary and secondary data collection
in the form of semi-structured interviews with the private sector, (International) Non-
Governmental Organisations ((I)NGO), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Community
Based Organisations (CBOs), the law enforcement, governmental institutions and experts
to capture the various dimensions of sexual exploitation of children across sectors. Issues
covered in the interviews include:

 Context, underlying protective and risk factors and special vulnerabilities

 Extent, drivers, manifestations and emerging trends

 Policy, legislative, regulatory and programmatic measures and good practices

6
  Institutional arrangements and their capacity

 Existing and emergent challenges

 Efforts of non-state actors and private sector (in particular, travel/tourism actors in
the circuit of child sexual exploitation (such as hotels, travel agencies, tour
operators, transportation companies, airlines, bars, and restaurants, etc.) in
addressing the problem

3.2.1 Desk Review

The desk-based review was extensive, covering published and unpublished research, law
and policy documents, journal articles, governments’ administrative data and reports, UN,
AU, NGO publications and reports, project documents, evaluations and guidelines, and
involving:
 Review of statistical and survey evidence on the extent, underlying causes and
patterns of the problem in the country

 Review of existing legislative, policy and programmatic responses at various

levels, with implications on the national level

 Gathering expert views and commentaries on a particular aspect of sexual

exploitation, including from high-level government officials, UN Experts, NGOs,
private sector and leaders, including child activists

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3.2.2 Primary data collection
This part of the study involves:

 Conducting key informant interviews with relevant government sector officials

and experts, parliamentarians, judiciary, law enforcement bodies, child protection
service providers, teachers and education officials,

 Conducting key informant interviews with private sector representatives including

travel and tourist corporations and internet service providers,

 Conducting focus group discussions with selected parents/guardians and opinion

leaders. This includes adults who experienced sexual exploitation during their
childhood,

 Undertaking retrospective in-depth case studies and testimonies of selected adults

with childhood sexual exploitation experience.

To do this across all four regions simultaneously, data collectors were employed and
trained/coached to administer the research instruments under the supervision of regional
supervisors. The primary data collectors and supervisors were mainly DCI staff who have
good experience in this field.

3.3 Sample frame and size

The sample frame constitutes the key stakeholders particularly the main institutions
concerned with the fight against sexual exploitation of children in the four main regions
of Sierra Leone. Total number of interviewees was 69. The breakdown is: 17 government
institutions, 15 CSOs/NGOs and UN institutions, 2 CBOs, and 25 private sector
organisations, who were interviewed as key informants. Two focus group discussions
were led in Freetown: one group of male adults (5) and one group of female adults (5).
Please refer to Annex 1 for a detailed list of interviewees and its breakdown by institution
and location.

4. Ethical Considerations and Data Storage

This study was conducted within the framework of ethical standards of DCI-SL and
ACPF and enshrined in their code of conducts and child safeguard policies. Firstly,
before anyone was interviewed, she/he was fully informed about the purpose of the
research and what the findings would be used for. Hence, researchers obtained the written
consents of the interviewees, which was witnessed by an impartial person. No child under
18, was interviewed, hence, no special consent form was designed for this study. To
include the views of children, adults who experienced child sexual exploitation during
their childhood were interviewed to recount their experience as children. All data has
been anonymized and kept confidential, safely stored and locked at DCI-SL’s office in
Freetown. Said data will be destroyed in six months.

8
Findings
i. Background
Existing evidence, including research reports and data from the Family Support Unit of
the Sierra Leone police show that sexual violence is among the highest forms of violence
against children in Sierra Leone. Over recent years, data from the Family Support Unit
(FSU) of Sierra Leone Police shows that the rate of reported cases of rape of children has
been steadily increasing every year: 95 in 2011, 992 in 2012, 1,417 in 2013, 2,124 in
2014 and 2,398 in 20151. While this might be an indicator that more sexual violence is
occurring in Sierra Leone, it is worth noting that it might more likely show that there is
greater awareness and that victims hence come forward and are more willing to report the
abuse now than they were in the past years.

Although sexual violence, abuse and exploitation remain widespread and persistent,
investigation and prosecution processes remain slow and complicated. On average, the
number of days taken by the Police/FSU to investigate a sexual offence on children in
Freetown and regional headquarters (HQ) towns is 11 days, while the average number of
days taken to conclude prosecution of a sexual offence against a child victim in Freetown
and regional HQ towns is 89 days.2 While girls, young women and their families are
generally poorly informed and have limited awareness and knowledge about their legal
and human rights, a poor economic situation will additionally contribute to their
vulnerability and prevent them from ending the circle of violence.3

The increasing rate of sexual violence and exploitation against children is rooted in the
social and economic challenges that families in Sierra Leone still face. Chronic poverty
remains a significant contributing factor to child vulnerability, although it is by no means
the only indicator.4 Sexual abuse and exploitation in Sierra Leone occur in different
forms, which includes practices that are widely ingrained in cultural system, such as child
marriage, child prostitution and transactional sexual relationships. Girls’ involvement in
sexually exploitative relationships (often with the knowledge and approval of their
parents), among other things, serve as barrier to their education.5

Previous efforts to address sexual abuse and exploitation of children include the
development and implementation of the Gender Based Violence Referral Protocol by
Defence for Children International Sierra Leone, International Rescue Committee, the
Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children's Affairs (MSWGCA) and UNICEF. The
aim of the protocol was to ensure that child victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence
(SGBV) receive prompt, comprehensive and coordinated services free of charge, which
include legal, medical, psychosocial and other forms of support.
1
Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police- 2015 National Crimes Statistics for Major Offences
2
National Child Justice Strategy- 2014-2018
3
DCI-SL and ECPAT (2016) : Consultation of girls and young women on sexual exploitation in Sierra Leone
4
Sierra Leone Child Welfare Policy 2018
5
Robinson and DCI-SL 2015: A mountain to Climb: Gender Based Violence and Girls Rights to education in
Sierra Leone

9
In 2010, an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was developed between the Ministry
of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs, the FSU and Paramount Chiefs to
strengthen the linkage between the formal and informal justice system for improved
reporting and case management for SGBV matters. Recently, in 2013, a new Child
Justice Strategy was developed to reflect recent laws and provide better protection and
service delivery to child offenders and victims of violence. In 2014, the government also
passed the Sexual Offences Act, which has made medical examination and treatment for
victims free6 and recognised in law new forms of sexual abuse.

However, implementation of these policies remains quite challenging due to a number of

factors, chief among which is lack of adequate resources. The socio-cultural context of
Sierra Leone provides the platform for sexual exploitation of children and, unfortunately,
the government has not made sufficient discernible efforts to regulate practices that are
behind sexual and other forms of exploitation of children. Traditional practices that are
usually perceived to be child fostering or transfer of childcare from a biological parent to
another family member or a friend – referred to as informal fosterage, menpikin – often
risks being largely exploitative and unregulated. Many use this practice to traffic and
exploit children sexually and economically. Nationally 22% of children are not living
with biological parents and 13% of children have at least one deceased parent. 7 There are
about 500,000 children living in informal fosterages.8 While menpikin may provide
children with better opportunities for education, improved healthcare and nutrition, there
is much evidence that they are also at increased risk of discrimination, abuse and
exploitation.9

Despite the growing number of reports and data on sexual violence, there are still lack of
comprehensive information that address all forms of sexual violence and exploitation. As
the African Child Policy Forum (2019) has observed: “While many studies are currently
being conducted around sexual violence including national surveys, very few of these
surveys ever mention sexual exploitation”. This is clearly evident in Sierra Leone where
there are lack of studies that have exclusively and exhaustively explored the realities of
sexual exploitation particularly of children. This study is thus designed to provide
empirical data that will contribute to filling this research gap in Sierra Leone and Africa
more in general.

ii. The Legal Framework

The Legal framework of child rights in Sierra Leone is traced from the ratification and
domestication of the The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
6
Section 39 of the Sexual Offences Act 2014
7
UNICEF Sierra Leone and SSL, MICS 4, 2011
8
UNICEF Sierra Leone 2007, Andrew Dunn and John Parry-Williams
9
See: An ethnographic study of community-based child protection mechanisms and their linkages with the
national child protection system of Sierra Leone, The Columbia Group for Children in Adversity, 2011;
Developing Evidence – based Child Protection Policy in Sierra Leone: Building evidence, engaging policy
makers, Rossi A., 2009; Mapping and Analysis of the Child Protection System in Sierra Leone, Child Frontiers,
2010.

