Why Sierra Leonean Women Don’t Feel Protected By Domestic Violence Laws

Why Sierra Leonean Women Don’t Feel Protected By Domestic Violence Laws

By Luisa T. Schneider, Postdoctoral research fellow, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. First published on The Conversation

Sierra Leone has a long history of sexual and gender based violence, dating back to the colonial era and stretching into the years of independence which began in 1961. The country’s civil war, which raged between 1991 and 2002, brought international attention to the high levels of violence against women.

In this way, Sierra Leone is similar to many young democracies in Africa with a violent history; it struggles with patriarchal attitudes and high levels of violence against women and girls.

After the war, several legal changes were made to try and address this kind of violence. One was the Domestic Violence Act, ratified in 2007. It criminalises all forms of violence – physical, sexual, emotional and economic — against women and outlines strict punishments for perpetrators.

Jennie Willoughby, Rob Porter's Ex-Wife, Talks Trump's Dismissal Of Her Abuse & Rejection Of #MeToo

JENNIE WILLOUGHBY PENS TIME ESSAY ADDRESSING TRUMP CALLING HER AND PORTER'S OTHER ACCUSERS LIARS, AND AMERICA'S REFUSAL TO CONFRONT REALITY OF ABUSE.

Jennie Willoughby, Rob Porter's Ex-Wife, Talks Trump's Dismissal Of Her Abuse & Rejection Of #MeToo

Trump essentially called the three-women 'liars' who have accused former White House staff secretary Rob Porter of physical and emotional abuse. The trio includes two ex-wives and the woman Porter was dating when he got cozy with White House Communications Director Hope Hicks in November. By then, the White House was fully appraised that Porter was having difficulty getting a top-level security clearance -- considered a problem so serious that Porter should have been sent packing months ago. 

American women -- and many men -- are speechless that Trump has not said one word in support of women who are abused, a reality that is a serious problem in America and worldwide. Specifically, his tweets have only spoken of harm done to men by false accusations from women, as Trump inquired if there was no due process anymore.