EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The International Development Law Organization (IDLO), UN Women and the Sierra Leone Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice in Sierra Leone through the Justice Sector Coordination Office have, in a joint partnership, commissioned a gender and law consultant to undertake a comprehensive legal assessment, or mapping of the laws of Sierra Leone from a gender perspective. This legal assessment comprises a review of legislation including statutes, legislative instruments and case law. Brief reference will also be made to policies and norms that impact on the rights of women and girls, to the extent that they point to shortcomings in the existing legislation, or gaps in the legal protection of the human rights of women and girls.

The purpose of this legal assessment is to provide a gender analysis of these laws and make recommendations for reform, repeal or the passing of new laws with the goal of eliminating or reforming discriminatory laws against women and girls in Sierra Leone and ensuring that the principle of equality and non-discrimination is reflected in law. This review of laws and the elimination of those that discriminate against women was a recommendation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).1 The review is therefore consistent with the Government of Sierra Leone’s agenda of post-conflict reconstruction.

The objective of the review is also in line with IDLO’s commitment to “promoting gender equality through non-discriminatory gender responsive laws and institutions, enhancing women’s access to justice and increasing their legal empowerment to achieve sustainable development”.2 It is furthermore grounded in the UN Women-led “Equality in law for women and girls by 2030: A multi-stakeholder strategy for accelerated action”, a global framework and plan of action for eliminating gender discriminatory laws.3

While the country has signed on to all nine of the core human rights treaties, it has ratified only seven. 4, 5 Moreover, Sierra Leone has neither signed nor ratified the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) or ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which limits women’s ability to advocate for their rights at the level of the United Nations treaty bodies in situations where their rights have not been vindicated by the authorities in Sierra Leone.

At the national level, Sierra Leone developed in 2019 the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) policy, which, if implemented, could be transformative for women and girls. A gender empowerment bill incorporating components of the policy has also been gazetted, although it has yet to come before Parliament. The bill provides for a minimum 30 percent quota for political representation and appointment positions as well as improved access to finance and gender mainstreaming. However, implementation is key – despite a seemingly robust national policy framework for gender equality,6 the country still lags behind in many gender and development indicators.7 Additionally, Sierra Leone retains Section 27(4)(d-e) in the Constitution, which claws back the anti-discrimination provisions of the Constitution. For example, exemptions “with respect to adoption, marriage, divorce, burial, devolution of property on death or other interests of personal law” from the ambit of the Constitution, the supreme law of the land, have entrenched customary law practices that include the exclusion of women from paramount chieftaincies in the northern and parts of the eastern provinces of Sierra Leone. This section is explored in more detail later in this report.

This legal assessment will help to identify laws that hinder gender equality and provide recommendations for law reform that should result in greater equality and attendant dividends, including improved socio-economic and political benefits for women. To ensure that reform is comprehensive, the legal assessment covers not only those laws that are explicitly designed to address issues that affect women and girls, but also sectoral ones that have a direct or indirect impact on gender equality. Using CEDAW and GEWE thematic areas as guides, these sectors comprise economic, social, political and cultural laws. Within these sectors, thematic areas include, but are not limited to, laws on employment; health; education; violence against women; political and public

life; marriage, divorce and inheritance; and the environment. This legal assessment identifies those laws that directly and indirectly discriminate against women and girls, reflecting on laws that clearly treat women and girls differently from men and boys, as well as those laws that while appearing neutral, in practice result in gender discrimination and hinder women’s empowerment on all levels.

This report is structured along the following lines: an introduction, which outlines the methodology, provides a literature review, legal assessment of laws and policies, and literature to be reviewed as well as recommendations for repeal, revision or reform. The report proceeds as follows: the scope of work is introduced, followed by the methodology. Part 1 of the report then provides an overview of global and regional commitments and concomitant gaps, while Part 2 examines the gaps in Sierra Leone’s domestic laws. Recommendations to address these gaps are provided in both sections, and Part 3 concludes with a road map on how to implement these recommendations. The analysis of domestic laws covers 38 laws; seven bills that are in various stages of consideration by the Cabinet and other government departments and agencies; and several policy measures, which if fully implemented, can complement the legislative reform agenda in Sierra Leone. The analysis also reveals that a total of 22 laws, including key sections and provisions of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991, must be amended or revised; six must be repealed in whole or in part; and at least seven new laws must be enacted to bring Sierra Leone’s legislative framework in line with its international and regional obligations on gender and women’s empowerment. The report also emphasizes the need to prioritize the implementation of national laws that fulfill gender and equality standards, and in this context, recommends at least two policy measures to complement the legislative reform agenda.