The constitution and law provide citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and equal suffrage.

Elections and Political Participation

Recent Elections: The 2018 presidential election, in which Julius Maada Bio of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party prevailed, and the 2018 parliamentary elections, including an election rerun and by-elections, were regarded by most observers as free and fair. The first round of the parliamentary elections resulted in the formerly ruling All People’s Congress holding a plurality of seats. Following a later election rerun and by-elections, the Sierra Leone People’s Party and the All People’s Congress each held 58 seats.

Political Parties and Political Participation: Political parties were able to register and operate in the country. A total of 17 political parties were registered with the Political Parties Registration Commission, but only four were elected to parliament during the 2018 general elections. In the state legislature, 14 traditional authorities (paramount chiefs) and three independent candidates were represented. Unlike the previous year, there were no reports of political violence among competing parties.

Participation of Women and Members of Minority Groups: No laws limit the participation of women and members of minority groups in the political process, and they did participate. Women have the right to vote, and they cast votes at rates similar to men. A 2018 poll by the International Republican Institute found women most frequently cited fear of violence, cultural norms, and lack of support from political parties as reasons why they avoided a more active role in politics. Women were underrepresented in government. Of the 148 parliamentarians, 18 were women, one fewer than in 2020. As of September women led four of the 30 ministries. On the three highest courts, 10 of 35 judges were women. Cultural and traditional practices in the northern areas of the country prevented women from holding office as paramount chiefs (a parallel system of tribal government operated in each of the 190 chiefdoms).

All citizens have the right to vote, but citizenship at birth is granted only to persons of “Negro-African” descent, thus disenfranchising the significant number of Lebanese and other “non-Negro-African” persons who were born in and continued to reside in the country (see section 6, Children, Birth Registration). Persons of “non-Negro-African” groups may apply to be naturalized. If naturalized they are eligible to vote in all national and local elections, but no naturalized citizen may run for public office.

Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes rape of both men and women, with a statutory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment for offenders. Rape was common and viewed more as a societal norm than a criminal problem. The law specifically prohibits spousal rape. The law also criminalizes domestic violence, punishable by a substantial fine and two years’ imprisonment. Although awareness of rape and domestic violence increased over the years, indictments were rare, especially in rural areas, due to medical reporting requirements, high court fees, and an inefficient judicial system. Survivors of sexual offenses, often at the encouragement of their families, tended to compromise with offenders out of court. As a result a culture of impunity persisted, which perpetuated gender-based violence. The FSU within the SLP reported increased cases of rape and sexual assault, while arrests and convictions of perpetrators were negligible. Local NGO Rainbo Initiative reported a rise in sexual and gender-based violence cases across all five Rainbo Centers in Freetown, Makeni, Kono, Kenema, and Bo, with a total of 3,584 sexual and gender-based violence cases in 2020. Of the cases, 86 percent involved children younger than age 18.

According to the FSU and the HRCSL, violent acts against women, especially wife beating and spousal rape, were common and often shrouded by a culture of silence. Survivors seldom reported sexual and gender-based violence due to their fear of social stigma and retaliation. The HRCSL and Rainbo Initiative observed an absence of medical personnel in most communities and lengthy court delays in processing cases. First Lady Fatima Bio actively promoted public awareness, calling on men to refrain from violence against women.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): The law does not prohibit FGM/C for women or girls. According to the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey, approximately 8 percent of girls up to age 14 and 83 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 had undergone some form of FGM/C. FGM/C was often performed on women and girls being initiated into traditional secret societies and was considered by those organizations and others in society as a rite of passage into womanhood. Approximately 57 percent of girls and women ages 15 to 49 had heard of FGM/C and thought the practice should continue. UNICEF polling indicated that 68 percent of respondents supported FGM/C.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government banned secret society gatherings, although some observers believed undercover FGM/C initiations continued. The economic impact of COVID-19 might have reduced FGM/C rates in the short term, but the longer-term impact was uncertain. The HRCSL reported that some girls were abducted from their homes and the streets and subjected to forced FGM/C initiation rituals.

Sexual Harassment: The law criminalizes sexual harassment. It is unlawful to make unwanted sexual advances, repeatedly follow or pursue others against their will, initiate unwanted communications with others, or engage in any other menacing behavior. Offenders faced substantial fines or imprisonment not exceeding three years, but authorities did not always effectively enforce the law. No reliable data was available on the prevalence of sexual harassment.

Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.

Vulnerable populations lacked the ability to provide informed consent to medical procedures affecting reproductive health.

According to the Ministry of Health, FGM/C increased the risk of childbirth complications, maternal death, and infertility, in addition to posing health risks associated with the procedure itself (see the Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting subsection for additional information).

