Don’t turn a blind eye to rising cases of domestic violence - Doyoe Cudjoe urges institutions

The First Deputy Majority Whip, Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe, has urged institutions established to protect citizens, particularly women and children, to rise and advocate the welfare of the vulnerable amid ongoing abuses in society.

She said that until institutions took practical steps to protect the vulnerable, women and children would continue to endure inhumane cruelty from violent partners and guardians.

She said the marks, bruises and deep wounds inflicted on victims of domestic violence “speak to the severe level of cruelty they suffer and no one deserves to be treated in such an inhumane manner”.

“Institutions that are meant to protect citizens are not to sit back and turn a blind eye to the rising cases of domestic violence,” she said.

Take action

Presenting a statement on domestic violence on the floor of Parliament, Ms Cudjoe said, “action should be taken, not only to ensure justice for these victims but also to strengthen our systems by educating more on domestic violence.

“No woman, no man and certainly no child should ever have to go through such cruelty within a space that is supposed to offer love, safety and protection,” she said. 

Absurd violations unacceptable  

Ms Cudjoe, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ada, reminded Parliament how often the House had constantly been speaking and addressing the issue of domestic violence in Ghanaian societies.

She recalled how last year MPs discussed the issue of one Harriet Amuzu, a mother of two who was assaulted by her husband in a viral video.

Just recently, she said there was another case of domestic violence where a young man was seen brutalising his girlfriend in a viral video on social media.

She described those constant violations or abuses of women as absurd and very unacceptable.

“This does not just apply to women, but children and men can also be victims.

The MP told the House that there had also been trending videos of children being assaulted by their guardians.

Speak up  

She advocated that domestic violence was not a private matter but a crime and it must be treated as such.

The constant incidents of brutality meted out to women and children must serve as a wake-up call and “we should not allow these situations to continue”.

She, therefore, encouraged every individual to speak up when they found themselves in abusive situations and always report to the rightful institutions.

She called on media personnel, the Ghana Police Service, relevant ministries and all institutions responsible for protecting citizens to intensify their efforts to combat domestic violence. 

Statistics

Contributing to the statement, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, emphasised the need for more attention to be focused on statistics of domestic violence, such as physical abuse, threatening behaviour, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological abuses.

He said that in most cultures, men were expected to provide for their families.

“So even when you leave the house without providing chop money for the woman and for the children, that will constitute economic abuse and extended even to psychological abuse of the woman,” he said.

However, domestic abuse did not pertain only to women, as many men were beaten at home by their spouses.

“Because of cultural barriers, a man is shy to go and report to the police that he has been beaten by his wife and he does not even want his own parents to know that he has been beaten by his wife.

“So we need to focus more on the statistics to understand the incidence of domestic violence and what promotes it in Ghana,” he said.