Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone: The Contribution of Transitional Justice Mechanisms to Domestic Law Reform

The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) is well known in the international legal community for its examination of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) directed against women, men, boys and girls in the Sierra Leone civil war. For example, the SCSL was the first international criminal tribunal to convict an individual for the crime against humanity of sexual slavery, and the first to examine the phenomenon referred to as ‘forced marriage’ or ‘conjugal slavery’.2 One way in which the legacy of the SCSL can be traced is through its impact upon the domestic laws of Sierra Leone. A nuanced connection can be traced from the SCSL to the enactment of certain domestic legislation on gender issues, as well as the creation of courts and investigation units specifically aimed at addressing rape. Less clear, however, is whether there is any link between the work of the SCSL and attitudinal change in Sierra Leone around SGBV in general. As in pre-Conflict and wartime Sierra Leone, post-Conflict Sierra Leone suffers from high levels of SGBV, despite legislative changes in 2007 and 2012.