WiLDAF calls for anti-sexual harassment policy
Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF-Ghana) has called for a national policy on anti-sexual harassment to end the increasing incidence of abuse against young girls and women.
They have also called on both private and public organisations to institute sexual harassment policies to curb instances of inappropriate sexual behaviour at the work place.
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The Programme Coordinator for Girl’s Empowerment Project at WiLDAF, Ghana, Ms Esenam Ahiadorme, made the call during a street campaign known as “the faces of violence campaign” aimed at creating awareness of gender-based violence.
Campaign
During the two-hour campaign, women and men stood at various vantage points in Accra to raise awareness of sexual and gender-based violence and its consequences on the victim, family and the nation as a whole.
The persons who played the role of victims posed as market women, porters, newly married brides, students, teachers, young boys and girls and displayed posters with various inscriptions.
Some of the inscriptions read "report sexual and gender-based violence to the police", "rape is a violation of rights", "unite to end violence against women and girls".
A woman who posed as a bride with her head bandaged with blood stains on it held a poster which read "I did not bargain for this" and "I am your wife, not your slave."
Another bride also displayed the inscription "women and girls are not slaves".
A woman who posed as a head porter carried a pan in one hand and had her eyes covered to show she had been physically assaulted and had a poster around her neck which read "I live in fear of rape because I live in the street".
Theme
The campaign was part of activities to commemorate this year's international day against gender-based violence.
The annual international campaign starts on November 25, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on December 10, a day set aside by the United Nations as Human Rights Day.
Globally, the theme for this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence is “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape”, while in Ghana the theme is “Commit to End Sexual Harassment and Rape in our Social Spaces”.
The Faces of Violence street campaign was organised by WiLDAF-Ghana, with support from the European Union and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, to set the tone for renewed conversations on gender-based violence and sexual harassment and rape.
Within the 16 days, some of the scheduled activities, according to WiLDAF, would include media engagements, street marches and other activities in some localities including Ayi Mensa and Kweabirim in the Eastern Region.
Call
A statement issued by the National Programme Coordinator of WiLDAF Ghana, Ms Melody Darkey, said the last couple of years had seen a global momentum on combating sexual assault in the workspace.
It, therefore, urged the government to adequately resource law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system to effectively administer laws on sexual harassment and rape.
It also called on the government to allocate and transfer funds into the Domestic Violence Fund to provide free medical care and other support for domestic and other gender-based violence survivors, including survivors of sexual harassment and rape as stipulated in the sections 8(3) and 29 of the Domestic Violence Act, 2007 as amended and its LI 2237.
