Gender Ministry embarks on project to strengthen child protection system

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is embarking on a three-year project with support from the Dutch Government and UNICEF, Ghana, to strengthen the country’s child protection system.

The focus of the project is to eliminate child marriage in Ghana. 

Statistics

According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2011), about 27 per cent of  women aged 20-24 were married or were in a union before age 18, and on the average, one out of four girls in Ghana are married before their 18th birthday. 

While child marriage is common in Ghana, regional disparities were noticed in the Upper East Region which has 39.2 per cent, followed by Western, 36.7 per cent; Upper West, 36.3 per cent; Central, 31.2 per cent; Ashanti, 30.5 per cent; Volta, 29.3 per cent; Brong Ahafo, 29.1 per cent; Northern, 27.4 per cent; Eastern, 27.2 per cent and the Greater Accra Region, 12.2 per cent. 

International Day of the Girl Child

The world celebrated the International Day of the Girl Child on Saturday October 11, 2014, and the ministry joined the global community to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against girls and women.

This year’s theme: ‘Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence’ recognises the importance of investing in and empowering girls during adolescence; preventing and eliminating all forms of violence directed at them, and helping girls look towards a future in which they will freely reach their full potential, without the fear of discrimination and violence. 

In a statement issued to mark the day, the ministry said central to achieving an end to violence against the girl child was the need to put an end to harmful traditional practices such as child marriage, which continues to pose a danger to girls across the country.

Ghana, it said, was a nation with one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, and rather than decreasing, evidence indicates that the practice was on the rise. 

Human rights violation

Child marriage is a human rights violation which infringes on girls’ basic rights to health, education, to live in safety and to choose when and whom they marry. 

According to the Gender Ministry, child marriage undermines girls’ economic capacity and puts women and girls at increased risks of sexual, physical and psychological violence throughout their lives.

The Gender Ministry said it was critical that as a country, “we acknowledge that eliminating child marriage and all other forms of violence against women and girls requires a collective action.”  

UNICEF calls for action

In a related development, UNICEF has said that to help curb violence against the girl child, there was the need to keep them in school; provide them with critical life skills; support parents with cash transfers to mitigate risks to girls; change attitudes and norms through community conversations; and also strengthen judicial, criminal and social systems and services.

A UNICEF report reveals that almost one-quarter of girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide, approximately 70 million, report of being victims of some form of physical violence since age 15.

The report, initiated under the harsh tag #ENDViolence , shows that about 120 million girls under the age of 20 worldwide, have experienced forced intercourse or other forced sexual acts, and one in three adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 are forced into marriage, leaving 84 million girls suffering from emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their husbands or partners.

“The problem is global but the solutions must be found at the national, community and family levels. We have a responsibility to protect, educate, and empower adolescents. We are all accountable for ending violence against girls,” said Geeta Rao Gupta, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director.

WiLDAF press release

According to WiLDAF, adolescence was a critical stage at which key investments and support can set girls on a path towards empowerment saying that  “when adolescent girls are empowered, it benefits all”.

However discrimination, harmful practices, and violence can send them down a negative spiral with lifelong consequences; not just for themselves, but for societies and future generations.

According to the organisation, empowered girls grow into empowered women who can care better for themselves and their families, increase their earning potential, serve as active and equal citizens and change agents and spur economic growth for communities and nations.

WiLDAF, therefore ,called on governments, civil society organisations, and private institutions and the media to join forces and reaffirm their commitment to end the scourge of violence against adolescent girls and to promote their empowerment by investing in adolescent girls to equip them with skills, confidence, and life options: through family, schools, technical and vocational education and training, health, social and economic support system.

WiLDAF reminded countries of their obligation to promote and protect the rights of girls from harmful practices against them, including early and forced marriage, genital mutilation and the menace of “kayayei” in accordance with national and international law.

WiLDAF indicated that it agreed perfectly with the United Nations Resolution 66/170 that “Empowerment of and investment in girls are key in breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and in promoting and protecting the full and effective enjoyment of their human rights.”