10
(UNCRC), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 th November 1989,
which commenced on 2nd September 1990. The UNCRC is the first international legal
document that explicitly sets out provisions for the universal protection of the rights of
children and triggered the coming into force of other regional enactments with the same
objective. Sierra Leone later also ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare
of the Child (ACRWC) at regional level, adopted in 1990 and commenced in 1999. The
two Optional Protocols on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child
Pornography, and on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict were also ratified in
September 2001 and May 2002 respectively. The purpose of the Conventions – among its
numerous obligations on state parties – is to protect the universal rights and welfare of
the child including their protection from sexual exploitation: one of the practices on the
rampage in Sierra Leone and other parts of the world.

The United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) emphasized their commitment in
working with all state parties to have a zero tolerance to child sexual exploitation. In fact,
articles 32 and 36 of the UNCRC set out to protect children from all forms of exploitation
with special reference to sexual exploitation and abuse in Article 34, which states:

“States Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and
sexual abuse. For these purposes, States Parties shall in particular take all appropriate
national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent:

(a) The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity; 
(b) The exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices; 
(c) The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials.”10
Article 27 of the ACRWC also reiterates with similar wording that all state parties to the
African Union undertake an obligation to protect the African child from all forms of
sexual exploitation and abuse, and shall take measure to prevent the child from
inducement, coercion or encouragement in any sexual activity, forced prostitution and
pornographic activities, performances and materials.11

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Right of
Women in Africa; also called “Maputo Protocol” is a breakdown of the rights outlined in
the African Charter on Human Rights in a modified frame aimed at awarding special
protection to women as they remain more likely to suffer abuse and violence. The
Protocol also covers girls, who are especially vulnerable. The instrument outlines various
rights that of women are entitled to, together with the positive obligations of each state
party to suppress any act that hampers the physical, psychological, economic, political,
sexual wellbeing of women and girls and other forms of violence. 12 Child sexual
exploitation is addressed in Articles 3 and 11, which set out women’s rights to dignity and
right to protection in armed conflicts respectively. Further, Article 3 (3) instructs all state
10
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Art 34
11
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Art 27
12
Maputo Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in
Africa; A. 1(j)

11
parties to adopt and implement appropriate measures to prohibit any exploitation or
degradation of women, while Article 11 (3) requires state parties to protect all asylum-
seeking women and girls from all forms of violence, including rape and sexual
exploitation. In fact, asylum seekers are specifically targets of abuse, violence and
trafficking for sexual purposes.

Domestically, the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, in its Chapter 3, provides for the
recognition and protection of the rights and freedoms of its citizens, which is in
consonance with the objectives embedded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
While the Constitution provides for the protection of human rights, there is no mention of
sexual exploitation and is thus not an appropriate instrument to combat sexual
exploitation of children. The UNCRC was domesticated in 2007 in Sierra Leone through
the Child Rights Act (CRA) compatible to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare
of the Child. Much like the UNCRC, which brought international recognition to the rights
of children, CRA raised national awareness on the need for protecting minors. It is
without a doubt that the CRA is the basis for the passing of all subsequent laws aimed at
protecting the rights of Sierra Leonean children. Although the CRA fails in specifically
and expressly addressing the issue of child sexual exploitation, it makes some efforts in
mentioning instances of child sexual exploitation and qualify it as an offence. In Sierra
Leone, child sexual exploitation is thus generally categorised with sexual
offences/abuses. Thus, there are other enactments which criminalises child sexual
exploitation and provides for related sentences. The legal frameworks include:

 The Child Rights Act 2007

 The Sexual Offences Act 2012
 The Domestic Violence Act 2007
 The Anti-Human Trafficking Act 2005
Part 8 of the Child Rights Act 2007 gives a warning on engaging children in any
employment that will abuse or violate their rights. Child sexual exploitation is very
common in child employment as it ends up exposing the child to different abuses and
violations in return for renumeration. The Act refers to such employment as hazardous.
Section 128 outlines several child hazardous employments which include:

“To work in places such as bars, hotels and places of entertainment where a person may
be exposed to immoral behavior”13 Contravening any part of this Act is an offence liable
on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding Ten Million Leones or an imprisonment
on a term not exceeding ten years or both a fine and imprisonment.14

The Sexual Offences Act 2007 (SOA 2007) dedicates a whole chapter to outline sexual
offences involving children and the appropriate sentences.15 It mentions two types of
child sexual exploitation – child prostitution and child sex tourism. Section 31 addresses
13
Child Rights Act 2007, s. 128 (f)
14
Child Rights Act 2007, s. 131 (1)
15
The Sexual Offences Act 2012, Part 3.

12
the offence of offering, arranging or benefitting from child prostitution. Section 32 looks
at parents facilitating child prostitution, and Section 34 provides for the offence of
organizing or promoting child sexual tourism. All the offences are liable to a conviction
of a term of imprisonment not exceeding fifteen years. 16 However, the Act does not
provide for a minimum term of imprisonment, thus leaving ample space for judicial
discretion. Such a degree of discretion is concerning, given the level of corruption in the
country.

The Domestic Violence Act 2007 came into being mainly to suppress domestic violence,
and to award protection to the victims. The Act does not specifically provide for the
rights of children in the context of domestic violence, but covers all parties in a domestic
relationship, in which children are almost always a core part of and are indeed victims.
While it makes no reference to sexual exploitation, the Domestic Act raises the veil of
domestic relationship by recognizing the violence and abuses that occur in such settings
as offences which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand
Leones or two years imprisonment or by both fine and imprisonment.17

Similarly, The Anti Human Trafficking Act 2005 applies to all victims of trafficking, to
which also children remain most vulnerable. Sexual exploitation is widely and highly
likely to happen during the process of trafficking and sometimes remains the ultimate
purpose of trafficking. In Section 21, the Act sets out that transporting persons across an
international border for the purpose of exploiting prostitution constitutes an offence. 18
While the Act does make mention of sexual exploitation, the fact that only trans-border
trafficking is captured in the law fails victims who are trafficked and sexually exploited
internally – from the rural to the urban part of the country.

All these Acts works to complement the CRA, which in turn domesticates the objective
of the UNCRC of combating child sexual exploitation. Amidst a few gaps within the
theoretical aspect of the law such as the lack of an imposition of a minimum sentence
term among others, Sierra Leone has made reasonable efforts in enacting subsequent laws
to extend its scope of protecting the child from sexual exploitation. The laws outlined are
evidence of the commendable effort made by Sierra Leone to combat child sexual
exploitation and shows the country’s seriousness in protecting the best of the interest of
the child. It follows that the legal framework on child sexual exploitation is presently
largely challenged by the ineffective implementation and not the inadequacy of it.

