Advancing Gender Equality (SL0027)

• Gender Equality and Gender-Based violence (August 1, 2020)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address?
Women make up 50.8% of the population of Sierra
Leone (2015 Housing and Population Census).
However this representation fails to be reflected in
key areas such as literacy, economic empowerment
and decision-making and political leadership. For
instance, women account for only 12.33% of current
parliamentarians. Although some strides have been
made in areas such as legal reforms and increased
gender awareness and activism, entrenched cultural
beliefs and practices that discriminate against
women and girls, and stereotypical perception of
women and girls remain a stumbling block in
achieving gender equality and women’s
empowerment.
Despite some progress made in the quest for gender
equality and women’s empowerment over the years,
Sierra Leone still has mammoth challenges affecting
the efforts to ensure the full and equal enjoyment of
rights by women and men. On the positive side,
there is increased gender awareness among
stakeholders, some institutions have been
established to prevent GBV such as the Family
Support Unit and some legal reforms have taken
place to rectify gender-based injustices, which have
resulted in the enactment of laws such as the three
Genders Justice Acts. The number of women in
executive positions in the civil service has increased
and the first female Attorney General was appointed
2018 by the current government. The government
has also just launched the Free and Quality
Education which provides a unique opportunity for
many more girls to complete secondary school.
However, there still remains a glaring absence of
women in decision-making and political leadership.
There are only 18 women among 146
parliamentarians (12.33%). Gender-based violence
including rape is still significantly prevalent and most
of the institutions that should respond to victims and
survivors are either not available or are inadequately
equipped especially in relation to human resource
capacity and logistics.

What is the commitment?
To advance gender equality and the empowerment of
all women and girls in Sierra Leone. This commitment
seeks to minimize incidences of GBV in the country
and strengthen the mechanisms that protect women
and children; improve women’s human rights by
enhancing their access to justice through improved
knowledge of their rights, legal reforms and
enhancement of the capacity of law enforcement
agencies; improve Sierra Leonean women’s access
to political leadership and decision-making at all
levels; encourage sectorial ministries to ensure the
integration of gender-oriented goals into fiscal
policies, processes and programmes and meaningful
resource allocation focusing on women’s needs.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem?
Women form critical mass of the population of Sierra
Leone and therefore any initiative aimed at
promoting gender equality and women’s
empowerment will make a quantum leap in
addressing discrimination and patriarchal issues. It
will promote women’s empowerment in the political,
social, economic and cultural fields. It will ensure
accountability to normative frameworks including
CEDAW, BDPfA, AU Protocol on Women, UNSCR
1325, SDGs and Agenda 2063 among others.
The GEWE policy is to create a framework that
promotes equal rights for women and men in Sierra
Leone, as a precedent to legislation that ensures
gender equality and women’s empowerment. The
policy will ensure that gender equality is
mainstreamed and promoted as a pertinent element
to sustainable economic development. This will
greatly depend on the meaningful and timely
allocation of resources and the efficient use of those
resources to create a society in which women and
men have equal access to basic services and enjoy
the same rights and opportunities in enabling
environments.
The Bill will enumerate specific rights that reinforce
the equality of women and men, while providing in
law mechanisms for ensuring substantive equality
and women’s empowerment.
Gender-disaggregated data provides a clear picture
of the status of women and the impacts of the
interventions of Ministries, Departments, and
Agencies. This allows for more targeted and refined
interventions by government and other actors.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?
The commitment helps to create safer communities,
particularly for women and girls, by putting in place
mechanisms for their physical, social, and economic
protection from all forms of GBV. Women’s participation in political and decisionmaking processes is integral to gender-responsive
policy making and inclusivity. It amplifies women’s
voices in shaping development priorities at local and
national levels.

