By Edward Williams
Ho, July 11, GNA – The Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and the Government of Norway is holding a five-day sensitisation workshop for community actors to help prevent and respond to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Ghana.
The training programme ongoing in Ho, is funded under the Government of Norway funded project; “Promoting Peace and Security in Africa to Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”.
The Women, Peace, and Security Institute (WPSI) of the KAIPTC is spearheading the workshop with actors from the Police, Ministry of Gender, Department of Social Welfare, Civil Societies Organizations (CSOs), Media, Faith-Based Organizations (FBOS), traditional and communities leaders, the health professionals and the Judiciary.
Air Commodore George Kweku Arko-Dadzie, Deputy Commandant, KAIPTC in a short opening ceremony noted that GBV was a pressing issue as addressed by international instruments such as the Convention on the Eliminations of All Forms of Violence Against Women (CEDAW), UNSC Resolution 1325 and Resolution 1820, among others.
He said research conducted by the WPSI in 2020 revealed that the high rate of GBV was due to factors like lack of local actors’ capacity.
“An impactful approach to eliminate this menace has been to re-examine the approaches adopted in engaging with local actors in the delivery of sensitisation and advocacy tools in our communities.”
Air Commodore Arko-Dadzie said the training was tailor-made to provide a cross section of local actors with requisite knowledge and skills set to effectively prevent and respond to GBV in Ghana and on the Africa continent.
He noted that the programme would foster an environment of collaboration and networking enabling actors engaged in the prevention and response to GBV and to forge valuable partnership and share experiences in addressing GBV in Ghana.
Air Commodore Arko-Dadzie said it was the expectations that the training would contribute to strengthen capacity of participants and add value to their professional life as they continued to support and promote the fight against GBV.
He noted that Gender-Based Violence was a big challenge, especially at the community levels.
Air Commodore Arko-Dadzie urged participants to reaffirm their enduring commitment to preventing and responding to GBV in Ghana adding that “we cannot underestimate the significance of our collective efforts in combating Gender-Based Violence.”
Air Commodore Arko-Dadzie commended the Government of Norway for its continuous support to the KAIPTC which had enabled the Centre to organise the programme and added that their commitment to promoting peace and security in Africa was appreciated and recognisable.
Mrs Thywill Eyra Kpe, Volta Regional Director, Department of Gender, noted it was important that GBV was addressed at the home being the basic level to prevent its expansion.
She said although public data from the police revealed that over 80 percent of the cases of domestic violence were against women, data from the Ghana Health Service for 2022 showed that more men were reporting for domestic violence than women.
Mrs Kpe said it was important to demystify Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and understand how gender stereotypes were driving data gathered as a nation to enable it to be fully addressed.
She noted that SGBV had huge economic cost for Ghana and other countries in the world adding that Ghana spent about GHC 18 million going into SGBV response.
Dr Senanu Djokoto, Acting Volta Regional Director of Health Services, said the health service mostly encountered GBV because of medical situations that arose from intimate partner violence, sexual violence by non-partners, and early marriages.
He said sexually transmitted infections with HIV being most undesired, unwanted pregnancies, teenage pregnancies and higher rate of its related complications and mental health illnesses were some health implications and complications of GBV.
Dr Djokoto noted that the primary goal of the health service was to improve the health status of every person living in the country including adolescents and young people including preventing violence, strengthening policy frameworks, and improving response services to victims and survivors.
He said the health service was using its platforms to advocate for the Sexual and Reproductive Health, training of the health of staff, intensifying HIV prevention strategies and multi-stakeholder engagements to mobilise the community against teenage pregnancies.
Dr Djokoto said low rate of reporting, resource gaps, inadequate number of trained health professionals and lack of consensus on the limits to which the health service could go with in-school education of young adolescent remained challenges.
Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Augustus Awity, Chief Director, Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC), said SGBV was a serious violation of human rights and must not be tolerated in any form.
He noted that it was important to protect the vulnerable in communities by providing constant sensitisation, fully enforcing laws, and regularly building capacities of state and non-state actors to enable them to address such issues effectively.
GNA