FIDA calls on assemblies to partner paralegal scheme

The Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA)-Ghana has called on district assemblies to partner FIDA on the paralegal scheme to ensure its sustainability and community development.

According to the federation, the scheme has chalked up a number of successes in areas where it has been introduced and as such there is the need to maintain it to reach out to more vulnerable people in the society with legal services. 

FIDA also recommended that general gender activism be carried out alongside paralegal services to achieve the needed results. 

Study 

The recommendations were contained in the findings of a study conducted by FIDA-Ghana to assess the effectiveness and sustainability of the scheme in the country.

It was also to, among other things, examine the extent to which the scheme responded to priority issues in communities and value the interventions made in relation to national priorities. 

Presenting the findings of the study, Dr Deborah Atobrah of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, said access to justice had often evaded many poor, marginalised and vulnerable people in the society, with women being the most affected. 

That, she said, was among other things due to expensive legal services, the lack of financial resources, low, slow and undue delays with legal processes, litigations, religious factors and the fear of stigmatisation.

“It is in response to the above challenges that FIDA-Ghana initiated its free paralegal services to women in Ghana about 30 years ago,” she said.  

Dr Atobrah noted that numerous successes had been achieved through the activities of the paralegals in providing general legal advice and support for people within their communities. 

Challenges

Dr Atobrah said the major challenges paralegals faced in the course of their work included financial constraints, unavailability of the requisite logistics, socio-cultural factors and the negative attitudes of some clients and their families. 

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Resource Mobilisation Manager of  FIDA, Mrs Susan Aryeetey, said partnership would help broaden access to justice in the country and promote institutional and citizen collaboration to provide women and children with justice. 

She advised that the assemblies consider the partnership to help more people develop confidence in the justice system of the country.