By Gibao Brima

In a bid to help broaden the knowledge of female sex workers about their basic fundamental human rights,   duties and responsibilities, a national non-government organization called Woman In Crisis Movement (WICM) in Collaboration with Integrated Health Project Administration Unit (IHPAU) with funding from Global Fund has organized one day Legal Patient Rights Literacy Training for hundred participants which include Female Sex Workers (FSWs) and community actors.

The Training took place on Tuesday 19th December, 2023 at Saint Martin’s Hall Blackhall Road, east of Freetown and at Women in Crisis Movement Drop in Centre, Lumley, west of Freetown respectively.

The purpose and objectives of the training is geared towards female sex workers who are WICM main key population to help them know about their fundamental human rights, duties and responsibilities and also to let them know about policies surrounding HIV.

In his statement, Mr. Kamanda a representative from

Integrated Health Project Administration Unit (IHPAU) underscores the roles of IHPAU as a government entity and also encourages participants to listen attentively to the lectures in a fight against HIV and AIDS.

Mr. Jim Kosseh a practicing legal luminary underscores on Laws of Sierra Leone that affect sex workers and also laws that protect women.

Lawyer Kosseh pin pointed to the participants that according to the Universal Declaration of Human Right, all human beings are born free and equal and should live a dignified life but let them don’t forget that rights goes with duties and  responsibilities.

In her teaching, Mrs. Fatmata Tucker Head of Complaint Desk Officer WICM spoke on Human Right Issues.

Mrs. Tucker said according to universal declaration of Human Right of article one all Human being are born free and equal and should live a dignified life in the spirit of brotherhood/Sisterhood so that they can avoid violence.

Where we treat each other equally it will be very difficult for violence to occur easily.

This can also foster development in our society. Mrs Tucker however said sadly Women In Crisis Movement (WICM ) key population are female sex workers (FSWs) key population but sadly, she said they are always marginalized and abused. Mrs. Tucker however catalogued the various rights enshrined in our international laws namely, right to live, right to food, right to education, right to politics and freedom of association and assembly among others.

In his teaching, Inspector Michael Gbenteh of the Family Support Unit of the Sierra Leone Police spoke on various rights of female sex workers since they are human beings commercial sex is not legalized by constitution but that does not mean one has to violate the rights of those in the sex trade. If anyone does, you will be prosecuted by law. Violence he said is bad and can lead to underdevelopment, torture or even death. He also said FSWs and community actors should always be law abiding so that they will live in peace and harmony.

However, he said I cannot talk forgetting about Sexual Gender Based Violence since they are responsible for chaos in our society. We therefore need to put a stop to SGBV if we want to see Sierra Leone develop.  The position of WICM was clear reminding government that the Movement is calling for social justice for FSWs who are their key population. Public may frown at their activities but there is no law enshrined in our constitution that sex trade is illegal. Our intervention as an organization is on many folds. We help to prevent HIV, we carry out sensitizations and we help to ensure the human rights of our key population are maintained. We also ensure that HIV policies are on track, adding that it is wrong for anyone to disclose the HIV status of anybody without the consent of that person which is subjected to jail term and a fine of twenty million leones.

WICM is more bothered with willful HIV carriers who go out to have indiscriminate unprotected sex with people who do not have HIV. Therefore, it is time to have legal system to punish such people.

Transport refund climaxed the end of the training.