Human Trafficking in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is a small country off the west coast of Africa where human trafficking is rife due to a concept called “Temple Run.” The phrase “Temple Run” refers to operations that traffickers run to lure young men and women into paying large sums of money to embark on risky journeys that victims believe will lead them to employment or educational opportunities, allowing them to escape poverty. Here is some information about human trafficking in Sierra Leone.

Human Trafficking in Sierra Leone

Authorities did not address human trafficking in Sierra Leone up until 2005 when Sierra Leone’s government instated the 2005 anti-trafficking law. “The 2005 anti-trafficking law criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking,” making the punishment “up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine or both.” This law is a step in the right direction but is not without flaws. The law allows for perpetrators to avoid jail time by paying a fine instead — a provision that received backlash from citizens seeking justice.

Even though there was finally a law against human trafficking in Sierra Leone, the ability to pay a fine in place of facing jail time makes trafficking a less punishable offense than rape. Sierra Leone decided to make a change. On August 28, 2012, Sierra Leone passed the Sexual Offenses Act. This act criminalized sex trafficking under its “forced prostitution” and “child prostitution” provisions and prescribed penalties of up to 15 years of imprisonment. This amendment made the crime of sex trafficking equal to the punishment for rape in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone decided to update the law again in 2019 to legislate harsher punishments for sexual offenses, including sex trafficking.

First Human Trafficking Convictions

Even with the 2005 Anti-Trafficking Law and Sexual Offenses Act in place, it was not until February 11, 2020, that the Sierra Leone High Court finally convicted perpetrators for human trafficking. One Sierra Leonean woman received a 20-year sentence and another woman faced an eight-year-long sentence for money laundering and human trafficking charges — the first two human trafficking convictions in Sierra Leone’s history. Sierra Leone is also currently working to replace the 2005 anti-trafficking law to increase penalties, improve victim protection and remove the option of paying a fine as an alternative to imprisonment, but this still remains as a pending draft to date.

How IOM Assists

The International Organization of Migration (IOM), an organization with links to the United Nations, is taking significant steps to help reduce human trafficking in Sierra Leone. In April 2019, the IOM launched a project called Reducing the Risk of Irregular Migration through Promotion of Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Support for the Youths. This project’s goal is to prevent human trafficking by reducing the struggles within the country that would influence migration out of the country. For example, in March 2021, the IOM held a $4.3 million vocational training program to help prepare “2,000 unemployed young men and women to meet the domestic demand for skilled jobs.” With more job opportunities, fewer citizens may be lured into human trafficking. The IOM is also trying to raise awareness about ‘Temple Run” lures and the dangers victims potentially face.

With these efforts, human trafficking in Sierra Leone should reduce as the overall quality of life in Sierra Leone improves.

– Ethan Douglas
Photo: Flickr

Human Trafficking in Sierra Leone As the COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the importance of protecting vulnerable people from human trafficking, the need for a global solution has never been greater. Preliminary research shows that Sierra Leone acts mainly as a country of origin from which traffickers move individuals; this refers to victims trafficked within the country and abroad. Traffickers traffick both adults and children from Sierra Leone for a range of different purposes, including prostitution, labor, service as child soldiers and adoption. The government of Sierra Leone does not fully meet the minimum criteria for the prevention of human trafficking, but it demonstrates increasing efforts to do so.

Trafficking as an “Emerging” Issue in Sierra Leone

Civil society groups regularly comment that trafficking is “an emerging issue” that has existed in Sierra Leone for a long time, but now has a fresh identity as a form of exploitation. Traffickers move a large proportion of Sierra Leoneans internally from mostly rural areas to cities and towns. This form of trafficking impacts a significant amount of children who experience exploitation for sexual or labor purposes.

However, the population generally did not have access to knowledge about internal trafficking. Many people understood this term only in a very limited sense involving the abduction of children for adoption abroad. Overall, there was a great deal of uncertainty about what did and did not constitute trafficking. As an emerging issue, there is an urgent need to clarify the subject among civil society, the government and the population. This will require comprehensive awareness-raising and sensitization activities, as well as technical training. Addressing trafficking problems efficiently can help people make wise decisions about counter-trafficking interventions. Child protection agencies across the globe will therefore benefit from the successes and lessons learned from counter-trafficking efforts.

Sierra Leone as a Source Country

Information collected from various destination countries reveals that traffickers have trafficked Sierra Leoneans abroad for different forms of exploitation. Much trafficking to the E.U. appears to be for prostitution, as data shows that all assisted trafficked persons in the Netherlands were working in the sex industry. In the Middle East, Lebanon underwent identification as a key destination for Sierra Leonean children. Traffickers generally recruited them with promises of education or well-paid jobs. However, in reality, these children worked as domestic workers and often experienced sexual exploitation from their employers. Available data suggests that traffickers trafficked children to West Africa for working in plantations in Guinea and on the Ivory Coast, begging, committing petty crimes and prostitution. The presence of Sierra Leonean unaccompanied minors (UAMs) in various destination countries is arguably a signal of trafficking risk.

It is important to be aware of the extent to which human trafficking is an issue and how trafficking cases occur. Baseline information that one can use to evaluate the further growth of the problem, as well as the effectiveness of the policies and programs in place to tackle trafficking must also emerge. More in-depth qualitative research is necessary to understand the nature of trafficking in the country, including the recruitment process, the routes and destinations, victim profiles and the forms of exploitation.

Government Action

The government has demonstrated substantial efforts to prevent human trafficking; therefore, Sierra Leone has received an upgrade to Tier 2. These efforts included the increase in investigations and prosecutions, the arrest of traffickers for the first time in 15 years, increased training for trafficking officials, the commitment of an NGO center to the development of victims’ shelters and the establishment of anti-trafficking task forces at the district level.

However, the government still did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. Shelter and services, especially for male trafficking victims, remained inadequate. Law enforcement did not investigate past reports of corruption and complicity which impeded law enforcement efforts. Sierra Leoneans remained susceptible to traffickers as labor migrants. The government had to rely heavily on NGOs and private shelters, including UNICEF — a large advocate against child trafficking in Sierra Leone.

Recommendations to Stop Human Trafficking in Sierra Leone

The key to stopping and addressing human trafficking in Sierra Leone will be the implementation of anti-trafficking legislation. The police must learn about the recent trafficking law and its required elements, and the judiciary must receive training regarding how to enforce the law. Enforcement of policies and legislation on child protection needs to undergo urgent development. The porous nature of the borders of Sierra Leone requires attention in order to tackle trafficking and other forms of crime. Moreover, awareness-raising campaigns and income-generating programs must target rural areas that many trafficked children originate from. While human trafficking in Sierre Leone is a serious issue, the increased counter-trafficking efforts are a step in the right direction.

– Aining Liang
Photo: Flickr

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