Accessible but Socially Unsafe: Reporting Pathways, Stigma and Survivor-Centred Counselling for Domestic Violence in Western Area Rural District of Sierra Leone

Abstract

**Background:** Domestic violence is simultaneously a human-rights, public-health and educational concern, yet locally grounded evidence on how women navigate reporting and counselling systems in Sierra Leone remains limited. This article examines the apparent coexistence of accessible reporting pathways and socially unsafe disclosure in selected communities of the Western Area Rural District.

**Methods:** A pragmatic, cross-sectional descriptive mixed-methods study surveyed 400 women aged 15–49 years in eight purposively selected communities, with an equal allocation of 50 respondents per community. The wider study also included 40 key-informant interviews and eight focus-group discussions; however, because the complete qualitative transcript and coding archive was unavailable for final verification, the present article gives analytical priority to auditable survey results. Frequencies and percentages were calculated, with multiple-response items reported against the full sample.

Background: Domestic violence is simultaneously a human-rights, public-health and educational concern, yet locally grounded evidence on how women navigate reporting and counselling systems in Sierra Leone remains limited. This article examines the apparent coexistence of accessible reporting pathways and socially unsafe disclosure in selected communities of the Western Area Rural District.  Methods: A pragmatic, cross-sectional descriptive mixed-methods study surveyed 400 women aged 15–49 years in eight purposively selected communities, with an equal allocation of 50 respondents per community. The wider study also included 40 key-informant interviews and eight focus-group discussions; however, because the complete qualitative transcript and coding archive was unavailable for final verification, the present article gives analytical priority to auditable survey results. Frequencies and percentages were calculated, with multiple-response items reported against the full sample.