Eliminating violence against women and girls must be a common effort

Dr James Clayman, Chairman , Steering Committee of Gender Violence Survivors Support Network (GVSSN), has called for a united and collaborative effort to eliminate violence against women and girls.

He said gender violence was an issue that involved every individual and that addressing it would help propel the economic development of Ghana.

Dr Clayman said this at the Ghana National Consultation organised by the International Network to End Violence Against Women and Girls (INEVAWG) on the theme, “Repoliticising Violence Against Women and Girls: A Call to Action.”

He said the fight against gender violence required a concerted and urgent action with no time for delays, adding, “I will look at it as a form pandemic, when it is not visible, it is put at the background.”

Dr Clayman added that due to lack of empowerment of women and girls in the country, reporting gender violence to the appropriate authorities became a challenge.

He stated that the consultation was an opportunity to share evidence from the ground and to demonstrate that when governments made adequate political and financial commitments, it would make progress in eliminating gender violence in the country.

Dr Clayman said dimensions from the consultation would include new and innovative ways of dealing with violence against women in the midst of the Covid-19 across the world.

Mrs Sheila Minkah-Premo, Managing Consultant of Apex Law Consult, speaking on the consultation that took place, said repoliticising gender based violence in the country would intensify the fight against the menace.

She said stakeholders should identify effective polices to address the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on women and girls, especially on their social status and their psychological well-being.

Lawyer Minkah-Premo stated that violence against women increased during the lockdown and that immediate measures were needed to curtail the progress of the canker.

She urged government to take up the cost of medical treatment of domestic violence victims, adding that, such initiative would help strengthen the fight against gender violence in Ghana.

She asked government to resource the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) to make it more effective.

She said there was the need to train and equip women with household businesses to enable them carter for themselves.


Ms Isobel Afful Mensah, Co- founder, Pearl Safe Haven, said the aim of the organisation was to provide a shelter for victims to eliminate psychological and mental illness as a result abuses.

She added that their platform supported survivors of domestic abuses and provided information and resources as it engaged young girls and women to be aware of the various forms of violence.

Ms Afful stated that the platform could benefit young victims of domestic violence such as rape and defilement through counselling to lift their self-esteem.

“There is the need to focus on the economic activities of these young girls and women to boost their confidence in the society,” she added.