Pregnant School Girls Await ECOWAS Court Decision

End Sexual Violence, Women Against Violence and Exploitation In Society (WAVES)

By Sylvester Samba

The group photo includes a 3-judge panel

The case filed at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice challenging Sierra Leone’s ban prohibiting pregnant schoolgirls from attending school, will be heard on June 25, 2019. This announcement made at the last adjourned date Monday, May 7, 2019, in Abuja, Nigeria, by a 3-judge bench, after the Government of Sierra Leone had made an application to have the case dismissed citing lack of competence on the part of one of the applicants to appear before the court. The application, however, was dismissed, and the court ordered a full hearing on the case merits 25th of June 2019.

The case was filed on May 17, 2018, by the Child Welfare Society, Women Against Violence and Exploitation Society (WAVES) based in Sierra Leone. The case filling is done in partnership "Equality Now" whose Africa office based in Kenya.

In suit no. ECW/CCJ/APP/22/18, the Women Against Violence and Exploitation In Society (WAVES) and Child Welfare Society, Sierra Leone (CWS-SL), who are acting on behalf of the Pregnant Adolescent School Girls in Sierra-Leone, described the policy as grossly unlawful, discriminatory, against the interest of the victims, a violation of their rights to education and non-discrimination.

The plaintiffs emphasized that the policy worsens the situation for pregnant girls of school age who already stay away from school either because of the social stigma associated with teenage pregnancy or financial constraints. They, therefore, want the Court to order the revocation of the policy and the development of strategies and campaigns that will address the issue of teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone through public education or awareness on sexual and reproductive health rights, among others.

Naitore Nyamu-Mathenge

Equality Now’s Program Officer – End Sexual Violence, Naitore Nyamu has said her organization has been in readiness for a year now to proceed with the said matter that is before the court since in their view the issues they plan to canvass before the court are still ongoing in Sierra Leone.

The courts' agreed to a request from the government of Sierra Leone to have the matter adjourned to prepare their defense.

Equality Now’ Program Officer – End Sexual Violence, stated, as an organization, they remain concerned by the high rates of sexual violence in Sierra Leone and the impact it has on women and girls. Adding, while they are happy with President Julius Bio’s recent announcement declaring rape a national disaster, they note the need to address the injustices from policy level to enforcement level a priority.

A Press Release from 'Equality Now' explained further, recent statistics from the Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police revealed 8,505 rape cases reported nationwide last year. Out of these, 2,579 involved defilement of children young as seven months old. The situation in 2017 was not any better. At the time, Equality Now interviewed 250 girls aged between 14 to 17 and another 250 women aged between 18 and 35. Out of the 500 girls and women that participated, 100 reported that they had been victims of sexual violence. A further 60 percent of the girls who participated in this study said that they knew between one and three girls who had become pregnant as a result of sexual violence and had been forced to drop out of school as a result.