The International Federation of Women Lawyers, Ghana, has condemned all forms of sexual harassment and exploitation of women especially female lawyers in Ghana by their male colleagues.
This comes on the back of rape allegations leveled against the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) President Tony Forson, and Mr. Selassie Fumey by Kuukuwa Andam, also a lawyer, during her pupillage at the Legal Aid Office in Accra and in Washington DC.
In a press statement by FIDA- Ghana copied to citinewsroom.com, the Federation appealed to “all female lawyers and particularly all women in Ghana who by one way or the other, have suffered such fate and continually do same, to report such acts to the rightful authorities, or to the offices of FIDA-Ghana, and their issues will be addressed appropriately”.
The Federation also called for better ways of addressing such acts in public to avoid instances of victimization and stigmatization of victims.
FIDA- Ghana also demanded that a committee be constituted by the Ghana Bar Association and the General Legal Council, to investigate the allegation leveled against the President of the two lawyers.
“We would also like to appeal to the Ghana Bar Association and the General Legal Council, to institute a committee to investigate such serious allegations against our colleagues at the Bar”.
Last week, the President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Anthony Forson Jr., was accused of rape in 2012 by a Canada-based Ghanaian lawyer, Kuukuwa Andam.
A formal criminal police complaint was made against Mr. Forson in Washington DC, USA, by Ms. Andam.
Ms. Andam also alleged that she was raped by Mr. Selassie Kofi Fumey, who was then the Acting Deputy Director of Legal Aid Ghana when she worked with him as a National Service person. She said Mr. Kofi Fumey raped her for the first time and on many different occasions
Ms. Andam in a series of posts chronicled her rape by the two lawyers.
Kuukuwaa, a graduate student at Queen’s University, told Citi News that she did not report the incident immediately because she was afraid of the powerful men involved and the backlash survivors of sexual violence face from society.
The public naming of two powerful men as rapists has been described by many as a start of a Ghanaian #MeToo in a society where sexual violence is considered to be widespread and rampant.
Mr. Forson subsequently denied the allegation in a statement from his lawyers, saying he would be vindicated.
GBA President must step aside over rape allegations – Xavier Sosu
Renowned Human Rights Lawyer, Francis Xavier Sosu, wants the President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Anthony Forson, to step aside for a full probe into allegations of rape leveled against him by a Canada-based Ghanaian Lawyer, Kuukuwa Andam.
Although the GBA has not commented on the development, Xavier Sosu argues that Mr. Anthony Forson must step aside for GBA to conduct investigations in the interest of the reputable association of lawyers in the country.
“We are people who stand for justice; and we are in the business of justice; so when such an allegation is made against someone of that stature in that position, it will just be right that he or she steps aside. I believe that the GBA itself must even conduct investigations into this. It will be in the interest of the GBA itself as a body to say that our President, can you step aside so we investigate this issue…He is not permanently resigning. He should just step aside.”
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By: Farida Yusif | citinewsroom.com | Ghana
The post Investigate rape allegations against GBA Boss – FIDA-Ghana to General Legal Council appeared first on Citi Newsroom.
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