Religious bodies must also desist from condoning and conniving with gender based violence perpetrators in the name of religion but rather empower women and the vulnerable to break the cycle of poverty through the acquisition of skills.
Mr Adu Gyamfi, a senior lecturer at the Department of Population and Health at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), said domestic violence issues must not be viewed as a private matter but a public one that required national attention.
He said this at a day’s sensitization workshop on the causes, effects and prevention of SGBV and the Domestic Violence Act, held on Tuesday for leaders of women groups from six selected districts of the Central Region.
The workshop, organized by the Domestic Violence Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service in collaboration with the Central Regional Coordinating Council, was funded by the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA).
It was aimed at bridging the gender inequality gap by educating women to understand what constitutes SGBV, its effects and the way forward.
“If you live in a neighborhood and your neighbor is always causing problems, inform some opinion leaders in the community or possibly the police,” Adu Gyamfi said.
He said SGBV issues thrived in many Ghanaian societies as a result of economic dependency on males, infidelity perceptions, irresponsible parenting, lack of women empowerment and religious beliefs as well as societal acceptance of stereotyping gender roles.
Adu Gyamfi said the situation was a national canker which required the collective efforts of all stakeholders to create the needed awareness for the elimination of gender-based violence and abuse.
The Regional Coordinator of DOVVSU, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) George Appiah-Sakyi said prosecution of such cases sometimes becomes difficult as the complainants make a’ U-turn’ and plead on behalf of the perpetrators..
He advised parents and family members to show more interest in SGBV issues and desist from settling such cases.
He said DOVVSU since its inception in the Central Region in 2002 had recorded more than 25,000 cases of SGBV including non-maintenance and parental neglect, while a little over 800 cases have already been recorded in 2016 alone.
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.
Mr Tetteh Tuwor, a resource person from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), who took the participants through the role that CHRAJ plays in fighting SGBV issues, advised the women to pursue their cases whenever they felt unsatisfied with any court ruling.
By Afedzi Abdullah, GNA
