Women's rights activists urged to involve men in their fight

Ho, Oct. 18, GNA - Women's right activists might not achieve the desired gender equity using a "confrontational approach against a society that has long been dominated by males", Mr Edwin Darkey, Volta Regional Population Officer said on Friday.

He told a seminar organised by the Volta Regional Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) of the Ghana Police for some Police Officers in the region in Ho that a better approach was to involve men and earn their support for women's empowerment.

Mr Darkey was speaking on: "Domestic violence - Its Impact on the Population, the Reproductive Health of Women and Children's Well-Being". "The support, cooperation and involvement of men can add much to the movement towards a more equitable society, a world free from violence against women", he stated.

Mr Darkey said violence against women was a complex phenomenon deeply rooted in the way society is set up, including cultural beliefs, economic power unbalances and male dominance.

He listed incest, rape, child prostitution, psychological abuse, sexual harassment, harmful traditional practices and battering of wives, as some of the violence committed against women.

Mr Darkey expressed regrets that some women collaborated with traditional authorities to perpetrate crimes such as female genital mutilation and widowhood rites against fellow women.

Mr Kofi Duku Arthur, Volta Regional Police Commander, said the spate of rape, defilement and other forms of abuse of women and children, called for urgent steps to improve the capability of the law enforcement agencies to deal with the situation.

He said the existing liaison between WAJU and other agencies in the fight against abuse of women, such as the Department of Social Welfare was commendable.

Chief Inspector Irene Anumah, Head of WAJU, Volta Region, said efforts of the Unit countrywide must merge with the objectives of the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs, as well as the National Commission on Women and Development, to sensitise people of the right of women and children.

Other topics treated at the one-day seminar were "The role of the Police in Handling Domestic Violence Cases", "Violence Against Women, Its Effects: Long term and Short term" and "Effects of Violence Against Women on their Reproductive Health".