By Freda Mwini/Osman Seidu Nipa, GNA
Wa, (UW/R), May 18, GNA – The Rural and Urban Women’s Association (RUWA Ghana) has organised a debate competition among some basic schools in the Wa Municipality and Wa West District as part of activities to mark this year’s International Day of the Family.
The debate on the topic: “Is Sexual and Gender-based Violence and other discrimination more caused by sociocultural issues than social media?” was part of efforts to educate young people on Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV).
Four He-For-She clubs from the Fallahia and Busa basic schools in the Wa Municipality, and from the Dorimon and Vieri basic schools in the Wa West District, participated in the debate held in Wa at the weekend.
The initiative was part of the He-For-She engagements under the Empowering Girls, Boys, Women and Men through Creativity and social media to Break the Silence on SGBV for Gender Transformation in the Upper West Region of Ghana (Enough) project implemented by RUWA-Ghana.
The project was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) under the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit’s (GIZ) Support to Human Rights, Gender Equality and Civil Society project.
Speaking at the event, Mr Masud Aziz Rauf, Executive Director of RUWA Ghana, said the project was designed to help combat SGBV by exposing young people to the negative effects of SGBV at an early stage.
“We know that there are issues of gender-based violence and other forms of discrimination in this part of the country.
This project, therefore, aims at catching the students young so that if they are familiar with the issues of SGBV and know its negative effects on the survivors and the society, they will desist from practising it and serve as advocates against it”, he explained.
Mr Rauf urged the participants to extend the message beyond the debate grounds to their homes and communities to educate their siblings and friends on SGBV.
ASP Stella Niabi, Upper West Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), encouraged the school children to speak up against SGBV and all forms of abuse in their families and communities.
She urged them to report such abuses to DOVVSU for the necessary actions to be taken against the perpetrators.
Ms. Linda Dassah of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) also urged children not to suffer in silence when abused.
“If you are abused in any way, take it upon yourself to report to the right person or the right authorities.
Speak out to somebody you trust and don’t keep quiet or be silent about any violence or abuse you might face in your school or even at home or in your community”, she said.
Other stakeholders at the event were Pognaa Amamata Mumuni, Wa Municipal Girl Child Coordinator, Madam Kutun Abdulai, Wa Municipal Chairperson, Federation of Persons with Disabilities, and teachers from the participating school.
The participating schools were presented with citations, sanitary pads, and exercise books, among others.
GNA
Kenneth Odeng Adade