By Philip Tengzu, GNA
Wa, (UW/R), Dec. 1, GNA – OXFAM, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), and its partners have engaged traditional and religious leaders in the Upper West Region on promoting positive social norms and addressing the negative social norms in the region.
The engagement, which formed part of the implementation of the European Union (EU)-funded ENOUGH project, was to involve the traditional and religious leaders in ending Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).
Available data indicated a marginal reduction in the reported cases of SGBV in the Upper West Region from 2021 to November 2023.
The data showed that 248 cases of SGBV were recorded in 2021 with 74 being males and 174 being females while in 2022, 200 cases were recorded out of which 35 were males and 165 were females, while 104 cases were recorded between January and November 2023 with 71 of them being males and 33 being females.
Issues of SGBV were rape, defilement; abduction; indecent assault, assault; attempted child marriage and threat of death.
Addressing the participants at the forum, Madam Thelma Hayford, the Gender Advisor for the ENOUGH project at OXFAM, explained that traditional and religious leaders were very influential people in society and could contribute significantly to addressing the issue of SGBV and other negative social norms.
“It is imperative we bring together the religious leaders and traditional leaders, they are the custodians of our customs and traditions, once we have their buy-in, we are assured that they will safeguard the interest of all members of the society,” she explained.
Madam Hayford observed that perpetrators of SGBV sought refuge in influential people in society, including traditional and religious leaders, to interfere with the prosecution of such cases making it more imperative to involve them in the fight against the menace.
The participants were also introduced to the available legal framework on SGBV, and to let the traditional leaders know their limit in the cases they could adjudicate.
Madam Charity Batuure, the Upper West Regional Director of the Department of Gender, indicated that the rate of SGBV in the region was alarming and stressed the need for concerted efforts to nib the practice in the bud.
Madam Batuure said traditional and religious leaders had a role to play in reducing the issue of SGBV if not ending it entirely.
“Emotional abuse is a silent killer because we cannot see it, but it is the one that is killing many people in our communities”, the Gender Director observed, and advocated a safe space for people to report SGBV.
She encouraged people who suffered SGBV to report to the appropriate authorities, including her department or the police for the necessary action to be taken against the perpetrators since there was trust in the court systems as far as issues of SGBV were concerned.
Some traditional and religious leaders at the forum pledged to promote positive social norms and women’s rights geared towards ending SGBV and IPV in their respective jurisdictions.
They recognised the urgent need for action to promote social norms that were sensitive to the well-being of women as well as to protect and promote the rights of women.
The traditional and religious leaders signed a declaration to affirm their commitment to, among other things, foster positive social change, uphold women’s rights, and ensure access to justice for survivors of gender-based violence.
Speaking at the forum, Naa Jaafar Natasun Pelpuo, the Chief of Biihe in the Wala Traditional Council, stressed the need for parents to develop a “friendly” relationship with their children to enable them report issues of abuse to their parents for action.
He said he had instituted some measures in his traditional area, including a watchdog committee to help curb the menace of teenage pregnancy in the area, which was yielding positive results.
The Queenmothers at the forum said they would lobby for queenmothers to play a role in counselling prospective couples as part of efforts to help curb the menace of Domestic Violence (DV) among couples.
Pognaa Fuseina Darimani, Paramount Queenmother of Guli, emphasised economic empowerment for young women before they married for them to support in caring for the family since the frustration of the man shouldering that responsibility also led to DV.
Gender Desk Officers, representatives of Civil Society Organisations, government agencies and departments among others attended the forum organised by OXFAM in partnership with Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), RUWA Ghana and the Upper West Regional Department of Gender.
GNA