Additional Information The Government of Sierra Leone has developed and
officially launched the Medium Term National
Development Plan (2019-2023) with a whole cluster
Five on “Empowering Women, Children and Persons
with Disability”. This plan was fully aligned to the
SDGs and Agenda 2063 which will ease
implementation and reporting. The Ministry of Social
Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs has also
finalized the National Gender Strategic Plan and the
Sierra Leone National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325
and 1820.
The demand for gender quotas in Sierra Leone
derives its legitimacy from the provisions of the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report where
it is stated that 30% representation for women in
elected offices, cabinet and other political appointed
positions should be women. It was envisaged that
would increase to 50/50 gender parity within 10
years. This is in line with the obligation of the state
to take action on the CEDAW convention 1979
which has been ratified by Sierra Leone. The
Government of Sierra Leone is also a signatory to
other instruments including the UN Beijing Platform
for Action which states that governments should
commit themselves to “Take measures, including,
where appropriate, in electoral systems that
encourage elective and non-elective pubic positions
in the same proportion and at the same levels as
men” (FWCW 1995: Art.190b); the protocol to the
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ rights on
the rights of Women in Africa states that “States
Parties shall take specific positive action to promote
participative governance and the equal participation
of women in the political life of their countries
through affirmative action” (Art.9).

6. Gender

Main Objective

To advance gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in Sierra Leone. This commitment seeks to minimize incidences of GBV in the country and strengthen the mechanisms that protect women and children; improve women’s human rights by enhancing their access to justice through improved knowledge of their rights, legal reforms and enhancement of the capacity of law enforcement agencies; improve Sierra Leonean women’s access to political leadership and decision-making at all levels; encourage sectorial ministries to ensure the integration of gender-oriented goals into fiscal policies, processes and programmes and meaningful resource allocation focusing on women’s needs.

Milestones

• Cabinet reviews and adopts Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy
• Parliamentary approval of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy
• Review the draft Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill
• Parliament passes the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act
• Availability of gender disaggregated data by district (health, agriculture, education)

Editorial Note: For the complete text of this commitment, please see Sierra Leone’s action plan at (https://bit.ly/3bPiqwh).

Commitment Analysis

This commitment aims to advance gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in Sierra Leone, with a specific focus on reducing gender-based violence (GBV), enhancing women’s access to justice, improving women’s access to political leadership and decision-making, and encouraging gender mainstreaming into sectoral programs. ^[67]

According to the 2015 Population and Housing Census, women and girls make up 50.8 percent of the population in Sierra Leone. ^[68] However, despite significant efforts on the part of government, donors, and civil society, gender discrimination and inequality remains deeply entrenched. In the 2018 Gender Inequality Index, Sierra Leone ranked 153 out of 162 countries, with the indicators for reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity ranking below the average for Sub-Saharan Africa. ^[69] A number of factors contribute to the continued disempowerment of women and girls, including cultural practices, discriminatory legislation, ^[70] low literacy levels, economic disempowerment, and low levels of representation in decision-making structures and leadership positions. ^[71] The commitment responds to the challenge of continuing gender inequality and disempowerment by focusing squarely on the development of a Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Policy and a Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act. It also seeks to make gender disaggregated data available per district.

This commitment is relevant to the OGP value of access to information, as it will make gender disaggregated data available for the first time. It is also relevant to civic participation, as the act will take affirmative action to ensure equal participation of women in government. Finally, the commitment is relevant to public accountability, as the act will establish policy and legal interventions to support women’s access to justice and grievance redress mechanisms.

At the time of the design of the commitment, Sierra Leonean women continued to experience unequal access to education, training, employment opportunities, financial resources, and land, and remain significantly absent in decision-making and leadership positions in public, private, and customary institutions. ^[72] Only 19.9 percent of the female population has had at least some access to secondary education (compared to 32.9 percent for males), and only 12.3 percent of parliament seats are taken by females (the average for Sub-Saharan Africa is 23.5 percent). ^[73] The maternal mortality ratio of 1,360 pregnancy-related deaths for every 100,000 births is more than double the regional average. ^[74] Gender-based violence (GBV) takes various forms (sexual, physical, psychological, economic, structural, and harmful traditional practices), but because it remains grossly under-reported (as a result of fear, stigma, ostracism, and weak and inconsistent support mechanisms), trends are difficult to determine. ^[75]

