Report husbands who don’t eat your food - DOVSSU charges wives

Central Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victims’ Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr George Appiah-Sakyi has charged wives to report their husbands who refuse to eat their food.

Mr Appiah-Sakyi asserted that a husband's refusal to eat his wives food amounts to emotional abuse and should be reported by unhappy wives.

Speaking at a meeting with the leaders of churches in the Cape Coast metropolis on terrorism and other security issues, Mr Appiah-Sakyi added that women can also report husbands who come home late.

“If your husbands refuse to eat your food and make you unhappy and cause you emotional pain, you can also report them to the police,” he said.

He further added that, “If your husband comes home late and causes you to be unhappy, you can make a case at DOVSSU”.

Mr Appiah-Sakyi said emotional abuses were also offences punishable under the Domestic Violence Act 732 of 2007.

He noted that though these were offences that could be punishable, many people do not know this and continue to perpetuate such offences.

Mr Appiah-Sakyi stated that many people only report physical abuses and not emotional abuses.

“Some husbands even seize the certificates of their spouses and prevent them from working,” he noted.

Mr Appiah-Sakyi explained that anything that made one jittery, unhappy and uncomfortable in a domestic relationship constituted an abuse under the Domestic Violence Act 732 of 2007.

He noted that many people were suffering in the domestic environment, a situation that is preventing them from maximising their God-given potential.
Punishment

Mr Appiah-Sakyi said anyone found guilty of such offences might be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison or fined 500 penalty units which was equivalent to GHS6,000 or both.

“In some instances, the court can ask the offender to compensate the victim or may even be asked to vacate the home”.