Accra,- The Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE), a non-profit organisation, has called for concerted and urgent action to address reported cases of sexual and gender-based violence in Ghana.
Madam Adwoa Bame, the Executive Director of WISE, said beyond reporting the case every stakeholder or critical actor, working to ensure that survivors received justice, must play that role effectively.
Belittling reported cases of sexual and gender- based violence would deter victims from reporting further abuses, she said.
Madam Bame made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on the sidelines of the launch of the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence”.
The event, which was organised by WISE, in collaboration with Women Voice and Leadership (WVL) Ghana, and launched by Mrs Mercy Catherine Adjabeng, a Gender Advocate, was on the theme: “Orange the World – End Violence Against Women Now”.
The 16-Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that starts from 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and runs until 10 December, the Human Rights Day.
The campaign calls for global actions to increase awareness, galvanize advocacy efforts and share knowledge and innovation.
WISE’s activities for the campaign include marking the International Women Rights Defender’s Day on Monday, November 29, 2021, together with the Queenmothers of Kwabenya.
In collaboration with the Ghana Federation of Disability, it will visit the Autism Centre at Haatso in Accra to interact with the children and donate some items on December 3, as part of activities marking the International Day for People with Disability.
The group will celebrate the International Human Rights Day at All Saints Lutheran School at Anyaa, a suburb of Accra, on December 10.
Madam Bame reiterated the need for all stakeholders to ensure good policies were in place to eliminate the menace and protect the rights of women and girls, particularly the vulnerable.
She called on survivors or guardians of survivors to preserve evidence because without that evidence in court the case would be thrown out.
Ghana still recorded cases of intimate violence; scholars and victim advocates indicate that in every three women in Ghana, one was a victim of domestic violence including physical, economic, emotional and sexual violence.
She touched on the need for education, saying: “People have to be empowered about what should be accepted and what should not, because there are some traditional practices and norms that encourage women to be violated”.
Mrs Adjabeng, who is also a Board Member of WISE, said with the advancement of technology and the innovation of the younger generation, there was a need to take advantage of that and create more awareness in that regard.
She, therefore, tasked the media to lead that awareness campaign by using their platforms to create discussions to address issues of gender-based violence.
Source: Ghana News Agency
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