Domestic Violence Bill to Be Laid Before Parliament

The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) has said the proposed Private Member's Bill on Domestic Violence would be laid before Parliament when it re-convenes in October.

The objective of the bill is to provide a comprehensive set of provisions to govern and protect the rights of the vulnerable in the home.

Ms Gloria Ofori-Boadu, FIDA Executive Director, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra that the legal basis for seeking redress for violence against women and children as enshrined in the 1992 constitution and the criminal code was limited in remedies.

"There is limitation in the remedies that these laws provide and sometimes the punitive measures used, such as arrest and jail sentences, are not favourable for promoting the welfare of existing family structures."

Ms Ofori-Boadu said the Bill is, therefore, to provide victims of domestic violence with a broader set of remedies, including civil protection, that extend beyond mere criminal sanctioning of the perpetrators of violence.

She said the Bill would regulate the family, community and society's attitude and general respect for women and children.

Ms Ofori-Boadu said violence within the domestic arena was in many forms, including sexual and physical abuse of young boys, the elderly and aged, the sick and disabled, and attacks by husbands, wives and other relations. She said most spousal beatings were treated as cases of assault that could be punished by a term of imprisonment.

However, what most wives would prefer is not for their husbands and family members to be jailed but an order to stop constant harassment.

Ms Ofori-Boadu said the bureaucratic mechanisms of law enforcement before victims of domestic violence get redress also serve as hindrances to victims.

"What the victims need is prompt, cost-effective and less traumatic means for redress."

She said the Bill includes sections on the filing of complaints in respect of domestic violence, petition for civil protection, grant of civil protection orders and duration of protection orders, among other things.

It also proposes that amicable settlement be pursued and exhausted by all parties prior to redress in court.

Also a police officer may, without warrant, arrest any respondent at the scene of an incident of domestic violence whom he or she reasonably suspects of having committed an offence containing an element of violence against a complainant.

The bill provides that a domestic violence action shall not be brought more than two years from the date the act was committed.

This is to ensure prompt filing of complaints by complainants and to restrict delays on the part of complainants.