Two of Sierra Leone’s leading development and rights organisations have joined forces in a major new effort to tackle gender-based violence (GBV) across the country.
The Rainbo Initiative and BRAC Sierra Leone have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at protecting vulnerable adolescent girls and young women.
The agreement, signed on Monday, marks the beginning of a two-and-a-half-year partnership designed to combine medical care, legal advocacy, and economic empowerment.
Under the new pact, both organisations will establish a coordinated referral system. This will allow survivors identified by BRAC’s community networks to be fast-tracked to Rainbo Initiative facilities, where they can access free specialist medical treatment and psychosocial counselling.
Activists in Sierra Leone have long argued that a lack of coordination between frontline charities often leaves vulnerable victims slipping through the cracks.
The new alliance aims to address this by also focusing on long-term systemic change. The two groups have committed to launching joint national campaigns demanding gender-responsive budgeting from the government, alongside pushing for wider policy reforms.
They also plan to conduct joint research to gather data on violence against women, which they say will be used to lobby for stricter enforcement of protection laws.
Frontline staff from both agencies will undergo specialized training in GBV case management, while local communities will see new awareness campaigns linking sexual and reproductive health rights with financial inclusion initiatives.
Daniel Fayia H. Kettor, Executive Director of the Rainbo Initiative, said the scale of the crisis meant that no single group could solve it in isolation.
“One organisation alone cannot do this work. We need each other,” Mr Kettor said during the signing ceremony. “Someone empowered by BRAC will come to Rainbo, and they will be empowered again.”
The agreement is set to run until December 2028, with both organisations stating that the partnership is rooted in the belief that collective action is the most powerful tool available to protect young women.
