Adolescents in Mfantseman walk against gender-based violence
About 100 adolescents in the Mfantseman Municipality have been sensitised to the need to report cases of domestic violence to the appropriate institutions to deter perpetrators.
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The sensitisation exercise was preceded by a health and awareness walk through some selected streets of Saltpond before converging on the forecourt of the Electoral Commission (EC) for the addresses.
The programme was organised by the Care Love Charity Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based at Saltpond with support from the Central Regional Office of the National Youth Authority (NYA) and the Irish Government to mark 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.
It was on the theme: "Unity: Upholding the dignity of women and girls in an enlightened society”.
Increasing cases
The Executive Director of the Love Care Charity Foundation, Martha Jonah, said there were reports of increasing cases of violence against women in the municipality.
That, she observed, was due to the high poverty rates in many communities along the coast, saying inadequate awareness of the issues and avenues for redress was contributing to the rise in cases.
She noted that the situation in some communities had been worsened by the fact that many victims did not know where to report such cases and were also ignorant about the procedures.
She advised the adolescents to report any form of violence against them to appropriate persons in the community for redress.
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Ms Jonah said despite legislation against gender-based violence, the phenomenon persisted in many communities and indicated that in the school environment, bullying, name-calling and violence still occurred among adolescents.
She urged the government to resource the Department of Social Welfare to adequately support victims of domestic violence to seek justice to serve as a deterrent to others.