16 Days of Activism Against GBV: DOVVSU at a crossroad - Urgent call for institutional reform
Ghana’s national response to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) stands again at a defining moment.
Recent events, especially the disturbing handling of the Tesano case involving Harriet Amuzu, show how far we have drifted from the foundational values that once positioned the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) as a global model of survivor-centred policing.
To address today’s failures, we must revisit our history, confront the present with honesty, and take decisive action toward meaningful institutional reform.
How WAJU was born
The Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) was established in 1998 under Inspector General of Police Peter Nanfuri as Ghana’s first specialised police unit dedicated to responding to violence against women and children.
At the time, domestic violence, defilement, incest and other forms of abuse were still widely dismissed as “private matters.” Survivors seeking help were often ridiculed, shamed or turned away.
WAJU represented a radical shift.
This radical shift was not instigated by police introspection, but by a volcanic eruption by women in response to the serial killings that gripped the nation during the transitional periods of 1998 to 2000. I recall Sister’s Keepers and the vigils.
Thus, the police were “forced” to acknowledge and respond.
Subsequently, with support from civil society organisations, the media, and development partners, the Unit offered a safer, more responsive and more professional avenue for reporting abuse.
For the first time, there was a dedicated space in the Ghana Police Service (GPS) where women, children and vulnerable persons could find officers trained to listen, support and act.
Expanding the mandate
By the early 2000s, the scope of violence confronting the GPS had expanded beyond the original WAJU mandate.
The need for a more comprehensive and nationally coordinated system became clear. In 2005, WAJU transitioned into the DOVVSU, aligning with emerging national reforms that culminated in the Domestic Violence Act (Act 732) in 2007.
Under DOVVSU, the Unit’s responsibilities broadened to include:
•investigation and prosecution of domestic and sexual violence
•support for survivors with medical, psychosocial, and legal referrals
•prevention and public education
•coordination with health, social welfare, and civil society partners
This evolution built on WAJU’s foundational strengths and positioned DOVVSU as one of the most trusted police-public interfaces in Ghana.
The Tesano DOVVSU case revealed deep institutional cracks: no safety assessment, no safety planning, absence of victim advocacy, poor understanding of referral pathways, compromised neutrality and untrained and unsensitised officers.
Across the country, DOVVSU officers report severe logistical constraints, such as no vehicles, inadequate office space, limited personnel, personal financial burdens, lack of shelters, inconsistent training, interference by senior officers, and courts that deprioritise domestic violence cases.
External public narratives mirror these concerns.
While many still view DOVVSU as the most approachable police unit, significant criticisms persist regarding inconsistent professionalism, informal case settlement, weak handling of police perpetrators, and limited action on harmful cultural practices.
These concerns signal not individual failures but systemic ones.
Leadership matters
A leadership engagement in 2019 between UNFPA and the Police Management Board (POMAD) confronted these issues directly.
POMAB members acknowledged the decline in energy, direction, and resourcing compared to the WAJU era.
Critically, they unanimously supported the elevation of DOVVSU to a full directorate because they recognised that without structural autonomy, the unit would remain trapped in institutional limbo.
Yet, five years later, that reform has not been implemented.
A promise made, a promise unfulfilled
The call to elevate DOVVSU predates 2019. In 2013, President John Dramani Mahama publicly committed to raising DOVVSU to directorate status.
The commitment was made in the presence of leading advocates and followed by attempts to address the looming collapse of Ghana’s only functioning shelter at the time.
Unfortunately, it is still the only functioning shelter for abused women and children in Ghana, its struggles persisting!
The shelter, run by the Ark Foundation Ghana, still needs the support of all to forestall a second affliction of closure.
This is their hotline and Momo line: 0243777773. Call for help and send some help!
Be that as it may, the promise to elevate DOVVSU stalled in bureaucratic drift.
No cabinet memo was actioned.
No directive was issued.
The Unit remained unchanged.
Today, with a new Inspector General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno; a new Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, and Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang chairing the Police Council, the opportunity to redeem that promise has resurfaced.
This time, the country cannot afford inaction.
A new opportunity for structural reform
Ghana is not in an election year.
There is space for governance.
There is no political distraction.
Institutional reform is possible.
Elevating DOVVSU to a directorate is not symbolic. It is structural.
It means stable leadership, a protected mandate, a dedicated budget, and strengthened national coordination.
A key part of this reform agenda is the DOVVSU one-stop shop, a long-awaited vision that is now operational.
The facility represents a major milestone in coordinated survivor support by bringing together investigation, medical assistance, prosecution services, and psychosocial care under one roof.
However, despite its immense promise, the one-stop shop still lacks adequate staffing, logistics, financial support, and full operational resourcing.
Without sustained investment, it risks functioning below capacity and falling short of the transformative impact it was designed to deliver.
Restoring DOVVSU’s institutional strength, therefore, requires both structural elevation and effective resourcing of this critical national facility.
Elevating DOVVSU means: A stable and protected leadership, clear national coordination, a dedicated budget, professionalised training, enhanced accountability, fully resourced one-stop shop operations and a stronger collaboration with civil society and social welfare systems.
In short, it is the only way to restore the gains of WAJU and early DOVVSU.
A call to action
It is time for the President to direct the Ministry of the Interior, the Police Council, and the IGP to launch
Operation Redeem the Promise: Elevate DOVVSU Now
The pillars of this reform must include:
1. Immediate elevation to directorate status
2. A robust national retraining programme
3. Restoration of civil society partnerships
4. A protected budget line for logistics, shelters, and survivor support
Conclusion: Survivors cannot wait
Ghana once showed leadership in survivor-centred policing in the ECOWAS sub-region.
WAJU proved it. Early DOVVSU strengthened it.
We can rebuild a system worthy of that history, but only through decisive institutional action.
Survivors cannot wait for politics.
They cannot wait for another avoidable tragedy.
They need a system rooted in dignity, safety, and justice.
The time to act is now.
The writer is a lecturer at the Methodist University
