Sierra Leone

Although the civil war in Sierra Leone ended in 2002, women in the country are still facing another deadly front—sexual and gender-based violence.  Sexual and gender based violence has continued unflinchingly into the post-war years. Glasgow, head of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said, “We saw rape and sexual violence used as a tool during the war, and now it is morphing into this culture’s society as something that is understood and even accepted.”

In Sierra Leone, deeply ingrained discrimination against women and the lack of effective health care for women contribute to one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.