The Deputy Director of Administrative Justice at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mrs. Esther Annor has encouraged women and girls to report all forms of violence against them to appropritate authorities, including the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service.
Mrs Annor was speaking at a media training on issues relating to violence against women and girls in Ghana.
The workshop which was organized by Inrela Ghana, an association of religious leaders living with HIV and AIDS, with funding from the United Nations (UN) WomenTrustFund was also used to enlightened journalists on the ethical ways of reporting on women’s rights and stories of survivors of violence.
She said violence against women and girls, which is gaining grounds in relationships and marriages, is a violation of human rights and must not be condoned.
The CHRAJ official said every human being, irrespective of sex, is entitled to human rights and charged women and girls to always fight for their rights.
She emphasized on the need for society to support people facing various forms of abuse to ensure their protection and wellbeing.
“In Ghana violence against women and girls takes different forms in many aspects embedded in social, cultural and economic cultures, from the work place to homes” Mrs Annor said.
Another official at the workshop, Mrs Mercy Acquah-Hayford who is the Country Coordinator for Inrela Ghana said the workshop is part of a three-year project, which started in 2010 to create awareness on the need to end the stigma against people who have been abused.
The project she said, was being implemented in some selected communities in Accra including Chorkor and James Town.
She stressed that the project would also engage men in the selected communities to enlighten them on the need to protect women and girls from abuses.
Estimates published by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that globally, about one in three (30 per cent) of women have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their life time.
It adds that violence against women, particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence, is a major public health problem and a violation of women’s human rights.
Source: obaatanparadioonline.com