Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

Information on Sisters United Against Female Genital Mutilation could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this response.

Information on Sisters United Against Female Circumcision was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this response. The New Citizen, a Sierra Leone newspaper, published an article in August 2015 written by Khadijah Bangura, the Country Director at the Sierra Leone-Canadian Children’s Aid Society, a “humanitarian, charitable and developmental organization" (SLCCAS n.d.), that indicated that the Children’s Aid Society and community groups including Sisters United Against Female Circumcision have been "in the upfront fighting to end Female Genital Mutilation [FGM] in Sierra Leone" (The New Citizen 12 Aug. 2015). The same source reports that both organizations have launched “several workshops, campaigns and events against the use of young children in performing … FGM” (ibid.).

In a 2014 report on FGM in Sierra Leone, 28 Too Many, a "values-based charity working to end … FGM" (28 Too Many n.d.), states that "[p]ersecution for fighting FGM in Freetown remains prevalent, despite wide-spread anti-FGM campaigning" (ibid. June 2014, 72). Khadijah Bangura, in her article in the New Citizen, indicates that campaigns against FGM have resulted in the unlawful arrest of activists, photographers and volunteers and that “traditional leaders” and police use “excessive force against community human right[s] groups” (The New Citizen 12 Aug. 2015). According to the same source, as a result, volunteers, photographers and staff have fled the country looking for protection overseas (ibid.). 28 Too Many similarly indicates that anti-FGM activists face many challenges, including death threats, and as a result "a number of activists have left Sierra Leone" (June 2014, 72).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

28 Too Many. June 2014. Country Profile: FGM in Sierra Leone. [Accessed 19 Aug. 2015]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 24 Aug. 2015]

Sierra Leone-Canadian Children’s Aid Society (SLCCAS). N.d. “About This Charity.” [Accessed 19 Aug. 2015]

The New Citizen. 12 August 2015. Khadijah Bangura. “Community Activists in Sierra Leone Are Concern About the Health Complications of FGM.” [Accessed 21 Aug. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Advocacy Movement Network; Amazonian Initiative Movement; Centre for Development and Peace Education; Community Initiative Programme; Human Rights Capacity Building Programme; Network Movement for Democracy and Human Rights; Sierra Leone – Gender and Children’s Affairs, Ministry of Social Welfare; Sierra Leone –Canadian Children’s Aid Society.

Internet sites, including: Advocacy Movement Network; AllAfrica; Amazonian Initiative Movement; Amnesty International; AMnet; Centre for Development and Peace Education; Children’s Aid Society – Sierra Leone; Community Initiative Programme; Factiva; Freedom From Fistula; Global Network of Women’s Peacebuilders; Human Rights Capacity Building Programme; IRIN; Reuters; Sierra Leone – Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs; UN – Refworld; Womankind; World Health Organization.