Story

Police cells in Sierra Leone are poorly equipped and often almost uninhabitable. Correctional Centres are slightly better, but women can be imprisoned for years on end with poor access to sanitary items and appropriate medication, and many do not receive visits from family members at all. AdvocAid seeks to allow women to preserve their dignity and obtain new skills while in detention by providing education, counselling and welfare support.

Impact

AdvocAid believes that women should be able to grow and prosper during their time in prison, so they can be more active and productive citizens once released. Denying women this opportunity increases the risk of them being ostracised from their community and further impoverished when they leave prison. Our detainee support programme helps inmates to stay motivated and become more confident while equipping them with vital life skills, which offer them a chance of a brighter future.

Challenge

In 2014, one third of Sierra Leone's female inmates had never been to school, and 83% earned less than $1 a day. This mix of poverty and illiteracy is a key reason women commit crimes, yet there are few rehabilitation programmes for inmates. Sierra Leone's detention facilities are often dark, cramped and unsanitary and the correctional centres lack necessities like medicine, toiletries and nutritious food. They also don't have budgets for supporting children imprisoned with their mothers.

Organizer

Updates

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