“He who feels it, knows it”: Meet the teenager from Sierra Leone who’s speaking out on violence against children

“I know what violence is because I have gone through it myself,” says Morison, a seemingly ordinary 16-year-old from rural Sierra Leone who is, against all odds, making big changes for children in his community.

As ChildFund staff land in Bogotá, Colombia, this week to participate in the world’s first-ever global conference to end violence against children, we can’t help but think of the many young people around the world who are advocating for child protection in their own communities – people like Morison, 16, in Sierra Leone.

“Violence has severe and lasting effects on a child’s physical, social and mental well-being,” Morison says. “That’s why I wanted to become an advocate for my peers whose voices have yet to be heard.”

From survivor to outspoken advocate

As a young child, Morison himself faced bullying from peers and teachers alike in school. When he was 11 years old, a relative persuaded his parents to send him to Freetown – Sierra Leone’s bustling capital – in hopes of a better education. When Morison arrived in the big city, however, the reality of his situation was much different than promised.

“I was faced with hunger, intimidation and more,” Morison says. “But I was inspired by the challenges I faced.

“When I was young, I always wanted to be on the media. I would see other kids on the media, articulating, talking about issues affecting them.”
Motivated by the energy of these outspoken young people – and the urgency of his own experiences with violence – Morison started to join school clubs and participate in community antiviolence training.

“My community is a beautiful place,” Morison says. “We have a rich cultural heritage, and we have this deep aspect of community spirit. We are resilient in facing issues affecting us.

“But sometimes, societal and cultural norms can encourage violence in our community. So can gender inequality and poverty. Some parents do not have the capacity to provide for their children [financially], and they are likely to be vulnerable. This becomes a driver of violence. For example, our parents used to send our sisters to early marriage at age 15 or 16, which is very bad. It affected them mentally and led them to drop out of school.

“This is why awareness raising is so important. I believe that if the community is able to understand what violence means and what the impact of violence is, they can take action to stop it.”

Morison with his older sister Fatmata (left) and his mom, Aminata (right).

When Morison was invited to join the Children’s Forum Network, a national child-led organization that works with the Sierra Leonean government to protect children, he saw his opportunity to finally have a platform of his own. Today, he is serving as the network’s vice president.

“From my leadership in the Children’s Forum Network, I have learned valuable lessons – especially from ChildFund, who has been working with the network for the last five years,” Morison says. “I’ve learned to network, collaborate and encourage others to share their opinions. Teamwork has the power to help us achieve our goals.”

As part of the network, Morison has had some incredible opportunities to represent his fellow children’s views at the community and national level. For example, he served as a child consultant and helped draft policy legislation to end child marriage in Sierra Leone – legislation that passed just this year. He is currently helping review draft legislation for the Child Act of 2024, which would criminalize FGM for children under 18.

But Morison says it’s not enough to implement strong polices – governments must be prepared to enforce them.

“Though we have beautiful laws, how effectively are these laws addressing violence against children?” Morison says. “I remember in the most recent case we had [of violence against children], a child was raped and killed. And there was no action taken for justice.

“This is not only the case in Sierra Leone, or Africa at large,” Morison says – it’s everywhere, and it comes down to systems change. “We need robust systems for reporting, investigating and addressing child abuse in our countries.”

Morison also stresses the importance of raising awareness about violence against children at the community level, efforts in which child-led organizations like his own Children’s Forum Network can serve as critical partners.

“Many children and youth, and even the leaders or chiefs of their communities, have no idea of the impact of violence on children,” he says. “Part of what we do at the Children’s Forum Network is build community-level teams to help raise awareness about why we need to protect children. The government can help by funding these child-led teams in communities, schools and everywhere young people gather.”

Speaking out to end violence against children

Morison is excited to know that some of these key messages are being shared by ChildFund staff at the conference in Colombia this week. Ahead of the event, he even conducted surveys of children in his community to compile and share their thoughts on ending violence against children with world leaders.

His activism is a huge opportunity to make his community proud, especially his family.

“My parents and my family members have been so supportive of me so far,” Morison says. “My dad has been so inspirational; my mom has been so passionate about my education.

“I want to see an Africa free from violence against children. I want to see myself being a leader … eventually, to go outside and learn something and bring it back to Sierra Leone to ensure that we spread the idea of protecting and safeguarding children.”

But Morison is perhaps most excited at the momentum the world is gaining in allowing children a platform to speak.

“There has been such a misconception in our thinking about children’s emotional intelligence and capacity to address complex problems,” Morison says. “We, as children, actually have plentiful, unique ideas and opinions on how to address our own problems.

After all, he adds poignantly, “He who feels it, knows it.”