[{"bbox": [96, 153, 1132, 204], "category": "Text", "text": "in Africa, the second country to adopt One Stop Centres for SGBV response and one of only nine countries in the entire continent."}, {"bbox": [96, 218, 1133, 431], "category": "Text", "text": "In 2021, **Government of Sierra Leone adopted the first Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Policy and laid at Parliament the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Bill, which was signed into law in January 2023.** The new policy and legal framework mark a significant advancement for gender equality in Sierra Leone. The law enshrines improvements to women's access to finance, employment opportunities, equal pay, maternity leave, and—critically—political representation. GEWE establishes a 30 percent quota for women's participation in government for both appointed positions, including cabinet, ministry, and ambassador roles, and elected positions, such as parliamentary and local council seats. Currently, women represent just 12 percent of parliamentary seats and four of 32 cabinet positions."}, {"bbox": [96, 443, 1133, 576], "category": "Text", "text": "The EU has an important role to play in supporting Sierra Leone ending all forms of violence against women and girls, and, recently, has contributed substantially through a dedicated local call for proposals launched in 2019. Four grants – of an overall EU contribution of approximately 4 M EUR – were awarded to Consortia of Civil Society Organisations, to support CSOs-led action to advocate for normative, policy and legal change, raise community awareness and contribute to the national prevention and multi-sectoral response mechanisms."}, {"bbox": [96, 588, 1133, 642], "category": "Text", "text": "Gender equality also figures high on the EU/Sierra Leone political dialogue, and is mainstreamed in EU cooperation programmes, notably in support to Basic Education and the National Radical Education Policy."}, {"bbox": [96, 653, 1133, 840], "category": "Text", "text": "The afore-mentioned positive background and high degree of national commitment warrants a higher degree of EU support. The present action seeks to end all forms of VAWG and more broadly, alleviate gender inequalities as a precondition of, and driver for, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. By doing so the Spotlight Initiative is aligned with the **high-level global commitment of the European Union to end all forms of violence against women and girls**, it implements the objectives and priorities set forth in the EU Gender Action Plan⁴ (GAP III), the **European Union Strategy for Democracy and Human Rights**, as well as the EU **Roadmap for engagement with CSOs**."}, {"bbox": [85, 853, 341, 884], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [96, 912, 1134, 1125], "category": "Text", "text": "In spite of progress made towards a more robust legal and policy framework for gender equality and women empowerment, a significant gap remains between the laws and policies on one hand, and the reality of women's and girls' lives on the other. The persistence of VAWG in Sierra Leone is closely linked to institutionalised gender inequalities exacerbated by discriminatory customs, a patriarchal society and a history of protracted conflict and hardship. Evidence shows that the acts of extreme brutality, widespread and systematic sexual violence experienced during the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002) have left scars which still run through the fabric of households, families and communities. Women and girls were also particularly vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence during the 2014-2015 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in Sierra Leone."}, {"bbox": [96, 1137, 1134, 1297], "category": "Text", "text": "Women and girls in Sierra Leone are commonly subjected to gender inequities, social marginalisation, discrimination in economic matters, and widespread acts of violence. This encompasses a broad range of forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence including but not limited to: intimate partner violence (domestic violence); sexual violence; female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); child, early and forced marriage; and trafficking of women and girls and forms of exploitation such as school-related sexual abuse, and abusive employment conditions."}, {"bbox": [96, 1309, 1134, 1415], "category": "Text", "text": "Data on VAWG in Sierra Leone are disturbing. According to the Afro Barometer Survey⁵ almost **50% of Sierra Leone females expiriences sexual or physical violence during their lifetime**. In Sierra Leone, **83% of women aged between 15-49 are circumcised**, according to Demographic and Health (DHS) Survey of 2019⁶. According to the 2017 Sierra Leone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2017 report⁷, 12,9% of women aged between"}, {"bbox": [85, 1477, 1143, 1524], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ The EU Gender Action Plan III was adopted by 24 Member States through the Presidency Council Conclusion of the 16th December of 2020 (13947/20)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1524, 1143, 1572], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ https://www.afrobarometer.org/articles/gender-based-violence-a-high-priority-in-sierra-leone-but-citizens-say-women-who-come-forward-likely-to-face-criticism-and-shame/"}, {"bbox": [85, 1572, 1143, 1622], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ Sierra Leone Demographic and Health survey 2019 (DHS 2019), Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL) and ICF, 2020. Available at: https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR365/FR365.pdf"}, {"bbox": [85, 1622, 880, 1647], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ https://www.statistics.sl/images/StatisticsSL/Documents/sierra_leone_mics6_2017_report.pdf"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1682, 1143, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 6 of 35"}]