Sierra Leone: crime and justice

What is the murder rate in Sierra Leone?

Sierra Leone recorded 2.22 intentional homicides per 100,000 people in 2020, according to the World Bank, using data from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The rate was 1.76 in 2015 and 2.93 in 2011.

Intentional homicide means unlawful killing meant to cause death or serious injury. The figures rely on police or health records, so they depend on how fully deaths are reported. No more recent figure is published in the World Bank series.

Official sources: World Bank

How common is violence against women in Sierra Leone?

61% of women aged 15 to 49 in Sierra Leone had experienced physical violence since age 15, according to the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey, up from 56% in 2013. 7% had experienced sexual violence, down from 11%.

61% of ever-married women had experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence by their current or most recent husband or partner, and 50% had done so in the 12 months before the survey. Physical violence in the past year rose from 27% in 2013 to 43%. The survey asked women about violence in private interviews.

Official sources: 2019 Demographic and Health Survey

Do women in Sierra Leone report violence to the police?

Only 5% of women in Sierra Leone who had experienced physical or sexual violence and sought help turned to the police, according to the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey. Most went to their own family (81%) or their husband's or partner's family (37%).

40% of women who had experienced physical or sexual violence had sought help to stop it, down from 55% in 2013, and 49% had never sought help or told anyone. Help seeking ranged from 53% in the North West province to 17% in the Eastern province. Other sources of help included neighbours (20%), friends (17%) and religious leaders (10%).

Official sources: 2019 Demographic and Health Survey

How common is child marriage in Sierra Leone?

29.6% of women aged 20 to 24 in Sierra Leone were married or in a union before age 18, according to the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey. 8.6% were married before age 15.

The survey also found that 83.0% of girls and women aged 15 to 49 had undergone female genital mutilation or cutting. The child-marriage measure looks at young women aged 20 to 24, so it reflects marriages that took place in roughly the previous decade. 90.4% of children under 5 had their births registered with a civil authority.

Official sources: 2019 Demographic and Health Survey

How many schools in Sierra Leone report gender-based violence?

87 schools in Sierra Leone reported incidents of school-related gender-based violence in 2024/25, according to the 2025 Annual School Census of the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education. Most were public schools, especially junior secondary schools.

"Bad touch" was the most reported incident, in 44 schools. 38 schools reported penetration cases, including 10 primary schools, and 8 schools reported rape, half of them primary schools. Kenema and Western Area Urban had the most reporting schools. 3,180 schools said they had mechanisms for dealing with such cases. The figures count schools reporting incidents, not the number of victims.

Official sources: 2025 Annual School Census

How many murders are there in Sierra Leone?

In 2020, the intentional homicide rate in Sierra Leone was 2.2 per 100,000, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Its high point since 2005 was 2008, at 3.1 per 100,000; its low point was 2012, at 1.7 per 100,000. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 4.6 per 100,000; Sierra Leone is 13th highest of 15. Worldwide: 67th of 121.