Give more attention to gender-based violence – NPC

 A member of the National Peace Council (NPC), Ms Joana Adzoa Opare, has called on the media to give more attention to gen­der-based violence against women and girls.

She said this would help a lot in addressing issues of physical, emotional, economic and psycho­logical abuses inflicted to women and girls in the communities.

“Gender-based violence would reduce drastically in our homes and at workplaces if the media would take a critical stand and talk about those disturbing issues such as harassment, rape, abuse among others and talk about it daily on all their channels,” she said.

Ms Opare who is also the Board Chair of Women Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE), an NGO, was speaking at a press launch of this year’s 16-Day campaign of activism against gender-based violence.

Organised by the WISE in col­laboration with African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) on the theme, ‘Invest to prevent vio­lence against women and girls.’

The day celebrated annually from November 25 to December 10 worldwide is aimed at eliminat­ing all forms of violence against women and girls.

She said that the fight on gender-based violence against women and girls had still not been achieved since media houses were not doing enough in their reportage.

According to Ms Opare, civil society organisations, agencies and other mandated groups were doing their bit to call for the elim­ination of all forms of violence against women and girls, but often these efforts were not brought to the limelight.

She reminded perpetrators to re-think before committing any violence against women and girls knowing that such acts would at­tract media attention and eventu­ally be named and shamed.

According to her, such efforts would also motivate victims to come out and report such cases either to the police or even to any media station and the perpetrators would not go unpunished.

The Executive Secretary of WISE, Ms Adwoa Bame, ex­plained that during the campaign, several platforms would be created for individuals and groups to speak on the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls and also create awareness about gender-based violence as a human right issue at the local, regional, national and internation­al levels among others.

Ms Bame said apart from the press launch, WISE would also embark on in-house meetings with some editors and news anchors of media stations, meet with the National Media Commission (NMC), and organise outreach programmes.

 BY VICTOR A. BUXTON

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