Over the last three decades, the government has attempted to promote gender equality through institutional mechanisms, ^[76] access to key international and regional normative frameworks, ^[77] policy development, ^[78] and legislative reforms. ^[79] Recent achievements include enactment of the Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019, which defined the offense of rape for the first time, and increased the maximum penalty for rape from fifteen years to life imprisonment; ^[80] a presidential declaration of a State of Emergency on rape and sexual violence in February 2019 (triggering the amendment to the Sexual Offences Act); the establishment of the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs in November 2019; and identifying empowering women, children, and persons with disabilities as a distinct cluster in the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2019–2023. ^[81] A gender statistician has also been assigned to the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs to assist other ministries in creating disaggregated sectoral gender data. ^[82]

The GEWE policy will serve as the lawful reference point for addressing gender inequalities at national and community levels and within family units. Based on equal access for women, men, boys, and girls to opportunities across all areas of the economy, it identifies 13 priority areas affecting the realization of gender equality and women’s empowerment. ^[83] The policy further identifies and clarifies the roles and responsibilities of institutions that comprise the Gender Management Structure ^[84] to ensure that the gender perspective is mainstreamed in national development plans, sectoral policies, and strategies. ^[85] A comprehensive set of 58 indicators across the 13 priority areas will be used to monitor and evaluate implementation. ^[86] The policy requires the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs to establish a mechanism for annual, national reporting to ensure regular and systematic follow-up and review of progress made in implementing the GEWE policy. ^[87]

If fully implemented as written, the potential impact of this commitment is likely to be moderate. The commitment is verifiable, although the milestone dealing with gender disaggregated data lacks specificity. (It is not clear who should take the lead in providing gender disaggregated data, or how such information will be made available.) The commitment represents a step forward in gender equality, as it addresses gaps in the existing policy and legislative framework. These include the affirmation of women’s equal rights, dealing with GBV, women’s access to justice and access to leadership positions and political decision-making. The commitment remains limited in scale, however, as the enactment of policy and legislation will not necessarily lead to enhanced access to information, civic participation, and public accountability for women. The commitment does not provide further details on the content of the proposed Gender and Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy and Act, and it is unclear whether the proposed interventions will address important factors contributing to women’s disempowerment, such as cultural practices, economic disempowerment, and low literacy levels.

Commitment 6. Gender

Substantial.

Aim of the commitment

The aims of this commitment were to reduce gender-based violence, enhance women’s access to justice through improved knowledge of their rights and strengthening of law enforcement agencies, improve women’s political representation, and mainstream adequately funded gender policies. ^[19] When the commitment was designed, women were poorly represented in spaces of decision-making and in political leadership (e.g., representing only 12.33% of parliamentarians). While there was increased awareness and activism and advances in prevention of gender-based violence, stereotypes that hindered gender equality remained, and key institutions were inadequately resourced. ^[20]

The potential impact of this commitment was assessed as moderate, as it addressed important gaps in existing policy and norms, but it represented an initial step towards enhanced access to information, civic participation, public accountability for women, and rectifying structural factors contributing to women’s disempowerment.

Did it open government?

Marginal

This commitment was substantially completed, and implementation contributed to marginal improvements in public participation in gender policymaking.

Through implementation of Milestone 1, Sierra Leone developed and launched a Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) policy 2020. ^[21] The policy is publicly available on the website of the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs (http://www.mogca.gov.sl). ^[22] The policy was developed through an inclusive process of consultations and validations, including with women and women’s organizations. The resulting policy was widely disseminated across the country. ^[23] As a result, new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens were created. ^[24]

The text of the policy itself highlights the importance of women's participation and devotes sections to women’s decision-making and political leadership, access to information, and gender-responsive budgeting. The GEWE policy sets out strategic actions for the government to address gender imbalance and realize the goals. ^[25] While the policy has the overall goal of mainstreaming gender issues and functioning as a blueprint in different policy areas, its potential impact remains to be seen. Sahr Kendema from the civil society organization Campaign for Good Governance observed that translating the policy into the Gender Empowerment Bill of 2021 and tabling it in parliament was a significant first step towards ensuring its implementation. ^[26] It is noteworthy that the policy contains explicit commitments from different governmental agencies, foresees offices with specific authority to monitor compliance with gender commitments, and creates a National Gender Steering Committee. However, at the time of writing, the committee had not yet been appointed.

