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In Ghana, many women have encountered sexual harassment. One in three has faced physical or sexual violence, mostly perpetrated by intimate partners.
Violence against women and girls stands as one of the most widespread and systematic human rights violations globally, and Ghana is no exception.
Incidence of gender-based violence is escalating, manifesting in rising rates of physical and emotional abuse alongside a surge in online harassment and workplace-related misconduct. This concerning trend underscores the urgency of addressing and curbing violence against girls and women.
It is in this light that the beneficiaries of the Power to Choose (P2C) project, being implemented by the Participatory Action for Rural Development Alternatives (PARDA) within the West Mamprusi Municipality in the North East region of Ghana with funding support from Oxfam Canada through Oxfam in Ghana called on the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, to help bring an end to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Ghana especially North East Region.
The group believes, Gender-base violence is directed against an individual because of his/her gender and this can take several forms including Sexual Abuse,Child labour, Child trafficking,early marriage, witchcraft allegations, intimate partner violence among the litany of Gender-base violence issues.
They lament this in a petition presented to the MoGCSP through ye municipal chief executive as they marked the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence held in Walewale in the North East Region.
According to them, These violence result in negative effects such as teenage pregnancy, school drop-outs, sexually transmitted diseases and infections and the general well-being of the survivors.
“During the period between January 2022 and November 2023, there have been 10-15 cases of rape, defilement and gendered abuse within the Mamprusi Municipality reported to the (DOVVSU)with only three (3) presented to the court leaving countless unreported. Some of these cases were reported to the Police for redress. However, there have been instances that some cases are wrapped under what we may describe as “perceived family and cultural protection of dignity” at the peril of the children and adolescents.
Sexual harassment and sexual abuse against young and adolescent girls among other forms of abuses in the West Mamprusi must stop now. They stressed;
