GJA and Canadian High Commission engage Editors on Domestic Violence GJA and Canadian High Commission engage Editors on Domestic Violence

By Lydia Kukua Asamoah, GNA

Accra, Dec 5, GNA - Issues of non-maintenance, assault or beating and the threat of death are the leading forms of Domestic Violence (DV) cases being recorded by the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service.

Defilement, involving men having sex with children under 16 years with or without their consent is also among the leading cases. 

Of all the cases, non-maintenance or failing to provide the “necessaries of life” to ones’ spouse and children is the highest case being reported, which were attributed to low income levels of most perpetrators.

Superintendent Mrs Eunice Ida Odonkor, Coordinator of Dansoman Divisional DOVVSU, who revealed this at a media training workshop on Thursday, said investigations indicated that “most suspects” in non-maintenance cases were found to be poor, not working or having low incomes.

She said from 2015 to 2018, a total of 52, 341 different cases of domestic violence were recorded by the DOVVSU nationwide.

The highest of 16,091 was recorded in 2015 with 9,393 cases of DV being reported to the DOVVSU in 2018.

The workshop was organised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in collaboration with the Canadian High Commission on the theme: “Call it Out- Stop Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls Now”.

Mrs Odonkor, said issues including; indecent assault, threatening, rape, unnatural carnal knowledge, emotional or psychological abuse were all forms of DV and were highly regarded as crimes, the laws of the land were taking care of.

She said such actions produced various effects on the victims, which made them, lose opportunities, loss self-esteem, sleeplessness, isolated, less productive, poor performance in school, among others.

She called on all duty bearers, including; journalists to ensure that DV did not occur.

“We must therefore be each other’s keeper and love one another in order not to hurt ourselves. There is no justification for sexual and gender based violence in any form”, Mrs Odonkor said.

Mr Roland Affail Monney, President of the GJA, said the workshop was one of the activities being undertaken by the Association as part of its 70th Anniversary celebration.

He said the GJA decided to collaborate with key stakeholders and partners to educate its members on key national issues including; road safety, security, and domestic violence, among others.

The GJA will climax its anniversary with a thanksgiving service on Wednesday December 11, he said.

MS Bertha Desmennu, Public Affairs Officer, High Commission of Canada, said  the Commission  decided to partner GJA as part of the United Nations as Campaign of “16 days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, mark annually from November 25 to December 10.

She said the world-wide campaign was to raise awareness and make a joint effort to emphasise that violence against women and girls was a serious human rights violation against which should be ended.

“Around the world, including; Canada and Ghana, women and girls are not only more vulnerable to gender-based violence, such as physical and sexual abuse, emotional and economical extortion.

That is why in 2017, Canada made a conscious choice that our work would focus on empowering women and girls, and transforming relations between genders, hand in hand with men”.

She charged the media in Ghana as an important stakeholder, to report on such offences so their reportage could have positive impact on the lives of girls, women, men and boys.

As journalists, when reporting on gender-based violence, focus on the merits of the case, she said.

Mr Kwame Dei-Tutu, a Legal Practitioner, urged journalists to be sensitive to issues of Domestic violence so as not to wound victims too much through their reportage.

“Ethical journalism is required’ he said.

GNA

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