This was also evidenced in the interviews conducted, which revealed that most
respondents were confident that the domestic legal framework was in conformity with
international instruments and adequately protected children from sexual exploitation, 19
albeit often with weak wording or without necessarily being very specific.20 Respondents
said that girls and boys were equally protected by the domestic legislation in place in
Sierra Leone. One of the main concerns voiced by many respondents was, however, that
16
Sexual Offences Act 2012, ss. 31-34
17
Domestic Violence Act 2007, s. 2
18
The Anti Human Trafficking Act, s.21
19
MGSWCA, Bo, 14/05/2019
20
Humanist Watch Salone, Kenema, 14/05/2019

13
they perceived in domestic legislation a failure to draw a clear distinction between sexual
abuse and exploitation.21

The lack of legislation around online sexual abuse and exploitation was also cited as
problematic.22 In fact, the government of Sierra Leone is still to take a strong position on
issues around abuse on the Internet and especially exploitation of those who are most
vulnerable. Sierra Leone has not adopted the WePROTECT Global Alliance Model
National response, which provides guidance and support to countries to address online
child sexual exploitation. However, membership to WePROTECT, of itself, would be
insufficient and should be complemented with domestic efforts on the government’s side.
The fact that the government does not work with internet services and mobile phone
providers to investigate child pornography shows that there still needs to be an
understanding of the scale of the issue. 23 It is hoped that this gap will be filled in the new
draft bill on sexual abuse, which will soon go before cabinet.24

Furthermore, those in the private sector and especially those working in tourism and
transportation said that they regretted the lack of specific policy to respond to sexual
exploitation in travel and tourism.25While this is more a matter of awareness raising than
a strictly legal one, it is worth recording that business owners feel that more needs to be
done in this area. Ultimately, however, most interviewees agreed that the gap is in the
implementation of the law and not the law itself. In fact, respondents said that while the
necessary laws are in place, the delays and limited resources available in the investigation
process and in the legal system often result in the compromise of the prosecution. 26
Community members said that they feared the police are not effective, which results in
many perpetrators going unpunished.27 Lack of resources and training of the police and
the length of trials in court were also indicated as main causes of a scarce implementation
of laws on child sexual exploitation. Concern was expressed that only those who could
afford to pay the police to pursue their case and treat it with seriousness really benefit
from the domestic legal framework. “We know that there are laws that protect children
from sexual abuse and exploitation but these laws do not cover poor people. Only rich
people benefit from this laws.”28

21
FSU, Kenema, 13/05/2019
22
Sierra Leone Citizen Right Association, Makeni, 14/05/2019
23
MSWGCA, Kenema, 13/05/2019
24
Ministry of Defence, 15/05/2019
25
Salone Guest House & Restaurant, Kenema, 14/05/2019
26
Don Bosco, Freetown, 15/05/2019
27
Focus Group Discussion – Male Respondents, Freetown, 20/05/2019
28
Focus Group Discussion – Female Respondents, Freetown, 20/05/2019

14
iii. The Institutional Framework
As discussed, while sexual exploitation is not expressly defined as a crime under any law
in Sierra Leone, some existing laws such as the Sexual Offences Act 2014 and the
Trafficking in Persons Act 2005 criminalise certain sexual exploitative practices such as
child prostitution. As a result there are established institutions that are charged with the
responsibility of investigating and prosecuting criminal offences including sexual
offences. The key ones that will be discussed in this chapter include the Family Support
Unit of the Sierra Leone Police, the Prosecutors, the Court (judiciary) and the Ministry of
Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs.

The Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police

In 2005, the government of Sierra Leone established a unit within the Police, the Family
Support Unit (FSU), with the mandate to investigate sexual offences and domestic
violence. This was part of post civil conflict measures to address issues that were rampant
in a post-conflict Sierra Leone. The mandate of the FSU was reinforced by the Child
Rights Act, which expounds that the “Sierra Leone Police shall maintain at each police
station, a Family Support Unit that shall have responsibility to deal with alleged juvenile
offenders, child victims of domestic violence and to monitor proven child abusers”.29Due
to the important role that the FSU plays in curbing sexual offences and domestic
violence, several other policies such as the National Referral Protocol on Gender Based
Violence and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Paramount Chiefs, the
FSU and Child Welfare Committees (represented by the Ministry of Social Welfare
gender and Children’s Affairs) have reechoed the need for the existence of the FSU at all
police stations across the country.

The FSU staff should be composed of police officers who have received special training
to investigate sexual offences and domestic violence and social workers deployed by the
Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs. However, several studies and
project reports have revealed that the FSUs, who work closely with Interpol, 30 do not
have adequate capacity to fulfill their critical mandate.31 The continuous institutional
challenges, in particular shortages in both human and financial resources, contribute to
the low rate of effective investigation and prosecution of cases of sexual assault against
children32. According to a study carried out by the Centre for Accountability and Rule of
Law, only 20 out of 62 Police stations across the country has an FSU office, and the unit
receives One Million Leones (less than $200) from the Sierra Leone Police in each
quarter to cover operational cost for the entire country.33 Due to lack of resources,
UNICEF and NGOs have to augment the resources of the FSU and sometimes supply
them with stationery, motorbikes and other vehicles. For this reason, the FSU has been
popularly known by other units of the police as the ‘NGO unit.’ Most of the trainings that
29
Section 57 of the Child Rights Act 2007
30
FSU, Kenema, 13/05/2019
31
FSU, Bo, Freetown, 16/05/2019
32
DCI Sierra Leone 2018: Children and Informal Justice in Sierra Leone
33
Carl 2015: Assessing the resource gap in the fight against sexual and gender based violence: Is the FSU
hamstrung?

15
FSU officials have received have been conducted or supported by NGOs and UN
agencies.34 Due to lack of critical resources the FSUs have not been able to perform their
duties well and in time.

Prosecutors and Courts

Sierra Leone has two systems for prosecution of criminal cases: the Police Legal
Department and the Attorney General’s Office of the Ministry of Justice. In effect,
criminal cases are prosecuted by police prosecutors of the Legal Department of the Police
and the State Counsels from the Attorney General’s Office. Whilst the latter are legal
practitioners, the former have not undertaken any professional law courses. This in itself
poses several challenges and inequality in the way sexual offences in particular are
prosecuted in Sierra Leone. Generally, prosecutors and courts are inadequate across the
country.35 DCI-SL’s monitoring reports reveal that outside Freetown, there are only two
Magistrate Courts in three of the four regional headquarters (Bo, Kenema and Bombali
districts) and one Magistrate Court each in the remaining 11 districts. Each Magistrate
Court has no more than two police prosecutors. There are only one resident judge and one
State Counsel present in each of the five regions in the provinces and these judges visit
the different districts in their regions to organize High Court sittings.

These law enforcement officials are grossly inadequate in comparison with the volume of
cases that they receive and most of the time children’s cases are not given priority. 36
Despite the inadequate number of prosecutors, the capacity of some particularly police
prosecutors is below the job that they are required to do. Betty Alimamy explains that the
lack of associate legal representation for victims could also amount to a problem,
especially when such cases are prosecuted by incompetent prosecutors who are likely to
lose a very good case if they are against a learned and skilled defence counsel as these
prosecutors are not au fait with the evidential requirements of proof. 37 Moreover, many
court observers, including Defence for Children International Sierra Leone, AdvocAid
and Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law, have also raised concerns about the
attitude of prosecutors and court officials towards victims of sexual abuse and
exploitation. These institutions have concluded that the hostile court environment largely
contributes to victims discontinuing to appear in court.

