Secret societies and women’s access to justice in sierra leone: Bridging the formal and informal divide

Abstract

In Sierra Leone, customary systems of governance have long been recognized as feasible alternatives to justice provision, particularly as formal institutions have yet to adequately address the barriers women face in accessing justice. However, the focus has often been on the chieftaincy, an institution largely dominated by men. In this paper, Women’s Secret Societies are explored under the premise that such institutions might be better at providing access to justice for women. The paper shows that customary institutions, including Women’s Secret Societies, by embracing cultural norms and values that undermine women, cannot necessarily serve as a better alternative for women to access justice. While these societies can be important sources of power, they are constrained in terms of what they do for women given their continued association with cultural practices like female genital mutilation and the shifting norms regarding the importance of their role in Sierra Leone society. Additionally, competition between formal and informal sources of power, particularly in the domain of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), provides some limitations regarding what they can do in this arena. At the same time, given that culture is not static, the paper explores the possibility of engaging with these organizations in ways that could help complement the justice services available to women.