By George M.O. Williams
Isatu Thorli, 16, was sexually abused by one Sahr Bindi in 2023 at Makainty in Koidu City, Kono District, according to the police in Kono District.
Her father died when she was a toddler. She couldn’t tell the whereabouts of her mother, but has grown up knowing and staying with a woman who was introduced to her as an aunt.
She assisted her aunt who was a petty trader to run a small business. She did that until her aunt accused her of stealing Nle 560 from her savings box and threatened to take her to the police.
As a result, 16-year-old Isatu absconded from home nd that was when she crossed paths with Sahr Bindi in Maryorlor Town.
She said Bindi promised her the money so that she would return it to her aunt, and in returned she allowed him to travelled with her at night to Makainty in Koidu City, where he (Bindi) had a one-bedroom apartment where they stayed.
According to her, Bindi warned her strictly not to go outside of the house even at night, and as the days went by he sexually abused her multiple times.
As a result of the persistent sexual abuse from Bindi, Isatu embarked on a journey on foot to Maryorlor Chiefdom to flee from her abuser, and during her journey she was interrogated by some men and after explaining her ordeal, she was accompanied to Tankoro Police Division where she reported the matter.
Upon receipt of the report, the police in Tankoro put out a warrant for the accused after they learnt that he was on the run. The perpetrator is still on the run when this interview was conducted.
For fear of threat to her life, Isatu is currently living with a female Social Worker at the Tankoro Police, since they (Police) could not get accommodation due to lack of space at the World Hope Safe Home, a non-governmental organisation which provides shelter for victims of Human Trafficking.
Isatu alluded that the sexual abuse she suffered affected her mentally, and that she could not return to school because of the stigma. She was in class six when she was subjected to such abuse.
Social Worker at the Tankoro Police Division, James Kellie said that they are working to ensure that Isatu returns to school in September this year to take her National Primary School Examination.
He said that the case of Isatu has shown that there’s a gap in the awareness on the laws that protect the rights of children against human trafficking and sexual abuse in Kono District.
An estimated 33% of children aged 5 to 17 in Sierra Leone’s Eastern Province have experienced child trafficking and 36% have experienced child labour, according to research by the African Programming & Research Initiative to End Slavery (APRIES) at the University of Georgia’s Center on Human Trafficking Research & Outreach (CenHTRO).
The report shows that Child trafficking rates are 46% in Kono, 33% in Kailahun, and 27% in Kenema. Child labor rates are 52% in Kono, 34% in Kailahun, and 29% in Kenema, according to the study.
The Social Worker at the Tankoro Police Division, James Kellie
Kellie claimed that the Ministry has held engagements with people in Niriyam, Feima and Sewafeh Chiefdoms and have also engaged Schools in Koidu to educate them about the laws which protect children.
The Line Manager at the Family Support Unit, Tankoro Police Division in Kono, Superintendent Sahr Dennis Gborie, said that to curb human trafficking and sexual based violence, the Sierra Leone Police have brought on board community stakeholders in every chiefdom through the Police and Community Partnership Board as part of their community policing strategy.
He said that with the partnership, community stakeholders in the case of Isatu were able to notice that she had been trafficked and sexually abused.
“People in the Chiefdom now arrest suspects and travel miles until they reach the nearest police station and hand the victim to police,” he said.
Line Manager at the Family Support Unit, Tankoro Police Division Superintendent Sahr Dennis Gborie
Gborie further explained that they had also held community sensitization with stakeholders, parents and guardians, and also held radio talk shows on laws that protect children against Child Labour and Human Trafficking including the Migrant Smuggling and Anti-Trafficking Act, 2022 and the Child Rights Act, 2007.
He mentioned that most people living in remote communities do not have knowledge on what constitutes Child Labour and Human-Trafficking, but through the police community sensitization, the people could now identify cases.
Human Trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of an individual by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion for the purpose of exploitation.
The term Child-Labour is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
“The awareness about child labour and human trafficking laws has helped the police in their investigation greatly as people are now willing to report cases, present evidence, and serve as witnesses during court proceedings,” Gborie said.
The Town Chief of Small Sefadu in Kono District, Sahr Yomba
The Town Chief of Small Sefadu in Kono District, Sahr Yomba said that the Police Community Partnership Board had helped them to identify and report cases of Child Labour, Human Trafficking and Sexual Penetration.
He maintained that most people in his community have little or no knowledge about the laws on Human Trafficking, noting that that was part of the reason such abuses went unreported.
The Senior Social Service Officer at the Ministry of Social Welfare in Kono District, John Smith said that they held their last engagement with community stakeholders on the laws that prohibit Human-Trafficking, Child-Labour and rights of a child in March.
He mentioned that they have also established the Anti-Human Task Force Team in various chiefdoms to tackle Human Trafficking, citing that the task force will meet quarterly for deliberation on issues bordering on Human Trafficking.
Senior Social Service Officer at the Ministry of Social Welfare in Kono District, John Smith
“Partnership with International Organization on Migration (IOM), and the Family Support Unit at community level has caused speedy reporting of cases and has reduced incidents of trafficking, rape, child labour in the chiefdoms,” Smith said.
Smith cited that World Hope has been challenged with providing safe temporary homes for children subjected to trafficking and abuse.
The Country Director of Amnesty International, Solomon Sogbandi said that the Government of Sierra Leone has taken progressive steps to protect the rights of children.
He recounted that after the civil war in Sierra Leone, successive governments have enacted various laws that protect children among which are the Child Rights Act, 2007, the Sexual Offences Act, 2012 as amended in 2019.
Sogbandi added that amendments to the Sexual Offences Act have made it more complex for perpetrators to escape the law.
He mentioned that there is the need to harmonize child protection laws which conflict with one another and occasion inconsistencies with international best practices.
He said that the state needs to institute robust public education on the laws that protect children through community radio dialogue sessions, jingles, and child ambassadors, as most children are unaware when their rights are violated.
The Government of Sierra Leone does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of State.
The report, ‘2024 -Trafficking in Persons Report: Sierra Leone’, indicates that the government “demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period; therefore Sierra Leone remained on Tier 2”. These efforts included referring all identified trafficking victims to care and providing in-kind and financial assistance to NGO-operated shelters.
The government increased investigations and established two new coordination bodies to strengthen anti-trafficking efforts, according to the report. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas.
The report indicates that the government prosecuted fewer traffickers and did not convict any traffickers for the second consecutive year.
“Victim services remained limited, especially for male victims, and the government’s national anti-trafficking hotline was inoperable,” the report states.
Prioritized Recommendations
The report recommends expansion of victim protection services for all trafficking victims, including shelter for male victims; increase efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should include significant prison terms; Increase training for police, prosecutors, and judges on investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases under the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act of 2022; and Increase training for all officials to ensure trafficking victims receive appropriate and timely services, among others.