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Mission

The mission of Enough Abuse Sierra Leone is to prevent the sexual abuse of Sierra Leone’s children and youth.

Achievements To Date

In September 2019, child advocates in Sierra Leone adopted the Enough Abuse Campaign to help address the serious prevalence of child sexual abuse in their country. Using resources from the EnoughAbuse.org website, Mr. Francis Sam-Kabba, Director of Student Parliament/ Sierra Leone (SP/SL), consulted with Jetta Bernier, Executive Director of MassKids, which directs the Enough Abuse Campaign, to bring the initiative to his country. 

Enough Abuse Sierra Leone started its activities by tracking the most vulnerable communities in the country, and targeting those with the highest rates of child sexual abuse cases as reported by the Government of Sierra Leone and other Child Protection Agencies. They started with schools in the Northern Province of the country, specifically small towns with vulnerable children. In a meeting with teachers from 10 Primary schools, and community chiefs, Mr. Sam-Kabba presented trainings using the “Enough Abuse Strategies for Schools and Communities” curriculum adapted for West Africa. These leaders were encouraged to train school children on safe and unsafe touches and to always report concerning behaviors to a trusted person.  

On the 15th of February 2020, Enough Abuse Sierra Leone held a one-day workshop in Magburaka, Tonkolili District in the northern province of the country, engaging youth leaders from different organizations and social clubs and training them on the Enough Abuse Strategies for Youth Organizations. They also had local musicians perform during the workshop.

On the 22nd of February 2020, Enough Abuse Sierra Leone conducted another training at Bubuna town, one of the communities with the highest rate of child marriage in the country. In this training, they were able to bring together 30 youth leaders from 40 villages in the interior part of the country and 10 from youth clubs and women’s groups.

Another Enough Abuse training was held on the 8th of March 2020. With support provided by MassKids,  Enough Abuse Sierra Leone was able to bring representatives from Concern Worldwide, Action Aid, Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s’ Affairs, and other youth groups. Each of these representatives spoke about how we can work together as a community to put a stop to child sexual abuse and child marriage.

In March 2020, Mr. Sam-Kabba met with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Holland, Union of Midwives, Concern Worldwide, Council of Churches, and Family Support Unit (Police) to see how these agencies could come together to support the work of Enough Abuse.  At the end of the meeting, Enough Abuse Sierra Leone came into agreement with MSF Holland to use their 6611 toll-free line for Enough Abuse activities. The number now appears on all Enough Abuse posters, handbills, stickers, and banners, which will be displayed at strategic places in communities and schools.

Providing Prevention Education

A cadre of volunteers in over 50 chiefdoms are being trained to deliver Enough Abuse’s tested, research-based curricula on preventing child sexual abuse to parents, schools and youth groups.  They are also providing supporting prevention materials including the Enough Abuse “10 Conversations” Fact Sheets and the “Pledge to Prevent” online action campaign.

Training a “Trauma-Informed Educator” In Each School

Enough Abuse Sierra Leone is also working to identify a designated “Trauma-Informed Educator” for each school, train these child advocates about their specific role to protect students from abuse, and support them to facilitate focus groups for students at various age levels to discuss child sexual abuse and how to prevent it and report it. Enough Abuse Sierra Leone is also supporting them to facilitate educational meetings with parents about how to prevent and report cases of child sexual abuse, and developing a brief training video to educate Trauma-Informed Educators and parents about how to appropriately handle disclosures of abuse from children and youth.

Teachers trained by Enough Abuse Sierra Leone

Promoting Reporting of Abuse and Treatment for Survivors

Enough Abuse Sierra Leone is also working to promote the national child abuse reporting line, 116, by distributing large banners featuring the number to each school and educating students about the need to report any abuse using the number. Enough Abuse Sierra Leone is also educating students about Medecins Sans Frontieres’ role in providing treatment and support services for children and youth experiencing child abuse and child sexual abuse.

Celebrating World Day for Child Sexual Abuse Prevention

Enough Abuse Sierra Leone delivered an all-day child sexual abuse prevention training on Nov. 18th, 2021 in recognition of the global movement to establish World Day for Prevention, Healing and Justice to End Sexual Violence Against Children & Adolescents. Participants included 75 key community leaders from 5 vulnerable communities in the Tonkolili District including: police officers, local chiefs, lead mothers, teachers, women and youth leaders, imams and pastors, traditional birth attendants, commercial bike riders and bus/taxi drivers.

Below are photos from the World Day 2021 event:

On Nov. 18th, 2023, Enough Abuse Sierra Leone held their third annual World Day event, bringing together over 200 people, including survivors, FGM leaders/Soway health workers, civil society groups, religious organizations, teachers, policemen, etc. to set up a national action plan on child sexual abuse prevention, healing and justice, with support from the Brave Movement.

Enough Abuse District Focal Person Training

Enough Abuse Sierra Leone successfully held an Enough Abuse District Focal Person Training on 22 April,2022 at the Enough Abuse Sierra Leone office room 3 Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs.

Enough Abuse Sierra Leone Opens Office

In January 2023, Enough Abuse Sierra Leone opened its new office space.

Donate

Enough Abuse Sierra Leone could use your support to continue its efforts to train community leaders in Sierra Leone to prevent child sexual abuse. Any amount you are able to contribute will further this effort. Please consider donating today.  

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