The Executive Director of Songtaba, a Non-Governmental Organization in the Northern Region, Madam Lamnatu Adam, has commended the government for the allocation of funds to the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection (MoGCSP).
She has urged stakeholders to work hand in hand with the government to invest more in combating gender-based violence in the country.
She made these statements during the launch of the 16-day Activism Campaign against gender-based violence in the Northern Region’s capital, Tamale.
The campaign, which runs from November 25th to December 10th, aims to raise awareness and eliminate violence against women and girls.
Speaking at the launch, the Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu, highlighted the prevalence of gender-based violence in the region and emphasized the need for collective action to address the issue. She shared statistics from domestic violence surveys, revealing that a significant percentage of Ghanaian women and adolescent girls have experienced violence in various forms.
“Data from the 2016 Domestic violence survey in Ghana shows that 27.7% of Ghanaian women experienced at least one form of domestic violence. Also, 38.2% of adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 reportedly experienced at least one form of violence according to the multiple indicator cluster survey 2017 through 2018,” she said.
Abudu called on individuals, families, communities, corporate organizations, and the government to invest in preventing gender-based violence through the implementation of policies, legal frameworks, and empowerment programs for women and girls.
She stressed the importance of reporting incidents of violence and encouraged victims to seek assistance through the toll-free helplines provided by the ministry.
The Minister also announced ongoing initiatives, including the review of domestic violence legislation, the training of market executives as paralegals to assist survivors, and the refurbishment of shelters for victims of gender-based violence.
She expressed pride in the progress made so far by the ministry and other Non-Governmental Organizations, with gender-based violence interventions reaching almost all 261 districts in Ghana. She called on individuals and stakeholders to contribute collectively towards ending gender-based violence in the region.
She also called on the government to invest further in the sector and ensure the proper release and utilization of allocated funds.
“As much as we are calling for policy direction, we are also critically working around gender transformation approaches where we are engaging men and boys to look at their actions and the way it is affecting women and girls. And for the women and girls, we empower them to be aware of their rights and to know how it can be violated and the way to seek redress.”
Shani Alhassan Saibu, the Northern Regional Minister at the launch, also commended the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection for its active role in addressing gender-based violence. He emphasized the importance of collaboration between the government and societal organizations and highlighted innovative strategies that have been implemented, such as legal literacy, volunteers, model-gendered families, safe spaces, and policy dialogue.
Stakeholders present at the launch expressed their hope for further progress in the coming years, including the establishment of well-operated one-stop shops in the Northern Region. They also called on the government to prioritize the implementation of policies that would provide free access to medical reports and court testimonies for victims.
