The Volta Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Mrs. Thywill Eyra Kpe, has expressed concern over the increasing gender-based violence in the Volta Region, which led to with the deaths of four women.
She disclosed that her outfit, in collaboration with the United Nation Population Fund (UNPF), has formed a Community Watch Dog Committee in Central Tongu District to monitor and report domestic and gender-based violence to the appropriate authorities, as well as helping to reduce teenage pregnancy, as a way of preventing violence related to relationship as was being experienced in recent times.
Mrs. Kpe, speaking in an exclusive interview with The Chronicle in the regional capital, Ho, explained that it had been noted that most teenagers who were involved in relationships that led to pregnancy suffer a high degrees of violence, because most of the times, the teenage girls did not have any skills that would enable them to generate incomes, therefore the, men took advantage of them.
According to her, national statistics showed that gender violence against women was 80 percent, and mostly in relationship or couples, and that the unfortunate development was that many of the women silently suffer various forms of violence in either marriage or relationship, but they still stay in the relationship with the mindset that such violence related relationship would lead to marriage.
Mrs. Kpe said it was found out that many married women who suffering from violence still failed to report such acts to the police, because most of them wanted to protect property made together with the men as couples.
She stressed that it was wrong because violence ought to be seen as a crime that must not be tolerated under any circumstances.
She, therefore, urged married women and those in relationships to report men who perpetrate violence to the police, adding that it would be better for them to flee from any form of relationship.
“I would always encourage married women and those in relationships, hoping to get married, they should be observant to identify violent men, and as soon as they noted that the man has demonstrated signs of violence, they should leave the relationship and report such conducts to the police to handle,” she advised.
Mrs. Kpe noted that most of the times, married women and those in relationship try to cover up violent for the fear that if a report was made to the police, the man would be prosecuted and imprison, therefore, they would not report it at all.
She further elucidated that women in relationships made their minds to get married as a result of pressure due to tradition and customary belief that she should get married at a certain age.
She added that even though culture and tradition expected women to be married at a certain age, the same cultural values did not glorify violence.
According to her, four deaths, all involving women in relationships in March 2021 alone in the Volta Region, was very unfortunate, noting that one of the women who died through violent in the relationship was hoping to get married to the man, because they had been together from childhood.
Mrs. Kpe, therefore, appealed to chiefs to help prevent gender-based violence in their societies by enacting bylaws in collaboration with their assemblies because such negative activities would not only have the tendencies of creating fear in communities, but would also prevent investors from visiting communities.
She also urged the religious leaders to also help in preventing such negative actions, particularly in relationship and during marriage, counseling that it should be made clear to men that women are their help mates, who also deserved to be treated with love.
Mrs. Kpe also called on leaders in the church to deal with all forms of violence within their institutions.
According to her, 74 percent of women were issued with death threat in relationships, and most of such threats, which were not reported to the police, led to the death of the victims.
She stressing that it was very important for women to appreciate the fact that reporting violence behaviours of their husbands would not always land the men in prison, as they always assume, but rather protect them.
She said her outfit started a mentorship programme in the region for teenagers, to educate them on the effect of violence, particularly, in relationship, to enable them appreciate the need to live in harmony with one another, stressing that with the necessary support from stakeholders and development partners like the UNPF, much would positively be derived.
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