Plan International Ghana demands operationalisation of Domestic Violence Fund
Plan International Ghana has called on the Government, to as a matter of urgency, resource the Domestic Violence Fund and provide free medical care for domestic violence survivors as stipulated in the Domestic Violence Act.
The NGO further called on Government to make adequate budgetary allocations to state agencies such as the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) to operationalise the Domestic Violence Act.
Mr Eric Ayala, Programme Influencing and Impact Area Manager of Plan International Ghana, who made the call, said the funding support would help to protect girls and the vulnerable against all forms of gender-based violence in society and guarantee them justice if they suffered any form of gender-based violence.
Mr Ayala was delivering a statement at a media engagement organised in Tamale on Friday by Plan International Ghana to commemorate this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence.
The event was in line with Plan International Ghana’s Women’s Innovation for Sustainable Enterprises project, which amongst others focused on gender equality and inclusion and the full realisation of human rights.
The 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence is a global campaign, which seeks to end violence against women and girls.
The campaign is held every year and begins on November 25, the International Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women and ends on December 10, Human Rights Day.
This year’s commemoration was on the theme: “Orange the world: End Violence Against Women Now.”
Justice for victims and survivors of gender-based violence, especially defilement and rape, is a challenge because most victims and survivors are unable to pay for medical examination, which is crucial for proving such cases at the law courts.
Also, rehabilitation for victims and survivors of Gender-based Violence is a great challenge because there is no shelter for such persons and state agencies lack the resources to take care of victims as well hence the call by Plan International Ghana for the government to operationalise the Domestic Violence Fund as well as resource key state agencies to fully execute their functions.
Mr Ayala called on Government to “consistently, enhance the capacity of key actors including prosecutors, crime officers and medical officials amongst others to ensure proper management of domestic violence cases.”
He demanded that the MoGCSP play a lead role in coordinating response efforts for victims and survivors of gender-based violence.
Mr Ayala urged the Ministry to consider reviving the National Domestic Violence Coordination mechanism to outline guidelines on data collection, reporting violence, responding to emergency requests from victims and survivors of violence.
He called on the government to ensure that “Gender-based Violence is part of the pandemic management and recovery efforts. It is critical to collect data on Gender-based Violence to inform ongoing policy decisions relating to the post-COVID-19 recovery efforts.”
Plan International Ghana is an international non-governmental organisation that strives to advance children’s rights and equality for girls all over the world.
Source: GNA