Mrs Joana Opare, Board Chair of the Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE), has tasked media practitioners to strategise and ensure media platforms are used to trumpet the need to eliminate gender-based violence in society.
She noted that considering the effects of gender violence there was a need to create more awareness of its huge consequences, affecting not only victims, but the nation in its agenda for development.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), preliminary findings from the upcoming 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey Report indicates that 41.6 per cent women aged 15 to 49 years, who have had an intimate partner, have ever experienced at least one form of intimate partner violence.
“Let’s advocate more, lets follow up on cases through to the end and bring up issues of violence against women, so society will be well-informed” Mrs Opare stated in her presentation at the launch of the 2023 “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.”
The “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence” is an annual global campaign that starts from 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and runs until 10 December, the Human Rights Day.
The launch, which was organised by WISE in collaboration with African Women’s Development Fund, was on the theme: “Unite! Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls.”
Mrs Opare said: “The theme for this year’s campaign highlights the need for all of us to come together and use this period to strategise on the role we each need to play on the approach towards eliminating this canker in society.”
The Board Chair also underscored the need for all stakeholders to commit more resources to the fight against gender-based violence and therefore called on corporate entities to support efforts at ending gender-based violence by funding focused campaigns.
Madam Adwoa Bame, Executive Director of WISE, said the campaign created a forum for people from all levels of society to speak with one voice calling for the elimination of all forms of violence through raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional, and international levels.
She said as part of WISE’s activities for this year’s campaign, aside the launch; they would lobby the National Media Commission (NMC) to include gender sensitive reporting in its guidelines for local language broadcasting.
Madam Bame mentioned that there would also be a procession to distribute fliers through the streets of Kokrobite and an outreach program at the Kokrobite School Park.