Ending violence in militarised homes, communities and nations
Although the home is supposed to be a safe haven for all those living in it, the lived experiences of inhabitants of some homes indicate a pathetic picture.
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The current reality is that some homes are under siege from gender-based violence. Not a single day passes without Ghanaians being inundated with stories of children, women and some men devastated by violence in the media.
The last three years had seen rising cases of reported spousal murders. Several gory newspaper headlines had gripped Ghanaians with awe in the past. A few examples will suffice: “60-year-old driver kills wife”; “60-year-old farmer arrested for killing wife”; “Man sets lover ablaze, ends up burning to death”; “Farmer chops off wife’s arms”; and “Man beheads girlfriend”.
In 2011, most Ghanaians woke up to the painful experience of a house-help accused of conniving with armed robbers to attack her benefactor’s residence.
Combatants at the battlefield even do not suffer the multiple injuries this poor house-help suffered. But the shocking reality is that these headlines constitute a tip of the iceberg! Most incidents of violence against women and children go unreported!
Global Trend
Globally, statistics on violence against women (VAW) show that one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime; between 30 per cent and 60 per cent of ever-partnered women have experienced physical or sexual violence or both by an intimate partner, and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), between seven per cent and 48 per cent of girls and young women aged 10-24 report their first sexual encounter as coerced.
VAW in Ghana
A 1998 study on violence against women in Ghana put the prevalence of violence against women at par with the universal trend. This means one in every three Ghanaian women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime.
These figures are buttressed by the yearly regional compilation from the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, which indicates that violence against women is still unacceptably high.
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It is clear from the above statistics that some Ghanaian homes are under siege. The fate of victims/survivors who find themselves in such homes is even compounded.
Adressing militarism
Militarism is a belief that constructs a culture of fear and supports the use of violence, aggression or military interventions for settling disputes and enforcing economic and political interests.
As a mindset, it has deleterious costs for the true safety and security of women and of society as a whole. Militaristic thinking creates otherness and privileges violence as an effective way to solve problems. When militarism is not challenged, it perpetuates hierarchies of power and grants impunity to perpetrators of violence against women.
Addressing militaristic ways of thinking encourages more varied and nuanced ideas about genuine security, promotes inclusiveness for example bringing more women into public life, creates a world built not on the competitive sale of weapons, but on authentic relations of trust and cooperation.
It is therefore imperative to address militaristic beliefs in all of our societies – homes, communities and the nation as a whole. It is erroneous to think of militarism only in the context of war. Ghana may play ostrich by believing it is an oasis of peace in a desert of conflicts. Let’s hope it is not a mirage! Militarism neither ends nor begins in war zones, nor does it confine itself to the public sphere.
The families of militarised men and women may experience violence in their homes where ‘war crimes’ and armed domestic violence are hidden from public view.
Is Ghana militarised?
Responses to this question may differ in proportion to the different shades of political opinion we have in this country. Nevertheless, after all is said and done, it is the lived experiences of people that matter.
Have we, for once, wondered how people live within the domestic setting of armed robbers, belligerent security officers, gun-wielding political activists and chiefs with gun-protected skins and stools?
As we search for answers, maybe we may come to appreciate the rationale for the international theme for the 2013 16 Days Campaign “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women”, and why the local theme’s focus on “Working with Men and Boys to End Violence in our Homes” is apt.