FAWE is a Pan- African organization with operations in thirty-five countries in Africa. FAWE Sierra Leone was started in 1995, at the height of the civil war. One of the Chapter’s many emergency intervention which was borne from the determination of women to restore dignity to other women and girls is the programme of assistance to victims of gender –based violence in internally displaced camps, returnees and juveniles in domestic settings. In February 1999, after the allied forces regained control of the capital, it was reported that a number of FAWE school students were raped while the rebels were retreating. As some of these victims had already been subjected to rape in their areas of origin, FAWE decided to address the issue of rape once and for all, break the silence and create a culture that says no to violence against women.

The invasion of January 6 necessitated an intervention which included medical and counseling services for abducted girls and later boys too. FAWE’s mandate of helping the girl –child to be educated to her full potential compelled the intervention. After deliberations with other agencies, the Rape victims programme was started. The initial collaborating agencies were FAWE, Sierra Leone Association of University Women (SLAUW), Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children Affairs and MSF- Holland. Each local partner contributed counselors while MSF- Holland conducted counseling workshops to help improve skills. Later in the programme, UNICEF also became a strong partner.

The first step of the intervention was public sensitization on radio and television. During the first three months, April –June 1999, the programme was supported by FAWE international with MSF –Holland providing drugs. By the end of June over one hundred and twenty- nine (129) victims have been treated medically and counseled. The need to continue the programme became evident as abductees escaped or were released in batches. After consultations with MSF Holland, FAWE was able to get additional support from them in the form of funding for the whole programme. In collaboration with other agencies the Rape Victims programme started. Different teams were set up - sensitization, medical, counseling and Skills training – to implement the programme. In the end, 2110 abductees benefited from this programme in the western Area of whom 1,168 were raped victims. From 1999 – 2002, a total of seven thousand raped victims from nine displaced camps and settlements in six provincial towns were assisted.