No legal barriers or government policies hindered access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including access to skilled health attendants during pregnancy and childbirth, but social or cultural barriers sometimes limited such access. Religious, social, and cultural barriers adversely limited access to contraception. The law prohibits individuals younger than the age of consent from access to contraception. The availability of contraception at health facilities varied, and individuals did not have consistent access to their specific method of choice. The inaccessibility of contraceptives for adolescents contributed to the adolescent birth rate of 101 births per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19. According to the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey, the proportion of teenagers who began childbearing rose rapidly with age, from 4 percent at age 15 to 45 percent at age 19. Adolescent mothers were also more likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes and to face challenges in pursuing educational opportunities. The proportion of women of reproductive age who had their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods was 57 percent. Modern contraceptive prevalence rates for women and girls ages 15 to 49 was 21 percent.

The government established “one-stop centers” for survivors of gender-based violence in six districts across the country in government referral hospitals in Moyamba, Kailahun, Pujehun, Kabala, Port Loko, and the King Harman Road Government Referral Hospital. These centers provided comprehensive care including psychosocial, legal, medical, and shelter assistance to survivors of sexual violence, including access to sexual and reproductive health services. Emergency contraception was not available as part of the clinical management of rape cases.

No legal barriers or government policies hindered access to safe and quality maternal health-care services, including access to skilled health attendants during pregnancy and childbirth, but social or cultural barriers sometimes limited such access. According to the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey, the maternal mortality rate was 717 per 100,000 live births, and 87 percent of births were attended by a skilled health attendant. Major factors in the high maternal death rate included poverty; distance to medical facilities; lack of access to sufficient information regarding availability of health-care services; inadequate and poor-quality services, especially in remote settings; cultural beliefs and practices; early marriages and childbearing; delay in decision making to seek health-care services; and malnutrition.

Discrimination: The law provides for the same legal status and rights for men and women under family, labor, property, and inheritance law. The law provides for both fathers and mothers to confer nationality to children born abroad. The law provides for equal remuneration for equal work without discrimination based on gender. Both spouses may acquire property in their own right, and women may obtain divorces without being forced to relinquish dowries.

Authorities at the Ministry of Social Welfare Affairs reported that women faced widespread societal discrimination. Their rights were largely contingent on customary law, particularly in matters of marriage, divorce, property, and inheritance, which were guided by customary law in all areas except Freetown. Formal law applies in customary as well as formal courts, but customary judges had limited or no legal training and often were unaware of formal law or chose to ignore it. Women’s rights and status under customary law varied significantly depending upon the ethnic group to which they belonged, but such rights and status were routinely inferior to those of men. Under customary law, women’s status in society is equal to that of a minor. Women were frequently perceived to be the property of their husbands and to be inherited on his death with his other property.

Discrimination occurred in access to credit, equal pay for similar work, and the ownership and management of a business. Women did not have equal access to education, economic opportunities, health facilities, or social freedoms. In rural areas women performed much of the subsistence farming and had little opportunity for formal education (see also section 7.d.).

The Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs has a mandate to protect the rights of women, but most international and domestic NGOs asserted the ministry did not have the infrastructure or support of other ministries to handle its assigned projects effectively.

Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination

There were laws to protect racial or ethnic minorities from violence or discrimination. Authorities enforced these laws.

Strong ethnic loyalties, biases, and stereotypes existed among all ethnic groups. Ethnic loyalty was an important factor in the government, armed forces, and business. Complaints of ethnic discrimination in government appointments and contract assignments were common. Little ethnic segregation was apparent in urban areas, where interethnic marriage was common.

Residents of non-African descent faced some institutionalized discrimination, particularly in the areas of citizenship and nationality.

The government made some efforts to address discrimination, such as equal access to education, medical care, employment, and credit. The government made limited efforts to address discrimination and bias against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI+) persons and members of the Rastafarian religious sects.

Birth Registration: Although the constitution explicitly prohibits discrimination based on race, tribe, gender, place of origin, political opinion, color, and religion, the constitution also denies citizenship at birth to persons who are not of “Negro-African descent.” Non-Africans who have lived in the country for at least eight years (two years for foreigners married to citizens) may apply for naturalization, subject to presidential approval. Citizenship derived by birth is restricted to children with at least one parent or grandparent of Negro-African descent who was born in the country. Children not meeting the criteria must be registered in their parents’ countries of origin.

The National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) is responsible for the recording of vital events including births, deaths, marriages, divorces, annulments, adoptions, legitimization, and recognition of citizens and noncitizens. The NCRA is mandated to maintain an Integrated National Civil Register. In May the NCRA conducted a nationwide exercise to electronically confirm the personal details of registrants and to register any unregistered citizens and noncitizens resident in the country. Citizens largely complied with the registration process.

Child Abuse: The law prohibits child abuse, including sexual abuse of children. A pattern of violence against and abuse of children existed, and according to FSU regional offices, it increased when schools were closed during the summer months and during COVID-19 lockdowns. Cases of child sexual abuse generally were taken more seriously than adult rape cases.

Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age of marriage is 18: NGO Save the Children reported 13 percent of girls married by age 15, and 39 percent by age 18. Save the Children also reported that adolescent pregnancy was a driver of child marriage. Girls were more at risk of child marriage than boys, with a median age at first marriage of 18 for women compared to 25 for men. Save the Children reported that girls most vulnerable to early marriage included those from certain ethnic groups living in poor rural areas in the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Provinces, where child marriage rates were more than 40 percent, compared with 20 percent in the Western Province. According to an international news report, child marriage increased during the coronavirus pandemic. The government conducted limited prevention and mitigation efforts, including education and public-awareness campaigns.

Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law criminalizes the sexual exploitation and sale, grooming, offering or use of children for exploitation, child trafficking, and child pornography, although enforcement remained a challenge and conviction numbers remained low. According to the FSU, in many cases of sexual assault of children, parents accepted payment instead of taking the perpetrator to court due to difficulties dealing with the justice system, fear of public shame, and economic hardship. The minimum age of consensual sex is 18.

Displaced Children: In 2019 the NGO Help a Needy Child International reported that approximately 50,000 children worked and lived on the street, with 45,000 of them engaged in artisanal gravel production in the Western Province. The FSU reported that children living on the street were often exploited by criminals to assist in committing crimes such as theft.

International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html.

There was no Jewish community, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.

Persons with disabilities can access education, health services, and transportation on an equal bases with others. The law mandates access to these services, and prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities in employment and provision of state services, including judicial services. The government-funded Commission on Persons with Disabilities is charged with protecting the rights and promoting the welfare of persons with disabilities. The NGO Defense for Children International stated the government did not effectively enforce the law or implement programs to make buildings, information, and communications accessible. In view of the high rate of general unemployment, work opportunities for persons with disabilities were even more limited, and begging was commonplace. with disabilities were also less likely to attend school than other children.

There was considerable discrimination against persons with mental disabilities. According to the HRCSL, several Kenema residents poured boiling hot water on a man living with a mental disability who caused a disturbance near their home. The perpetrators confessed to the crime, and authorities charged them in court.

Most persons with mental disabilities received no treatment or public services. At the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital in Kissy, the only inpatient psychiatric institution that served persons with mental disabilities, authorities reported that only one consulting psychiatrist was available, patients were not provided sufficient food or sanitation facilities, and restraints were primitive and dehumanizing.

Local NGOs documented discrimination against persons with albinism in Kenema and Freetown, including mistreatment and denial of medical care.

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation is responsible for providing free primary health-care services to persons with polio and diabetic retinopathy as well as to blind or deaf persons. The ministry did not provide these services consistently, and organizations reported many persons with disabilities had limited access to medical and rehabilitative care. The Ministry of Social Welfare has a mandate to provide policy oversight for problems affecting persons with disabilities but had limited capacity to do so.

The law prohibits discrimination based on actual, perceived, or suspected HIV status, but society continued to stigmatize persons with HIV and AIDS. According to the People Living with HIV Stigma Index report for 2020, approximately 47 percent of respondents disagreed that disclosure of their HIV status had become easier over time, and 48 percent reported that disclosure of their HIV status to friends, family, or partners had not been a positive experience. The report also noted a small increase in unemployment among those living with HIV, from 38 percent in 2013 to 40 percent in 2019.

As of August there was no information regarding any action by government authorities to investigate or punish public entities or private persons complicit in abuses against LGBTQI+ persons.

The law criminalizes same-sex sexual activity between men. There is no legal prohibition against sexual activity between women. The law was not enforced.

The law does not offer protection from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. LGBTQI+ civil society organizations alleged that because the law prohibits sexual activity between men, it limits LGBTQI+ persons from exercising their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly. The law, however, does not restrict the rights of persons to speak out on LGBTQI+ human rights. No hate crime law covers bias-motivated violence against LGBTQI+ persons.

A few organizations, including Dignity Association and the HRCSL, supported LGBTQI+ persons and engaged with activists, but maintained low profiles to protect their safety and identities. Although LGBTQI+ advocacy groups noted that police discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals had not disappeared, they reported that police were increasingly treating LGBTQI+ persons with understanding.

LGBTQI+ advocates reported the community faced challenges ranging from violence, stigma, discrimination, blackmailing, and public attack to denial of public services such as health care and justice. Advocates reported LGBTQI+ persons faced no discrimination in schools, although pupil-on-pupil discrimination was prevalent. The government reportedly registered a transgender rights organization in 2018.

It was difficult for LGBTQI+ individuals to receive health services; many chose not to seek medical testing or treatment due to fear their right to confidentiality would be ignored and their sexual identity would be compromised. Obtaining secure housing was also a problem for LGBTQI+ persons. Families frequently shunned their LGBTQI+ children, leading some to turn to commercial sex to survive. Adults risked having their leases terminated if their LGBTQI+ status became public. Women in the LGBTQI+ community reported social discrimination from male LGBTQI+ persons and the general population.

Other Societal Violence or Discrimination

Community pressure and coercion to participate in traditional ceremonies and practices is prevalent in rural villages. In August the HRCSL reported chiefdom authorities in a village in Kenema District prevented a man and his family from entering their farm because they had not complied with traditional practices. As a Muslim, the man refused to pay for or participate in traditional rites to banish a spirit from the village. The HRCSL and other authorities worked to forestall further retaliatory actions by village leaders.