Foundation calls for establishment of domestic violence fund

Some victims of domestic and gender-based violence are forced to put up with their abusers as a result of situational realities such as lack of money.

For instance, a married woman who depends on her spouse for financial support, accommodation and other needs is tied to him despite her desire to break away. Catering for the welfare of domestic violence victims was one of the major reasons for the promulgation of the Domestic Violence Act 732 (2007).

The issue came up at the closing of a two-day training on effective investigations and prosecution of gender-based violence for 57 selected personnel of the Ghana Police Service at the Police Training School at Tesano in Accra. 

Yet, years after the coming into force of the act, the setting up of a fund for domestic violence cases for supporting victims of domestic violence acts, a requirement which is embedded in the law, is yet to be realised and a non-governmental organisation, Nimbus Foundation, is calling for the establishment of the fund.

“It is no gainsaying the [fact that] where the state fails to provide the necessary facilities to protect the rights of the vulnerable in society, that by itself amounts to re-victimisation and a violation of the citizens’ rights,” said the Chief Executive officer of the Foundation, Ms Joyce Opoku-Boateng, who is also the organiser of the training programme.

Gender-based violence

The capacity-building training was organised in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service and the National Police Academy and Training School, with support from the African Women Development Fund.

Gender-based violence is considered to be any harmful act directed against individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of their gender.

It may include sexual violence, domestic violence, trafficking, forced or early marriage and harmful traditional practices.

Prosecution challenges

According to Ms Opoku-Boateng, although men and boys were targets of gender-based and sexual violence in conflict situations, the victims continued to be disproportionally women and girls.

She said though the Ghana Police Service employed more than 30,000 personnel, and had 650 stations across the country, there were only 102 functional Domestic Violence and Victim Support Units (DOVVSU)

“The inadequate number of units is further weakened by the inadequate skills of prosecutors to ensure proper investigation and prosecution for conviction, especially on rights violations,” she said.

That, she said, could be attributed to how only 29 convicts were recorded out of the 1,111 reported cases of defilement in 2012.
Prosecution, she said, played a critical role in the criminal justice response to violence against women and girls but it was hindered by a number of challenges.

The challenges included challenges confronting police investigators, victims being uncorporative and judges or juries employing gender-bias against women and girls when examining the credibility of the victim and the facts of cases.

Objective
In a key note address, the Director-General of Human Resource Development of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police Mrs Beatrice Vib-Sanziri, explained that the training programme was to equip the participants with the skills to deliver on their mandate.
It is also to sharpen the reflexes and competencies of the participants and to improve public confidence in the police.