These challenges have led to unnecessary delays and apparent denial of justice for
victims of sexual abuse and exploitation. On the average number of days taken to
conclude prosecution of a sexual offence against a child victim in Freetown and regional
HQ towns is 89 days38. In smaller district headquarter towns, which are more rural and
isolated, it takes even more time. Moreover, the rate of successful prosecution of sexual
offenders remains low.

34
DCI-SL, Freetown, 25/05/2019
35
DCI-SL, Freetown, 25/05/2019
36
Defence for Children International Sierra Leone (DCI-SL) Court Monitoring Report 2018
37
Betty Alimamy, Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (2015): www.carl-sl.org/pres/challenges-in-
investigating-and-prosecuting-sexual-violence-in Sierra Leone
38
National Child Justice Strategy- 2014-2018

16
 The Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA)

The Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs was first created in 1996
by the first democratically elected government, after the decade long civil war in Sierra
Leone. The key mandate of the Ministry include development of policies that promote the
rights of children and other vulnerable groups like women and persons with disability,
promote gender equality and establish and lead coordination mechanisms for the
implementation of these policies from community to national level. Over the years, the
ministry’s aims have been able to develop policies, including the Child Welfare Policy,
the Child Justice Strategy, the Alternative Care Policy, the National Referral Protocol on
Gender Based Violence, and initiated the drafting of key legislations including the Child
Rights Act, the Sexual Offences Act, the Anti Human Trafficking Act, the Domestic
Violence Act and the Registration of Customary Marriage Act. The Ministry has also
established coordination mechanisms such as the National and District Child Welfare
Committees (formally Child Protection Committees), comprising of relevant government
Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), NGOs and UN agencies that are
implementing projects that concern children. Other thematic sub networks such as the
Child Justice Taskforce, the Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce and the National GBV
Taskforce have been formed to enhance coordination and collective approach in
addressing issues that they are concerned with.

However, the Ministry has often been criticized for lacking adequate financial and human
resource capacity to effectively implement its mandate. For example the Child Rights
Coalition opined that from 2013 to 2015 the total allocation to the Ministry of Social
Welfare fluctuated between 0.4% in 2013 to 0.9% in 2014, and then a slight dip in 2015
(0.8) from the total budget envelope.39 Much did not change in 2016, 2017 and 2018 (will
search for the figures) This means that the budget allocation to the Ministry that is
responsbible for child welfare and protection is still under 1% in a country with low GDP,
and where almost half of the population is below 14 years of age (41.82%) and 60.38% of
the population is below 25.40 Unfortunately other MDAs, such as Internal Affairs, Justice
and Health, that also have critical role to play in the protection of children, have not been
able to allocate specific budget towards children’s welfare and protection issues. This is
the reason why in both 2008 and 2016 UNCRC in its Concluding Observations of Sierra
Leone, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has recommended that: “The State
Party (Sierra Leone), a) Allocate adequate budgetary resources, in accordance with article
4 of the Convention, for the implementation of children’s rights and, in particular,
increase the budget allocated to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s
Affairs (MSWGCA) and (b) Strengthen efforts to ensure that all line Ministries adopt a
child-centred budgeting approach”.41

Additionally, at the moment, there are no public child welfare institutions, such as safe
homes, interim care centres or psychosocial units for victims of violence and exploitation.
39
Child Rights Coalition Sierra Leone (2015): Alternative/Complementary report to the report of the Government
of Sierra Leone on the Implementation of the UNCRC
40
Index Mundi (2018): Sierra Leone Demographics Profile
41
UNCRC Committee (2016): combined third, fourth and fifth periodic reports of Sierra Leone (CRC/C/SLE/3-
5) at its 2136th and 2137th meetings (see CRC/C/SR.2136 and 2137)

17
The few ones that exist are run by NGOs through short-lived projects, which means that
these centres can disappear whenever the project funds run out. The Ministry has a lot to
do to fix its own internal capacity gaps and be able to fulfill its mandate. The is required
to set up an effective child welfare system, guided by the National Child Welfare Policy,
which will provide the framework for overall protection and development of children
from community to national level. As per the policy itself: “Effective child welfare
system is intrinsically linked to the quality and capacity of social welfare professionals,
para-professionals, volunteers and other actors involved in the management and
implementation of services”.42It is worth noting that the Ministry, with the help of
UNICEF, has undertaken a comprehensive assessment of its capacity, with the aim of
using the findings to develop a targeted capacity building strategy. The process is ongoing
and the report is yet to be published.

42
National Child Welfare Policy 2018

18
iv. Incidence, Drivers and Consequences of Sexual Exploitation
According to the Ministry of Justice: “The precise extent [of sexual exploitation] is
unknown but at present it has reached an unacceptable level of occurrence to the point
that HE the president considered it a national emergency.” 43 While there is no data on the
incidence of sexual exploitation of children in Sierra Leone, according to UNICEF,
globally, more than 120 million girls under the age of 20 have been forced to engage in
sex or perform other sexual acts.44 This figure is likely much larger, considering the
number of children – and especially boys – who do not report the abuse fearing stigma.
In Sierra Leone, more than half of women (56 per cent) claim to have suffered some form
of SGBV during their lifetime.45 Additionally, the FSU estimates that more than 1,000
children experience sexual violence in Sierra Leone every year, 46 which might indicate
that the number of children who are sexually exploited is very high. This research found
that 70 per cent of those who answered the question of whether sexual exploitation was a
problem to a large extent in Sierra Leone said that it is, with Don Bosco in Freetown also
saying that it is on the rise.47 However, estimating the extent of sexual exploitation in
Sierra Leone is difficult not only because the police and the government lack data on the
issue but also because many children who are exploited never report the abuse as they
possibly do not understand it as such.

The main drivers to sexual exploitation were found to be poverty, lack of education and
peer pressure. Hence, some children enter exploitative relationships and exchange sex for
money to pursue their education, meet their basic livelihood needs or often even to
support their families. Some girls are heads of households so they have to sell their
bodies for money and take care of their siblings. Sometimes, adult women, including
mothers, encourage teenagers to have so called ‘sugar daddies’ to support their families. 48
Lack of job opportunities, especially for girls, greatly contribute to the state of affairs.
Some children are also lured into sexually exploitative relationships with gifts such as
mobile phones, pushed by a need to impress their peers. In the words of a male
respondent of the focus group held in Freetown: “Girls take care of themselves so what
do you expect? In Sierra Leone there are no jobs for these girls so they often resort to sex
sale.”49

Some respondents cited poor parenting or single parenting as a driver of sexual

exploitation. This – it is argued – is objectionable given that in the first instance families
often feel like they do not have a choice, and in the latter it is clear that single parents,
and more so single mothers, are often unjustly perceived as being less capable than
traditional two-parents families. The claim that some children enter exploitative
relationships must also be challenged: given that in Sierra Leone the age of consent is 18,
43
Ministry of Justice, Freetown, 15/05/2019
44
UNICEF (2014): Ending Violence Against Children, Six Strategies for Actions
45
World Health Organization Ebola update report (2015), (WHO, Ebola Update report),
http://apps.who.int/ebola/current- situation/ebola-situation-report-7-october-2015
46
UNICEF (2017): Achieving justice for child victims of sexual violence in Sierra Leone
47
Don Bosco, Freetown, 15/05/2019
48
Focus Group Discussion – Male respondents, Freetown, 20/05/2019
49
ibid

19
those who are not of age cannot legally consent. Furthermore, when a child is leaving in
poverty and must provide for the family, their consent is vitiated by such factors. Given
the high demand for sex with minors among older men who believe that children are
‘sweeter’ and thus refer to them as ‘sweet 16’ disregarding their ability to provide
informed consent, it is important that the focus is on the demand rather than on
criminalising or stigmatising the offer.