Importantly, the policy also anticipates an annual reporting mechanism to “ensure the regular and systematic follow-up and review of progress made in the implementation,” with stakeholder engagement and performance-based indicators. At the time of writing this report, however, this mechanism was not yet in place.

Under Milestone 2, the government developed and presented the Gender Empowerment Bill to Parliament, ^[27] and it is before parliament for discussion and publicly available online. The drafting process involved public consultations, sensitization around the bill and its content, opportunities to receive input and feedback, and identification of priorities by stakeholders. Some provisions of the bill could be potentially relevant for advancing civic participation, such as quotas for elective positions and for access to information. These include provisions stating that ministries should monitor, audit, collect, and analyze gender disaggregated data, and that institutions must prepare an annual report containing measures planned and implemented to promote gender equality.

Sahr Kendema noted that enactment of a final bill reflecting civil society recommendations would result in increased women’s representation in elected and appointed positions, more women in politics and decision-making, with women’s priority policy issues reflected in MDAs’ development plans. He cautioned that the anticipated impact will only be achieved only if the joint recommendation by civil society organizations who are part of the Yellow Ribbon Campaign for Women’s Empowerment ^[28] are incorporated in the final bill. Generally, CSO’s recommendations to parliament revolved around the need to expand the scope and provisions of the bill to align with the strategic objectives of the GEWE policy—particularly in relation to political and public participation, health, education, gender-based violence, marital status, rural women, women and girls with disabilities, gender stereotype, employment, harmful cultural practices, and equal access before the law. The recommendations also include the need to detail clear redress mechanisms, including compensation, damages, and public apology to be made by heads of public or private bodies in the event of failure to comply with or contravention of the bill. Sahr Kendema noted that strong punitive measures would guarantee implementation and compliance. ^[29] Although these recommendations were formally presented to the relevant parliamentary committees, Kendema noted that the government has the discretion to choose to incorporate this input. For this reason, not all recommendations may be reflected in the final law.

Pursuant to what the IRM could assess after its research, Milestone 3 of the commitment on data disaggregation was not met.

While dealing with an issue of tremendous importance, the potential impact of this commitment is thus far discrete. The processes for developing the gender bill and policy illustrate a productive way to seek feedback from citizens and co-decide priorities. For example, the “areas of concern” that structure the gender policy were identified as priorities by participants in consultative meetings. ^[30] Furthermore, stakeholders included a wide variety of actors. ^[31] Sahr Kendema confirmed that CSOs engaged in developing the bill, and policy culminated in the formation of the Yellow Ribbon Technical Committee, a consortium of organizations and women with diverse backgrounds. ^[32] He also noted some general progress such as access to primary education for girls, free speech for women, and the enactment of stronger legislative framework to protect women. One of the greatest challenges remaining is the appointment of women to political positions, as the number of women in ministerial positions in government is few. For example, out of 146 members of parliament, the parliament of Sierra Leone has only 19 women. ^[33]

At the time of assessment, this commitment has resulted in marginal changes to open government. Inclusive development of the policy and bill has helped CSOs and women’s groups coalesce and collectively influence government policy. However, the long-term impact of this reform is dependent on successful implementation of the gender policy’s provisions for a National Gender Steering Committee and annual monitoring process. Likewise, the full impact will depend on the extent to which the final version of the Gender Empowerment Act reflects civil society input and incentivizes compliance. Equally important is the successful passage and implementation of the bill to institutionalize women’s participation in society and government.