By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Sept 14, GNA – RUWA-Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organisation working to end Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV), has condemned an assault on a woman by her brother over a domestic issue in Wa in the Upper West Region.
It has also helped the woman (survivor) to report the case to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service in the region.
This was in a statement signed by Mr Masud Aziz Rauf, Executive Director, RUWA-Ghana and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale.
Giving details of the assault, it said the survivor was a 21-year-old woman, who was brutally beaten by her brother over a trivial matter of pouring dirty water in front of his door at Wa.
It said the incident occurred on Monday, September 04, 2023, when the survivor was cleaning the front view of her room and did not hear her brother’s questions because she was on a phone call.
“Her brother then attacked her with fists and sticks, injuring her hand. The survivor’s sister-in-law intervened to stop the assault, but her brother returned to beat her again as soon as she (sister-in-law) left,” the statement explained.
The survivor then reported the case to the DOVVSU of the Ghana Police Service with the help of RUWA-Ghana.
She also obtained a medical report from the hospital to support her police report while her medical examination fee of GHc300.00 was paid by Ms Thelma Akyere Hayford, Gender Advisor at Oxfam in Ghana.
According to the statement, the attacker, who is a tricycle rider, was arrested and taken to the police station, where he admitted beating his sister claiming that he did so to correct her from being disrespectful.
It added that the brother of the victim also confessed that he had threatened to kill her or drive her out of their father’s house on few occasions.
“He said that the threat was only a scary tactic to make her more respectful.”
It said the attacker, was however, released on bail on September 6, 2023, after his mother and the President of the Tricycle Riders Association of Wa, pleaded with the survivor to withdraw the case.
“The survivor agreed to their plea and informed the DOVVSU officer in-charge about her decision. The attacker was made to sign an undertaking indicating that he would not commit such an act again.”
Meanwhile, RUWA-Ghana has expressed concern over the prevalence of SGBV in the Upper West region and the tendency of survivors to withdraw their cases due to family and societal pressure.
“The organisation calls for more awareness and action against SGBV and urge women and girls to report cases of violence to the authorities.”
“RUWA-Ghana also commended the survivor for showing some form of boldness by reporting her brother to the Police but regretted that she had to withdraw the case.”
The statement said “RUWA-Ghana also regrets that poor victims are compelled to cough out GHc300.00 examination fee, a burden, which tends to discourage many victims from reporting assault cases.”
It called on stakeholders to put pressure on the government to come out with a clear policy on taking the burden away from survivors.
GNA