Power dynamics were also highlighted as drivers of sexual exploitation. In fact, the
exchange of sex for grades in schools and for favours and advantages more in general
was seen as very common.50 work All interviewees said that the most common type of
sexual exploitation of children was in the context of domestic work. According to
AMNet, in fact: “Sexual exploitation in the context of domestic work and in school is
very common.”51 Exploitation of children for the purpose of prostitution, solicitation of
children for sexual purposes, unwanted sexting and sexual exploitation for grades in
school were cited as of high occurrence. Unsurprisingly, the exploitation of children with
disabilities or street children was a matter of concern to all those interviewed and was
indicated as happening to a greater extent than with other children as they are particularly
vulnerable to abuse due to their lack of safety nets.

Of lower occurrence according to most interviewees is child trafficking for the purpose of
sexual exploitation, although the FSU in both Bo and Freetown disagreed and said that it
is more common than previously thought.52 Also not very common according to
respondents is sexual exploitation in the context of travel and tourism and in that of
migration and humanitarian intervention. Respondents said that they were not aware of
any online sexual exploitation of children, online sexual corruption of a child and live
online child sexual abuse occurring or that it did not at all. However, given that in Sierra
Leone there is no legal instrument to legislate around this area and that there is generally
a lower awareness of issues related to the Internet, it is hard to definitely say whether this
is the case and more research is needed in this area.

All participants to a Focus Group Discussion carried out in Freetown and comprised of
adult females agreed that child sexual exploitation is quite common in Sierra Leone and
that while it is mostly girls who are widely sexually exploited, some boys are also victims
of exploitation. “I knew a lady who had a male brothel in Tengbeh Town. The main
source of living for the lady was to find boys for homosexuals who would then pay her.
She had many boys around her, some were staying with her. A lot of these boys were
looking for white men who can take them abroad.” 53 Most respondents said sexual
exploitation of children is most common in cities and big towns. However, there was one
participant who said that it is also somewhat common in the villages.

Those who said that it is more common in cities, gave lack of accommodation as the
main cause of sexual exploitation. Girls and young women who normally stay with their

50
Ministry of Education, Kenema, 14/05/2019
51
AMNet, Freetown, 14/05/2019
52
FSU, Freetown, 16/05/2019; FSU, Bo, 14/05/2019
53
Focus Group Discussion – Female Respondents, Freetown, 20/05/2019

20
uncles, aunts, friends and other relatives are also often sexually exploited according to the
group. In fact, one participant said that most girls who leave their homes – either because
of school or problems at home or other reasons – and move to stay with their friends will
end up in prostitution. They may either become real commercial sex workers or keep
many boyfriends to get money from them. The host most times creates the conditions for
these girls to engage in prostitution because they expect the girls to bring money or gifts
home. At the village level, sexual exploitation finds its roots in the need for labour in the
farms. Parents usually push their girls onto men who are strong and can withstand hard
labour, so that these men can work in their farm. This is one of the reasons why child
marriage is quite common in the rural areas. 54
Case Study: Mabinty,* 24-years-old
Mabinty grew up with an aunt who had taken her in when she was about 12, after she had
passed her exams to enter secondary school. Mabinty’s family wanted her to go to
complete secondary education in Freetown because in her village there was only a
primary school. “My aunt accepted me because I could help around the house and take
care of her 5-year-old daughter and do other domestic chores for her. My aunt wasn’t
married but she had a boyfriend who was married to another woman and had his own
family,” says Mabinty. She recounts of her aunt’s lover who used to come home with
friends to eat and enjoy themselves. When she became a teenager, those friends started
taking interest in her, and especially one of them did, Mr Sulaiman.*

One day, when Mabinty was 16, her aunt cooked some food, asked her to take it to Mr
Sulaiman’s office and chose clothes for her to wear to carry out the errand. When she
finally got to the address she was given, it did not look like an office but a hotel. She
went to the reception and asked for Mr. Sulaiman. The receptionist directed her to his
room. She says: “When I got to the room, I felt so scared, intimidated and vulnerable. Mr.
Sulaiman knew I wasn’t comfortable so he came closer and started talking to me nicely.
He asked me about my family and my school.”

Mr Sulaiman then took out money (equivalent to $30) gave it to her and promised her he
would take care of her schooling and all her needs up to university. “I recalled that some
of my friends in school had told me how sweet a ‘sugar daddy’ relationship was. I
became interested and thought of him as my own saviour. He ended up having sex with
me and destroyed my virginity. Once I got back home my aunt asked me about the money
that Mr. Sulaiman gave me and she threatened me that if I didn't give it to her she would
send me out of her house,” she says.

The aunt then told her that Mr. Sulaiman had for a long time expressed interest in her and
that Mabinty should not be hiding their relationship from her. “She warned that I should
be transparent with her about the relationship. Each time my aunt needed money, she
would ask me to see Mr. Sulaiman and ask for money and lie to him that I needed money
to buy some stuff that I needed. This was how I was exploited, until I ended up having
more sugar daddies to earn more money for me and my aunt,” says Mabinty.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the respondents

54
Focus Group Discussion – Female Respondents, Freetown, 20/05/2019

21
Victims of sexual exploitation in Sierra Leone are often victims of discrimination. Instead
of receiving appropriate support, they sometimes face victim-blaming biases and
stigmatization which negatively influence their ability to complete education, access
economic assets and opportunities.55 According to a Focus Group Discussion of male
adult respondents carried out in Freetown, sadly, sexual exploitation also impacts on a
woman’s chance to get married, which in the absence of decent job opportunities is the
only alternative available to many women. While men will exploit those children for sex,
they would then not marry those they exploit because they consider them as impure. 56
“[Sexual exploitation] reduces self-esteem of a girl or woman – men like to sexually
exploit girls but they wouldn’t marry them because they do not have respect for them. It
can also destroy a society by destroying the future generations.”57

Other consequences of sexual abuse include early pregnancies, which some girls may
even not survive given that teenagers make up 40 per cent of all maternal deaths in Sierra
Leone.58 Teenage pregnancy also further puts girls in vulnerable positions. In fact,
teenage mothers are at the highest risk because when they get pregnant and give birth to
children, their families stop taking care of them and they start considering them as adults.
Commonly, Sierra Leoneans parents say that ‘pikin nor de born pikin’ (children do not
give birth to children). Hence, once these teenagers need money to take care of
themselves and their babies, they easily become prey for sexual exploitation. 59 Further,
many victims of rape become sexually exploited and turn to prostitution as they feel this
is the only option available to them. 60 Given the scarce sexual education that children
receive in Sierra Leone, sexually transmitted diseases are also rampant among victims of
sexual exploitation.61

55
DCI-SL and ECPAT (2016) : Consultation of girls and young women on sexual exploitation in Sierra Leone
56
Focus Group Discussion – Male respondents, Freetown, 20/05/2019
57
ibid
58
World Vision (2016): Protecting children - Stopping sexual abuse in Sierra Leone
59
Focus Group Discussion – Female Respondents, Freetown, 20/05/2019
60
ECOSOC (2002): Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
61
MSWGCA, Bo, 14/05/2019

