Research Report on Domestic Violence Launched

Three out of  ten women experience domestic violence in Ghana, according to a research report.

A study by the  Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre (Gender Centre)  reveals there has been a remarkable increase in reportage of violence cases since year 1999.

It measures that after two decades 28 percent of women still go through Domestic Violence,

Speaking at the launch of the Ghana Domestic Violence Research Report in Accra on Wednesday, the minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur  expressed her profound gratitude to the United Kingdom Government for supporting the research and study.

"For a very long time we haven't done a comprehensive nation-wide research on Domestic Violence."

"We did one in 1999 and  it shows that the figures are still the same" one out three women,after twenty years,   have still suffered domestic violence," she said.

"The challenges have been financial resources for the institution  that  have been  created  by Government and by  the  State of Ghana to  address  Domestic Violence and Gender-based violence,  the capacity and competence of the official  who  can address  and  then also,  the victim support, and rolling out prevention programs, creating more awareness    and   inculcating the value of non violence into  our  children right  from  primary  school is  inadequate."

The  Study also shows   that two  out ten men  also do experience domestic violence in Ghana with the commonest being psychological violence(7.9%) and 1.4 percent of it being sexual violence.

On Domestic Violence against men, the minister said:

"I think  we  have  largely ignored domestic violence against men and so  we  have  very  happy  this research  because  it  comes  out  statistics for us to address      Domestic Violence in a more holistic manner."

There  research found that between 2011 and 2013 54415 cases of sexual and gender-based violence was reported to the Domestic Violence Victims   Support (DOVVSU)   and 15885  cases of assault were also reported in the same year.

A report from the Commission of Human Right and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in the year 2011 and 2o13,  it resolved 826  gender-related cases and referred 155.

The research report was supported by the UK AID, Institute of Development Studies and the Ghana Statistical Service.

The ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is relying on the research launch a new campaign on Domestic Violence, according to the minister.

By Fiifi MALIK/ ghanaguardian.com