Symposium marks international women's day

Accra, March 8, GNA - Ms. Anna Bossman, Acting Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), on Thursday said, in spite of all efforts to promote and protect the rights of women, they continued to suffer violence in the society. Speaking at a Jubilee Symposium to mark the International Women's Day celebration in Accra, Ms Bossman said violence against women or gender-based violence still remained a major human rights concern to the nation.

"As we mark our Golden Jubilee, we must have a sober reflection on the status of women's rights, particularly the degree of acceptance of women's human rights as human rights in our country," she said. Ms Bossman said most women were still ignorant about their rights and had difficulty getting remedies for violations. She said women who were conscious of themselves simply found it difficult to enjoy their rights due to entrenched cultural practices and prejudices that society had.

She said fortunately, the commission's campaign in the last few years had yielded some result since there was a new Domestic Violence Law awaiting presidential assent.

Ms Bossman said various surveys conducted on the incidence of domestic violence in Ghana indicated that it was still prevalent in the society and a study conducted by Gender Studies and Human Right Documentation Centre (Gender Centre) found that over 90 per cent of the victims of domestic violence were women and children. She said the study also showed that an intimate partner had physically abused one in three Ghanaian women.