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Fathers, brothers and sons fight for women’s safety in Sierra Leone
The country declared a national emergency over its sexual and gender-based violence problem. Now, its men are becoming part of the solution
An epidemic of violence against women
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In 2019, Julius Maada Bio, the President of Sierra Leone, declared a national emergency over sexual and gender-based violence after cases of rape and assault reached record heights.
Cases of sexual assault had doubled within the year, a third of those involving children.
The nation had been rocked by reports that a five-year old girl had been left paralysed from the waist down following a violent rape.
The people of Sierra Leone had had enough.
The Red Cross has been trying to tackle the epidemic of violence against women by educating men via workshops and training on the harms of gender based violence.
To mark the sixth anniversary of the declaration of national emergency, Henry Jay Kamara, a British-Sierra Leonean photographer, travelled to Freetown to document a new movement taking hold in the capital, where men and boys are fighting to make their homes and streets safer for women.
His images capture the work of a group of nearly 200 local men known as the ‘Agents of Change’.
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
‘Gender-based violence destroys our people’
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Volunteers from the Agents of Change group take to popular spots around Freetown – like markets, football matches, and mosques – to try and influence other men to stop abusing women.
“Sexual and gender-based violence destroys our people,” Foday, an Agents of Change group member in the suburb of Kissy Town, calls into a megaphone.
The group includes men who occupy influential positions of power, from Imams to former gang members.
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
Empowering women to speak
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During public activities, women often take charge, spontaneously grabbing a megaphone from the men to voice their opinions.
“The men in this image were taking to the streets with their megaphones, speaking out about issues like female genital mutilation and sexual violence. You could see the women in the market were surprised to hear men addressing these topics, as it’s usually something they feel they can’t discuss openly,” Mr Kamara explains.
“To hear men talking about these problems really empowers the women to speak too. We found that the men would give the women the microphone, and they would be given the chance to speak and address the crowd,” he added.
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
Abuse and exploitation
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Andrew*, who used to work as a pimp on the streets of Freetown, joined the group after being recommended by a friend. He admitted to Mr Kamara that he had not only exploited women not only on the streets, but had in the past abused his wife and six-year-old son.
“All of the bad things I was doing were included in [Agents of Change] training,” he said. “I was one of the leaders of violent activities in the community [...] but now it’s no longer.
“I always use myself as an example – most of the men see me as a mentor and they listen to me.”
Mr Kamara said: “It’s difficult to say whether the project will have a long term effect on [Andrew] and whether he’ll never go back to the things that he’s done before. But I think what’s more important in this situation is the fact that he’s become somebody who outwardly is engaging in this project.”
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
Self-policing communities
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Andrew is now an admin of a community WhatsApp group called ‘Kissi Town Affairs’, set up off the back of the Agent of Change meetings. With hundreds of members, the group has become a way of self-policing communities around the city.
“The men resolve and deal with current domestic abuse cases. They might have women who come to them who have a daughter or granddaughter who they worry for, and they will ask the men to help deal with the situation, to have a conversation [with the abuser],” Mr Kamara says.
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
Historic victory for women’s rights
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Members of the group hold placards that depict common scenarios where women’s rights are violated like domestic abuse and FGM.
It’s estimated more than 80 per cent of girls in Sierra Leone have been subject to the practice, which is typically performed on girls between the age of 10-14.
Yet, in recent years, the people of Sierra Leone have driven several positive changes: girls are now increasingly confident and enabled to report the practice of FGM and there is a clear trend towards lower prevalences of FGM for younger women.
Currently, a landmark bill decriminalising abortion is being debated in Sierra Leone’s Parliament. This could see centuries-old British colonial-era law abolished, signifying a historic victory for the country’s women’s rights movement.
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
Men ‘part of the solution’
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“[Gender based violence] is affected by men, and so men can be a huge part of the solution too. I think that a lot of the men wanted to be a part of that change and be a part of that process,” Mr Kamara explains.
Estimates say 62 per cent of women aged 15-49 in Sierra Leone have experienced physical or sexual violence. 61 per cent of married women in the same age group reported experiencing abuse at the hands of their husbands.
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
‘A positive transformation’
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The civil war in Sierra Leone displaced over a million people in a country that at the time had a population of around six million. Two decades on, the country is still bearing the scars.
“This community [Kissi Town] was a refugee camp. There are people here from Liberia and Guinea and all tribes in Sierra Leone which adds to community tensions,” Timbo, Sierra Leone Red Cross branch manager explains. “Because of the intervention from the Red Cross, we have witnessed a positive transformation within the community.”
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
‘People came around’
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Rokel is one of the twelve Freetown communities where the project runs. Alimamy, a 74-year-old retired police chief and a father of four is a part of the group.
“In December 2023 we organised a football match in the [Rokel] community. During that match we used a megaphone to speak to people about gender-based violence issues.” Alimamy recalls. “People came around and asked questions and we [Agents of Change] would answer.”
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
‘It’s a sign of change’
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Alimamy believes that the group’s public activities to educate men – called sensitisations – during major community events like football matches have played a big role in making Rokel safer:
“The reports of domestic violence and sexual violence have reduced because our efforts. For over two months there have not been reported incidents in the Rokel community to the family support unit [of the police station]. Previously we would have one or two reports per week. It’s a sign of change – a sign of acceptance.”
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
‘My home is now peaceful’
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“There is no longer intimate partner violence like there used to be. Before husbands and wives used to fight at any time of the day – a lot of complaints were coming in. It’s not like that anymore as we [Agents of Change] targeted people who were in the habit of perpetrating violence.”
Ibrahim, a 39-year-old businessman and a father of three says. His personal life also changed drastically: “My home is now peaceful; I can have a dialogue with my wife. I no longer make [household] decisions alone.”
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross
‘It changed everything’
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“We go out and talk to people, ‘sensitise’ them, and most of them stop domestic violence.” Alie, a 35-year-old electrical engineer and a father of a one-year-old son explains.
“It [Agents of Change] changed everything.” Alie recalls. “My elder brother was violent towards his wife. I talked to him and said, ‘this is not right; she is your wife, but you cannot force her to do whatever you want her to do’. And he stopped.”
Credit: Henry Jay Kamara
Source: British Red Cross