22
v. The Response to the Issue of Sexual Exploitation
At the community level, faith leaders, particularly the Inter Religious Council, which
comprises both Christian and Muslim leaders, have been carrying out awareness raising
campaigns on child abuse and harmful traditional practices with the support of UNICEF.
Traditional leaders, including Paramount Chiefs, also play significant role in raising
awareness about child rights/protection issues in their communities and institute their
community bylaws to protect children. In some communities local leaders have been vital
in the arrest and handover of perpetrators of sexual crimes against children to the FSU or
the police.62 During the Focus Group Discussion led in Freetown with women, it emerged
that some of the respondents have attended a workshop about sexual abuse in their
communities and were educated about the different forms of sexual abuse including
sexual exploitation, although it is unclear who provided such a workshop. 63Worth noting
is that Bike Riders Unions and Drivers Unions have developed their own Code of
Conduct around issues such as sexual abuse and child trafficking and a Manifesto, which
also allows them to record details of people travelling – including children – which can
then be useful to the police.64

All NGOs and CSOs interviewed had services to address and respond to sexual abuse,
but not specifically to child sexual exploitation. Those services ranged from psychosocial
and moral support, case management and sensitization to sheltering, advocacy and
awareness raising. Notably, Don Bosco also provides scholarships to girls to encourage
them to stay in school, which may well solve some of the problems aforementioned.
Further, The Movement for Resettlement & Rural Development in Kenema has a fund
aside for children who need to go to court as one of the key issues is that many witnesses
cannot afford the journey from home to court and by failing to testify they leave the
judges with no choice but to discharge the case, which de facto lets perpetrators get away
with sexual abuse. Defence for Children Sierra Leone carries out extensive management
of cases, which involves documentation, assessment of the case and ensuring that the
victims receive services either directly from DCI-SL or from other organisations through
referrals. AMNet offers life skills sessions and are involved greatly in fostering the
dialogue on the issues in communities. However, none of the CSOs interviewed said that
they provided rehabilitation programs for perpetrators.

While CSOs and NGOs said that they did not have resources allocated specifically to
combat sexual exploitation, most had a budget to address child sexual abuse. However,
AMNet said that often there is a wastage of resources as they have some beneficiaries
who have two different NGOs on their cases, which could be avoided as it leads to a lot
of money being spent by multiple organisations on just one case. 65 More consistent
coordination among CSOs might be necessary in the future. Despite this, it is clear that

62
DCI-SL, Freetown, 25/05/2019
63
Focus Group Discussion – Female Respondents, Freetown, 20/05/2019
64
Drivers Union, Freetown, 14/05/2019
65
AMNet, Freetown, 14/05/2019

23
CSOs have seriously undertaken to raise awareness on this matter, and all respondents
said that they have a Code of Conduct in place that staff are trained on. While all
respondent but one said that they have not reported one of their employees for sexual
exploitation or abuse, all said that they would in the event of misconduct occurring. The
Sierra Leone Citizen Rights Association said it has dismissed staff and prosecuted them
in the past.66

Similarly, those in the private sector who were interviewed said that they had never
reported one of their staff to the police for child sexual exploitation. However, they
mostly said that they had either formal or informal policies or Codes of Conducts around
child sexual abuse in general. Rather than formal trainings with their staff, private
businesses said they have meetings where the issue is reminded to the employees. While
those are important efforts on the part of business owners, it is evident that hotels, bars
and entertainment centres are providing a venue for child sexual exploitation, whether
they do so knowingly or not. “If you go to the Eastern part of Freetown, just visit those
entertainment centres along the highway, you’ll see clear evidence of how the staff turn a
blind eye to sexual exploitation. They even encourage young girls to come in so that they
can attract customers. If government wants to end sexual exploitation of children they
should regulate the entertainment centres.”67

At the government level, the Ministries are clearly attempting to coordinate with each
other and with child protection stakeholders. As already mentioned, through the
MGSWCA, Sierra Leone has a Child Welfare Committee coordination and a special one
on GBV, which meets monthly.68Importantly, the committee carries out awareness raising
with the public and addresses several issues, including sexual exploitation. This is meant
to prevent SGBV from happening but further concrete prevention campaigns must be
developed in order to translate the laws in to practice. Additionally, given that there are
no programmes offered by CSOs to rehabilitate offenders, it is important that the
government steps in to provide such services in order to reduce the number of people
who reoffend. However, the MSGWCA cannot fully function unless it receives the
appropriate funding: “The challenge is the lack of funding, and sometimes even the
capacity.”69

The Ministry of Education has developed a Code of Conduct For Teachers and Education
Personnel (2009) and a School Safety Manual on which teacher are trained, which should
slowly work to end the exchange of sex for grades.70 The Ministry of Tourism supports
information sharing of appropriate behaviour and care towards children, which, it claims,
has decreased sex tourism because people in the sector are more aware. 71 While the
government is trying to build capacity by analysing the capacity gap and is on the path of

66
Sierra Leone Citizen Rights Association, Makeni, 14/05/2019
67
Focus Group Discussion – Female Respondents, Freetown, 20/05/2019
68
MGSWCA, Kenema, 14/05/2019
69
MGSWCA, Freetown, 13/05/2019
70
Ministry of Education, Bo, 14/05/2019
71
Ministry of Tourism, Freetown, 16/05/2019

24
employing more social workers,72 the lack resource of government organisations to even
buy fuel for their bike to go after perpetrators that have escaped is a matter of concern.
Importantly, since the government does not provide guidelines for handling cases of
sexual exploitation,73 the Law Officers Department conducts training on SGBV for police
officers and prosecutors on a periodic basis, in order to aid better prosecutions of
offenders.74

Of particular impact, across all those who were interviewed, was the “Hands Off Our
Girls” campaign organized by the First Lady of Sierra Leone, Fatima Bio, who started an
international conversation on issues of child marriage and SGBV – which includes sexual
exploitation. First Ladies from Ghana, Liberia, Chad, Niger and The Gambia also
participated in a meeting that was held in Freetown in December 2018 to discuss ways to
combat the issues jointly. Although it is too soon to be able to verify the claim that Mrs
Bio’s efforts have and will continue to pay off,75it is undeniable that “Hands Off Our
Girls” has drawn the attention to the issue like it had not been before. Continuing to hold
events and regularly address the issue in public by an important figure such as the First
Lady, may well help raise the much-needed awareness and challenge some harmful
traditional practices. In addition, the declaration of a state of emergency on child sexual
violence by the President of Sierra Leone, Maada Bio and his statement that that those
who commit child abuse might face life in prison has further put the issue of sexual abuse
– and hence of sexual exploitation – on the national agenda.

72
MGSWCA, Kenema, 14/05/2019
73
ibid
74
Ministry of Justice, Freetown, 16/05/2019
75
Family Kingdom Resort, Freetown, 15/05/2019

25
Conclusions
Sierra Leone has seen an increase in the number of cases of sexual abuse reported to the
police. Among other types of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation is largely
underrepresented and often not distinguished from other abuses, despite being a different
form of sexual violence. In fact, no research on the issue in Sierra Leone could be found.
International legislation provides important protection to children from sexual
exploitation, and the domestic legal framework in Sierra Leone does somewhat
criminalise it, especially through the Sexual Offences Act 2014 and the Anti-Human
Trafficking Act 2005. However, the distinction between sexual abuse and sexual
exploitation of children in the laws is not very clear. Furthermore, there is currently no
domestic legislation to recognise and criminalise sexual exploitation that occurs online.
However, despite being far from perfect, it appears that the issue is more that the laws are
not implemented rather than they are not comprehensive. Inefficiency of the police was
found to be the main challenge for the correct implementation of the legal framework,
together with the lack of resources and training of the police. Delays and scarce funds
available in the legal system are also cause for concern. Finally, communities reported
that only those who can afford to pay the police to treat their case with seriousness really
benefit from the law, which indicates corruption and a justifiable low level of trust in the
law enforcement.

