Allies in December was founded on December 1st, 2020, at the peak of covid-19 pandemic. Violence against women and girls had increased in such magnitudes that UNWOMEN dubbed it the “shadow pandemic”. Lockdown measures exacerbated what was already a growing problem, intimate partner violence and violence against children

In February 2019, the President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Julius Maada Bio declared a state of public health emergency on rape and sexual violence. In his speech he pronounced rape a national epidemic which is taking a drastic toll on his human development agenda for the country, particularly since over 70 percent of survivors are underage girls and infants, 15 years and below. On an annual basis, there are nearly 4000 reported cases of violence against women and girls in Sierra Leone. The lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence in Sierra Leone is 60.8 percent

Less than 15% of survivors receive justice through the courts. The Sierra Leone judicial, social services, and healthcare systems are stressed. Survivors in rural communities are unable to access justice mechanisms due to inadequate infrastructure (for example, forensic labs, disable friendly services) and trained staff, including judges, police, healthcare workers and prosecutors

Furthermore, survivors lose important livelihood support, including household income and other family support structures when they hold their perpetrators accountable

Allies in Developemnt was established to ally with women and girls affected by violence, the government of Sierra Leone and civil society organization working to end violence against women and girls in Sierra Leone. Our Founder, Miatta Paula Thomas, survived sexual assault as a child. She sought to build a community of actors that address violence from the survivor-led perspective