Florida: The Rural and Urban Women's Association (RUWA Ghana) has organised a debate competition among basic schools in the Wa Municipality and Wa West District to commemorate the International Day of the Family. The event focused on the topic 'Is Sexual and Gender-based Violence and other discrimination more caused by sociocultural issues than social media?' and aimed at educating young people about Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV).
According to Ghana News Agency, four He-For-She clubs from Fallahia and Busa basic schools in the Wa Municipality, as well as Dorimon and Vieri basic schools in the Wa West District, participated in the debate. This initiative is part of the He-For-She engagements under the 'Empowering Girls, Boys, Women and Men through Creativity and social media to Break the Silence on SGBV for Gender Transformation in the Upper West Region of Ghana (Enough)' project, implemented by RUWA-Ghana.
The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), under the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit's (GIZ) Support to Human Rights, Gender Equality, and Civil Society project. Mr Masud Aziz Rauf, Executive Director of RUWA Ghana, explained that the project aims to combat SGBV by raising awareness among young people about its negative impacts.
Mr Rauf emphasized the importance of educating students about SGBV to prevent future occurrences and encouraged them to advocate against such violence in their communities. ASP Stella Niabi, Upper West Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), urged the children to report any SGBV cases to the authorities for appropriate action.
Ms. Linda Dassah from the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) advised children to speak up against any abuse they experience, highlighting the importance of reporting to trusted individuals or authorities. Other stakeholders present at the event included Pognaa Amamata Mumuni, Wa Municipal Girl Child Coordinator, Madam Kutun Abdulai, Wa Municipal Chairperson, Federation of Persons with Disabilities, and teachers from the participating schools.
The event concluded with the presentation of citations, sanitary pads, and exercise books to the participating schools.