Despite the presence of established institutions that are in charge of investigating and
prosecuting criminal offences including sexual offences such as the Family Support Unit
of the police and the Ministry of Gender Social Welfare and Children’s Affairs, both
remain largely underfunded. The FSU lacks basic resources, which has meant that NGOs
have had to provide them with funds and even essential materials such as stationery,
motorbikes and other vehicles. For this reason, the FSU has been popularly known by
other units of the police as the ‘NGO unit.’ Preparation of the FSU still remains scarce, as
the government is yet to take full ownership of their trainings, which has resulted in most
training sessions being conducted or funded by NGOs and UN agencies. The MGSWCA
receives less than the 1 per cent of the total government fund to protect those who are
more vulnerable. This is unacceptable in a country where the majority of the population
are young and poor and thus easy targets of abuse. Further research into this concern
must be conducted once the report on the capacity gaps of the MGSWCA undertaken by
the Ministry itself with the help of UNICEF is published.

Poverty, lack of education and peer pressure remain the main drivers to sexual
exploitation. Children enter exploitative sexual relationships to be able to pursue their
education and meet their basic livelihood needs. Some girls, especially following the
Ebola crisis, have become heads of households too young and go into prostitution to take
care of themselves and their siblings. Sometimes, adult women, including mothers,
encourage teenagers to have so called ‘sugar daddies’ to support their families. Sexual
encounters with young girls have been normalised, so much so that older men joke and
call their young lovers ‘sweet 16’, because they consider them to be ‘sweeter’. The lack
of decent work, especially for girls, further puts young women in a vulnerable position.
Some children are also lured into sexually exploitative relationships with gifts, wanting to
impress their peers. Others are encouraged to sell their bodies in exchange for grades or

26
favours. While some boys are victims of exploitation, it is mostly girls who are sexually
exploited, exploitation being more common in cities and big towns. Several girls and
young women in the cities are there for education or employment and are hosted by a
relative or a friend, who often expects them to bring money or gifts home. This forces
many girls into real prostitution or into having one or multiple ‘sugar daddies’. In
villages, sexual exploitation is linked to the demand for labour in the farms. Most parents
usually welcome the possibility of their girls marrying men who are strong and can work
in their farm, despite the age of the daughters or their ability to consent to sexual
intercourse.

Victims of sexual exploitation often do not receive appropriate support and are blamed
and stigmatized, which hinders their chance at completing education, becoming
economically empowered or getting married. Many girls who are sexually exploited
become pregnant, which leads to death in certain cases and also de facto makes the child
an adult in the eyes of her parents, who in turn feel discharged from their few obligations
towards the daughter. This is problematic because single, young and with a newborn they
are left with little choices and easily become sexually exploited. The absence of sexual
education in the school curriculum means that there is little awareness on sexually
transmitted diseases, which are even more pervasive among victims of sexual
exploitation.

There is a certain degree of awareness of sexual exploitation of children in communities.

Faith leaders and traditional leaders, including Paramount Chiefs, play a significant role
in raising awareness about the issue in their communities and have on some occasions
agreed on community bylaws to protect children from such violence. Leaders have also
been instrumental in some communities in the apprehension of perpetrators. All CSOs
and NGOs interviewed offer services for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse,
including psychosocial support, case management and sheltering. No rehabilitation
programs for perpetrators are currently offered by CSOs in Sierra Leone. In the private
sector, it is worrisome that the issue is not taken more seriously as it is clear that hotels,
bars and entertainment centres are providing a venue for child sexual exploitation. Lastly,
The “Hands Off Our Girls” campaign organized by the First Lady of Sierra Leone has
produced the much-needed effect of shifting the attention to the issue of SGBV, while the
declaration of a state of emergency on child sexual violence by the President has started
an important conversation in Parliament.

27
vi. Recommendations

Government Level

 To provide a clearer distinction between sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of

children in the legal framework as this is necessary to ensure that the law provides
appropriate protection.
 To pass a Bill to criminalise sexual exploitation, and sexual abuse more in
general, that is carried out online.
 To take complete ownership of police and the FSU’s trainings and to ensure that
those include detailed information on issues related to sexual offences against
children. Further trainings around the legal framework might also prove
beneficial.
 To provide the FSU with the basic resources that are needed for them to be able to
carry out their job.
 To finally provide funds to courts and appoint more judges to expedite trials and
to set aside a budget for children who cannot afford to travel to the courts to
testify.
 To combat petty corruption among the police and increase their salaries so as to
avoid the police only working when paid by the victim. This would endure not
only that the law is equitable to everyone but also that trust in the institutions is
slowly restored.
 To consider the young population of Sierra Leone and to distribute the budget
accordingly. More than 1 per cent of the total budget must be allocated to
MGSWCA for them to be able to work in the protection of children.
 For the MGSWCA to seriously consider the report on the assessment of their
capacity gaps once it is published.
 For the Ministry of Education to introduce sexual education in the school
curriculum, which comprises of lessons on consent. This should reduce the
number of early pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and
might go a long way into combatting sexual exploitation.
 For the Ministry of Tourism to ensure that business owners are aware of the issue
of sexual exploitation and to think of a strategy to regulate bars, hotel and
entertainment centres.
 To continue the “Hands off Our Girls” initiative and to stay true to the promise of
the President of tougher punishment to those who commit sexual offences against
children.

28
CSOs and NGOs Level

 To continue to provide those services that are much-needed for victims of sexual
abuse and to include programmes that are specific to sexual exploitation of
children.
 To provide life skills sessions on consent, affectivity and readiness for sexual
intercourse so as to ensure that children do not consider sex as merchandise to be
exchanged for money of gifts.
 To lobby the government for the introduction of sexual education in the national
curriculum and to provide sexual education sessions in the meantime, so as to
reduce the spreading of diseases and early pregnancies.
 To challenge the ‘pikin nor de born pikin’ view by educating parents and teachers
on the issue.
 To monitor the situation of sex for grades and to carry out sensitisations with
teachers and school staff to eradicate the phenomenon.
 To continue to fight child marriage and raise awareness among communities,
community and religious leaders and children on the issues of sexual exploitation
and abuse.
 To lobby the government for the introduction of laws around the web and abuse
and grooming of children.
 To continue to work with faith leaders and traditional leaders to raise awareness
on sexual exploitation in communities.
 To simultaneously work with the private sector to encourage it to offer decent job
opportunities to women and young women and provide life skills sessions to girls
and young women to teach them that marriage and sex work are not the only
alternatives available to them.
 To sensitise hotel, bars and entertainment centres owners on sexual exploitation of
children.
 To consider offering programmes for the rehabilitation of perpetrators, which
might reduce the number of reoffenders.
 To improve on the coordination among CSOs and NGOs so as to ensure that no
wastage of funds occurs and maximise their impact.
 To continue to work with the police, the Ministries, and the government is general
to address and respond to child sexual exploitation.

