By Opesika Tetteh Puplampu
Accra, Nov. 26, GNA – The Divine Torch Foundation, an NGO, has urged the government, digital service providers, communities, and families to intensify measures to prevent and respond to the rising cases of online violence against women and girls.
This call comes as Ghana joins the global community to observe this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
The annual international campaign, observed from November 25 to December 10, serves as one of the world’s most influential platforms for mobilising collective action against violence targeting women and girls.
Initiated in 1991 during the Women’s Global Leadership Institute, the movement continues to highlight emerging and persistent threats to women’s safety across all spaces.
This year’s global theme: “UNITE! Stop Digital Abuse Against All Women and Girls”, focuses attention on the growing prevalence of technology-facilitated violence, including cyberbullying, identity theft, online stalking, the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, sextortion, and misogynistic digital attacks.
According to the Foundation, such acts constituted⁵ serious violations of rights and dignity, often causing long-term emotional, psychological, and economic harm.
In a statement, Ms Louisa Atta Akpoto, Founder of the Divine Torch Foundation, said the rapid evolution of digital technology had created new avenues for abuse, with many women and girls facing threats, harassment, and exploitation online.
She stressed that digital violence must be treated with the same seriousness as physical or psychological abuse.
“We cannot talk about empowerment without talking about safety—both online and offline,” she noted, adding that the impacts of digital abuse were “real, far-reaching, and often permanent.”
Ms Akpoto explained that online harassment and harmful digital content silence women’s voices, discourage their participation in leadership and professional spaces, and create unsafe environments that hindered equal opportunity.
As part of activities marking the 16 Days of Activism, the Foundation would undertake a series of nationwide sensitisation and advocacy programmes, including radio and media campaigns on digital safety, school and community outreach sessions, digital protection workshops for women and girls, advocacy engagements calling for improved cybercrime response systems, and storytelling and awareness initiatives focusing on prevention and survivor support.
The foundation also encouraged parents, teachers, guardians, and youth leaders to actively guide young girls on responsible online behaviour and to help build safe, supportive environments for victims of digital abuse.
The Foundation called on the government to strengthen cybercrime legislation, enhance reporting systems, and ensure timely prosecution of online abusers, urging telecommunication companies and social media platforms to improve user protections and to act swiftly on harmful content.
It further appealed to men and boys to become allies in challenging sexist online behaviour and supporting women’s digital rights, while encouraging communities to stop circulating harmful content and to stand firmly with survivors.
It also advised women and girls to prioritise their digital safety, report abuse, and seek support when threatened.
The Divine Torch Foundation is a community-focused, women-led organisation, dedicated to advocacy, empowerment, leadership development, and social transformation.
It works through community outreach, gender education, and support initiatives aimed at promoting safer and more resilient communities.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Sawer/Lydia Kukua Asamoah