NGOs call for concerted efforts in fighting violence against women, girls

As the world marks the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based violence, non-governmental organisations in Ghana have called for concerted efforts in the fight against violence.According to the NGOs, violence against women and girls tend to have a devastating impact on individuals and on society, as well as drain resources which could be channelled into other useful ventures.

The organisations have, therefore, called on stakeholders, including traditional and religious leaders, to join the fight against sexual and gender-based violence by publicly condemning such acts.

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The organisations are Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Ghana), Oxfam International and Care International.

In his address, a Programme Manager of WiLDAF, Mr Frank Wilson Bodza, said although government had made efforts to address violence against women and girls, more needed to be done.

Perpetrators

He said the laws needed to be enforced to ensure that perpetrators of gender violence were prosecuted and added that defilement was another growing concern which needed to be addressed with urgency.

The Head of Programmes at Care International, Ms Gifty Blekpe, said the silence on violence against women and girls needed to be broken and urged the media to create the awareness.

Gradually, she said, some of the violent acts were being accepted by society, a situation that is dangerous for women and girls.

The Governance Manager at Oxfam representative, Mrs Keita Rose-Atkino, expressed concern about the poor enforcement of the law on gender-based violence cases, especially with rape and defilement.

According to her, while victims of rape are, for instance, normally blamed for attracting the rapists by what they were wearing, the perpetrators were not held responsible for their actions.

Punishment

She, therefore, called on law enforcement agencies, as well as the justice system, to ensure that perpetrators of gender-based violence were punished.

In his address, the Executive Director of FIDA, Ms Susan Aryeetey, urged society and families to take victims of gender based violence seriously and support them.

She further advised against the use of language that degraded women or portrayed them as objects, since such attitudes contributed to the culture of rape in Ghana.