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Community Level

 For leaders to continue their important work of raising awareness on child

protection issues.
 For Communities to collaborate with the police to address child sexual
exploitation and avoid administering community justice.
 To make use of community initiatives to discuss issues of sexual exploitation.
 For parents to be aware of the risks related to the practice of informal fosterage.
 For the community to come together to end child marriage once and for all.
 For the community to change their ‘pikin nor de born pikin’ view and to create a
safe space where young people can talk about sex.
 For men to discourage the normalisation of sex with teenagers and sexual and
domestic violence among their peers. Toxic masculinity can and must be
challenged by men themselves.

30
References
1. Reports and Articles
Carl (2015): Assessing the resource gap in the fight against sexual and gender based
violence: Is the FSU hamstrung?

Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (2015): Challenges in Investigating and
Prosecuting Sexual Violence in Sierra Leone. www.carl-sl.org/pres/challenges-in-
investigating-and-prosecuting-sexual-violence-in Sierra Leone

Child Frontiers (2010): Mapping and Analysis of the Child Protection System in Sierra
Leone

Child Rights Coalition Sierra Leone (2015): Alternative/Complementary report to the

report of the Government of Sierra Leone on the Implementation of the UNCRC

Defence for Children International Sierra Leone (2018): Court Monitoring Report 2018

Defence for Children International Sierra Leone (2018): Children and Informal Justice in
Sierra Leone

Defence for Children International Sierra Leone and End Child Prostitution and
Trafficking (2016): Consultation of girls and young women on sexual exploitation in
Sierra Leone

ECOSOC (2002): Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its
Causes and Consequences

Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police (2015): National Crimes Statistics for
Major Offences

Index Mundi (2018): Sierra Leone Demographics Profile

Robinson and Defence for Children International Sierra Leone (2015): A mountain
to Climb: Gender Based Violence and Girls Rights to Education in Sierra Leone

UNCRC Committee (2016): Combined third, fourth and fifth periodic reports of
Sierra Leone (CRC/C/SLE/3-5) at its 2136th and 2137th meetings (see
CRC/C/SR.2136 and 2137)

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UNICEF (2017): Achieving justice for child victims of sexual violence in Sierra Leone

UNICEF (2014): Ending Violence Against Children, Six Strategies for Actions

UNICEF and SSL (2011): MICS 4

Rossi (2009): Developing Evidence – based Child Protection Policy in Sierra Leone:
Building evidence, engaging policy makers

The Columbia Group for Children in Adversity (2011): An ethnographic study of

community-based child protection mechanisms and their linkages with the national
child protection system of Sierra Leone, The Columbia Group for Children in
Adversity

World Health Organization (2015) Ebola Update Report.

http://apps.who.int/ebola/current- situation/ebola-situation-report-7-october-2015

World Vision (2016): Protecting Children - Stopping Sexual Abuse in Sierra Leone

2. Policies and Acts

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

Child Rights Act 2007

Domestic Violence Act 2007

Maputo Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights
of Women in Africa

National Child Justice Strategy 2014-2018

Sexual Offences Act 2014

Sierra Leone Child Welfare Policy 2018

The Anti Human Trafficking Act 2005

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

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 Annex 1: List of Interviewees

Key Informant Interviews

Institution Freetown Bo Kenema Makeni
A. Government (At least 10 in each region)
MSWGCA 1 1 1 1
Ministry of Education 1 1 1 0
Ministry of Tourism 1 1 0 0
Ministry of Justice 1 0 0 0
Ministry of Information and Communication 1 0 0 0
Family Support Unit of Police 1 1 1 1
Interpol/TOCU 1 0 0 0
National Telecom Commission (NATCOM) 1 1 0 0
B. NGOs/CSOs/UN Agencies
UNICEF 1 0 0 0
Movement for Resettlement & Rural 0 0 1 0
Development
Humanist Watch Salone 0 0 1 0
Youth Family Concern Sierra Leone 0 0 1 0
DCI-SL 1 0 1 0
AMNet 1 0 0 0
Don Bosco 1 1 0 0
Rainbo Initiative 0 1 0 0
World Vision International 0 1 0 0
Human Empowerment & Development 0 1 0 0
Foundation
Street Child 0 1 0 0
Sierra Leone Citizens Rights Association 0 0 0 1
C. Community Based Organisations
Drivers Union 1 0 0 0
Bike Riders Union 0 0 1 0
D. Private sector
Orange Mobile Company 1 1 1 0
Q Cell mobile company 1 1 1 0
Africel mobile company 1 0 0 0
Hotels and guest houses 4 4 4 4
Entertainment centres ( night clubs, bars etc) 0 2 0 0

Focus Group Discussion

Male adults 5
Female adults 5 Total 10

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 Annex 2: Definition of Child Sexual Exploitation
This proposed country case study on Sexual Exploitation of Children seeks to provide an
in-depth understanding of the extent and root causes of the problem, including its
cultural, social and economic underpinnings, and the level of investment and measures
taken by states and non-state actors including the private sector to prevent and combat
child sexual exploitation of children in Sierra Leone.

The study adopts Luxemburg’s Terminology Guidelines76 definition of child sexual

exploitation- when a child (he/she) takes part in a sexual activity in exchange for
something (e.g. gain or benefit, or even the promise of such) from a third party, the
perpetrator, or by the child her/himself. The study will consider the full spectrum sexual
exploitation of children as follows:

Forms of sexual Definition

exploitation of
children
Exploitation of This form of exploitation consist of a child performing a sexual
children in/for act in exchange for (a promise of) something of value (money,
prostitution objects, shelter, food, drugs, etc.)
Online child sexual Is an umbrella term encompassing but not limited to:
exploitation  sexual exploitation that is carried out while the victim is
online (such as enticing/manipulating/threatening a child
into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam),
 identifying and/or grooming potential child victims
online with a view to exploiting them sexually (whether
the acts that follow are then carried out online or offline),
 the distribution, dissemination, importing, exporting,
offering, selling, possession of, or knowingly obtaining
access to child sexual exploitation material online (even
if the sexual abuse that is depicted in the material was
carried out offline).
Trafficking of Child trafficking is the recruitment and/or transport, transfer,
children for sexual harbouring, and receipt of a child by others with the intent of
purposes exploiting the child through various means, like prostitution, etc.

Children trafficked for other purposes, such as child labour, can

also be sexually abused even when this was not the initial
purpose of their trafficking.
Solicitation of Refers to the solicitation of children for sexual purposes i.e.
children for sexual “sexual chatting with a child”, the intentional proposal to meet
purposes the child for the purpose of committing a sexual offence and
posterior “material acts leading to such a meeting.
Use of children for It consists using a child” for sexual purposes (whether
sexual performances or other).
76
ECPAT International (2016). Terminology guidelines for the protection of children from sexual exploitation and
abuse. Accessed at: http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Terminology-guidelines_ENG.pdf.

34
(pornographic)
performances
Unwanted sexting self-production of sexual images”, or as the “exchange of sexual
messages or images” and “the creating, sharing and forwarding
of sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images through
mobile phones and/or the internet.
Corruption of Refers to acts causing the child to witness sexual abuse or sexual
children for sexual activities.
purposes
Online sexual Refers to online solicitation of children for sexual purposes or
corruption of a child “grooming”.
Live online child Refers to when a child is coerced to participate in sexual
sexual abuse activities, alone or with other persons, and when that act is
transmitted live through ICT and watched by others remotely.
Sexual exploitation Refers to sexual exploitation of children that is embedded in a
of children in the context of travel, tourism, or both.
context of travel and
tourism

35