With studies proving that victims of SGBV normally are skeptical about reporting to formal institutions such as the police and health services, these community leaders have been urged to help with education and sensitization at that level.
The Head of Programmes at STAR-Ghana Foundation (SGF), Miss Eunice Racheal Agbenyadzi, at a forum organized by the Foundation to mark this year’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence in Cape Coast, appealed to the community leaders to drive such discussions.
She said the discussions have reinforced the need to have more of such conversations on how to end SGBV.
“I am extending an invitation to our traditional leaders to help organize such conversations next time so that you will be in the driver’s seat, and we support you. SGF wants to as much as possible see people who are at the core of an issue driving it,” she said.
She also called on the traditional leaders and local authorities to enforce community bye-laws that promote girls’ education and punish violence and abuse of women and girls.
Over the past decade and more, there have been efforts at the national level to respond to challenges faced by women and girls including the different forms of SGBV.
While these efforts have yielded some positive results, the menace persists. The prevalence of SGBV calls for renewed activism, advocacy at various levels, and urgent actions to address the problem.
Participants in the forum
Need for community-led approaches
Evidence from around the world indicates that less than 40 per cent of the women who experience violence seek help of any sort.
Available data show that among women who do seek help, most look to family and friends and very few look to formal institutions, while less than 10 per cent of those seeking help appealed to the police.
Also, a study in Ghana on rural responses to SGBV reveals that victims are skeptical about reporting cases to formal institutions such as the police because of the lack of attention they pay to such cases.
Their attitudes, according to victims, often mirror general societal attitude which emanates from the belief that SGBV is not criminal.
It is also considered as a private matter especially when it involves intimate partner violence, that should be addressed as such. The knowledge that victims will seek help through informal channels such as speaking to friends and family reinforced the call made by the forum to promote community-led approaches to ending SGBV.
At the forum, some community-level structures facilitated by some NGOs and CSOs to help curb violence against women and girls shared their experiences.
They are the COMBAT teams in the Central region facilitated by the Gender Centre, the paralegals in the Greater Accra and Volta regions by the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), the child protection panels by SONGTABA in the Northern region and the “gender champions” by the Community Development Alliance (CDA) in the Upper West Region.
It emerged that these community-level structures have been instrumental in addressing GBV related issues across schools and communities.
At inception, they received training on what constitute GBV, and how to handle victims and perpetrators. They are also trained to carry out effective sensitization and education exercises.
Now, they pursue cases of violence against women and girls until justice is served.
Challenges
They said there were challenges such as resistance from some traditional authorities who think they are taking over their work in the communities, inability to foot cost of medical bills for victims, security threats from some community members who feel offended by their activities, excessive request by the police to fuel their cars before they can effect arrest of perpetrators of GBV and unwillingness on the part of victims and their families to pursue cases under consideration.
“Now people have been calling us names and accusing us of trying to break up marriages. Interference by parents and traditional leaders to withdraw cases and lack of adequate cooperation from victims,” a representative said.
Achievements
Despite these, the community-led structures said they have chalked some successes. According to them, teenage pregnancy has reduced in their communities and school dropouts are willing to return to school.
“We expect meaningful engagement of PWDs, community and traditional leaders to drive a culture of inclusivity of women and girls with disabilities while addressing SGBV. We are also human beings, treat us well."
Forum
The learning exchange forum on community led approaches to preventing sexual and gender- based violence against women and girls was organized by STAR-Ghana Foundation and its civil society partners. The aim was to increase awareness, galvanize effort and share knowledge with key stakeholders on innovative approaches to ending all forms of SGBV against women and girls in Ghana.
Some critical stakeholders who joined in the conversation included traditional leaders specifically, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II, Omanhene of the Oguaa traditional area and Nana Amba Eyiaba I, queen mother of Efutu and Krontihemaa of the Oguaa traditional area, traders’ associations, representatives from public sector organizations, communities within the Central and Western regions.
Also at the forum, some persons with disabilities (PWDs) emphasized the need to break down barriers that intersect forms of discrimination against them due to their disability and gender.
These factors, they said increase their vulnerability and put them at a higher risk of SGBV, Community leaders as the custodians of traditional practices are critical in any intervention that seeks to redress cultural and social norms.
They appealed for open spaces for community members and leaders, to share information and advice to engage in a change of perception and practices.
“We expect meaningful engagement of PWDs, community and traditional leaders to drive a culture of inclusivity of women and girls with disabilities while addressing SGBV. We are also human beings, treat us well,” a representative said.