Central Region records more than 2,500 sexual and gender based violence annually

Gender violenceThe Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service in the Central Region has since 2010 recorded not less than 2,500 Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) cases annually.

The Regional Coordinator of DOVVSU, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) George Appiah-Sakyi who disclosed this, said until last year, about 50 percent of the cases, had resulted from non-maintenance issues.

He said assault cases which topped the list of reported cases last year, was likely to remain on top this year, considering current records available at the Unit.

DSP Appiah-Sakyi made this known in an interview with the press on the sidelines of a community durbar on SGBV dubbed “Ending Sexual and Gender Based Violence: The Role of the Community” at Jukwa Krobo in the Hemang Lower Denkyira District.

The durbar, organised by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in partnership with Danish Development Assistance (DANIDA), was aimed at creating awareness on SGBV and how community members could help to end it.

DSP Appiah-Sakyi said DOVVSU would continue to partner various agencies to educate the public on the effects of SGBV and the need to report it; and therefore urged various stakeholders to play their respective roles.

Speaking during the durbar, he explained the various laws that addressed SGBV in the country and advised SGBV victims and their relatives not to hesitate in reporting such cases to the police for appropriate action to be taken.

Mr. Samuel Kyei-Berko, Programmes Manager of The Ark Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), who spoke extensively on the impact of SGBV and the role of the community, urged parents to discourage sexual relationships involving their under-aged children.

He explained that anyone who had natural or unnatural carnal knowledge of any child under 16 years, with or without the child’s consent, had committed defilement and was liable to conviction which was not less than seven years imprisonment.

He elaborated on the impact of harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, widowhood rites, among others, on victims and the long term effect on the society, and stressed the need for such practices to be discarded.

The Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Mrs Thywill Eyra Kpe, said the Ministry would not relent in the fight against SGBV and therefore called on various stakeholders to support it to achieve its goal.

Source: GNA

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