Expanding Political Support for Abortion Access and Rights in Sierra Leone

  • A Advocacy Campaign/Project

A Active

Key Information

This project focuses on advocacy campaigns to ensure law reform around Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR) in Sierra Leone. The current advocacy initiative is for the Parliament of Sierra Leone to pass the "Safe Motherhood & Reproductive Health (SMRH)" Bill into law. The proposed SMRH Act decriminalises Safe Termination of pregnancy under three broad conditions: first if the pregnancy is a threat to the health or life of the individual; second, if the preganacy is due to incest; and third if the pregnancy is as a result of rape. The proposed law also allows for integration of Sexual Reproductive Health Education into the National Basic Education Curriculum.

Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Sierra Leone

Activity URL

Not applicable or unknown

Government Affiliation

Non-governmental program

Years

2020 - 2025

Partner(s)

Amnesty International, Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality Rights (LAWYERS), Grassroots Community Development Advocates - Sierra Leone (GraCDA-SL), Marie Stopes Sierra Leone (MSSL), Economic Empowerment for Human Rights -Sierra Leone (EEHRSL), Mahotta Women's Development Advocates (MaWoDA), Society for Democratic Initiative (SDI), Women In Need of Development - Sierra Leone (WIND-SL),  Men's Up Initiative (NUI),  Habi Foundation, Sierra Leone Youth Advocacy and Empowerment Network (SLYAEN), Alliance For Women's Development – Sierra Leone (AWOD-SL), Ladies In Development - Sierra Leone 

Ministry Affiliation

Unknown

Funder(s)

Not applicable or unknown

COVID-19 Response

Adapted

Geographic Scope

National

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Other skills

  • Rights/empowerment education

Quality

  • School-related gender-based violence
  • School violence

Cross-cutting areas

  • Community sensitization
  • Early/child marriage
  • Empowerment
  • Gender equality
  • Menstrual hygiene management
  • Other

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Boys (both in school and out of school), Community leaders, Girls (both in school and out of school), Other community members - female, Other community members - male, Parent-teacher associations/school management committees, Religious leaders, School administrators, Teachers - female, Teachers - male, Youth

Age

8 - 100

School Enrolment Status

Some in school

School Level

  • Lower primary
  • Upper primary
  • Lower secondary
  • Upper secondary
  • Vocational
  • Tertiary

Other populations reached

  • Other

Participants include

  • Adolescent mothers (pregnant or parenting)
  • Homeless/street children
  • Orphans and vulnerable children
  • People living with HIV/AIDS
  • People with disabilities

Program Approaches Back to Top

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • Community mobilization
  • General awareness-raising/community engagement

Educational Technology

  • Online training

Health and childcare services

  • Adolescent-friendly health services
  • Maternal and child health services
  • Sexual and reproductive health services (including family planning)

Increased availability of learning materials

  • Educational Radio or Television Programs

Learning while working

  • Vocational training

Life skills education

  • Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE)
  • Gender, rights and power
  • Sexual and reproductive health (including puberty education)

Menstrual hygiene management

  • Raising awareness about menstruation (beyond just girls)

Policy/legal environment

  • Advocating changes to existing laws/policies
  • Developing/promoting new laws/policies

School-related gender-based violence

  • Anti-violence policies and codes of conduct

Social/gender norms change

  • Media campaigns

Women's empowerment programs

  • Advocacy/action
  • Empowerment training

Show More

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

Not applicable or unknown

Cross-cutting goals

  • Changed social norms
  • Improved health - other
  • Improved maternal, newborn, and/or child health (MNCH)
  • Improved sexual and reproductive health
  • Improved understanding of sexual harassment, coercion, and consent
  • Increased advocacy/civic engagement
  • Increased agency and empowerment
  • Increased knowledge of rights

Additional Information Back to Top

Primary Contact

Fodie Paul Oniel Kamara
Concern Sierra Leone
Executive Director
fodiepokamara@gmail.com
+23278682524