DANIDA supports Ghana’s initiative to eliminate SGBV
A one-year project, in support of the government’s initiative to eliminate Sexual and Gender- Based Violence (SGBV) in Ghana, by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, with funds from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), has ended.
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The project, “ Ending Sexual and Gender- Based Violence (SGBV) in Ghana”, was aimed at sustainably reducing the incidence of SGBV in Ghana and also to improve service delivery from the Judiciary, in handling SGBV cases.
Furthermore, the project sought to enhance capacities of communities, and also organised men’s group to work in support of efforts made at preventing and reporting the incidence of Sexual and Gender- Based Violence, in the country.
Project forum
Speaking at the end of project forum in Accra, on Thursday, the Director for Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME), at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mr Mawutor Ablo, said, although the report on SGBV had dropped from 17,778 in 2014 to 15,740 in 2015, more needed to be done.
Elaborating on the project, Mr Ablo said the partnership involved a total amount of GHC1 million.
He said the programme sensitised religious and traditional leaders to better understand the damaging practices and consequences of the menace.
He further stated that the project fostered strong partnership with the media through the demystification of SGBV for journalists to facilitate gender-sensitive reporting.
This, he said, was to foster behavioural change, particularly related with issues of traditional and belief systems that promoted and condoned sexual and gender- based violence.
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Government commended
For her part, the First Secretary and Gender Focal Point of DANIDA, Ms Lena Hothes, commended the government on measures being put in place to eliminate gender-based violence in Ghana.
She said the “Ending Sexual and Gender- Based Violence (SGBV) in Ghana” project had impacted positively on attitudinal change of most citizens, pointing out that, the project focused on engaging and dialoging with key stakeholders such as judges, prosecutors, media practitioners and men as change agents, with the aim of creating a violence-free society for Ghanaian women and children.
Ms Hothes however said the issue of traditional belief, that prevented women from expressing their views, must be addressed.
She mentioned that gone were the days when particular professions were solely associated with men, adding that women contributed greatly to the development of the country, hence the issue of violence against them must be looked into by the government.
A Technical Adviser to the Gender Ministry, Ms Dinah Adiko, explained that although the project with DANIDA had ended, the ministry would continue to work to promote the rights of Ghanaian women and children and the ministry was already involved in advocacy programmes to educate stakeholders on issues in relation to SGBV.
Testimony
The Adontenhene of Jukwa-Krobo near Cape Coast in the Central Region, Nana Kwasi Arhin, sharing a change story said, there had been reduction in teenage pregnancy in his community with the introduction of the project in the town.
He recalled that at least three junior high school females used to get pregnant in his district, before they wrote their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BCEC), but with the staff of the Gender Ministry educating the people in the community, no pregnancy was recorded this year.
He added that as a form of punishment, girls who got pregnant before marriage were charged to provide ten iron sheets and the males asked to buy ten bags of cement as well as involving them in harsh communual labour