Daily Graphic, Pg 11, Dec. 2/12/08
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
AS part of activities to mark this year’s 16 days of activism against gender violence, Women in Law and Development (WiLDAF) has given awards to eight institutions for their role in helping to curb gender-based violence in the country.
They are the Gender Centre, the Domestic Violence Coalition, Leadership and Advocacy for Women (LAWA) Ghana, the Law Reform Commission, the Ark Foundation, FIDA-Ghana, the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service and the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs.
The 16 days of activism is held from November 27 every year. This year's celebration is being held on the theme "Human Rights for Women: Human Right for All".
A lecturer at the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo, in an address said “daily, all over the world, women are abused by colleagues, friends, family members and intimate partners”.
She said violence had a significant impact on the health and life expectancy of women and that the World Bank estimates that rape and domestic abuse accounted for five per cent of healthy years of life lost to women of reproductive age in developing countries.
The National Programmes Co-ordinator of WiLDAF, Ms Bernice Sam, said the time had come for people to shun violence and seek the welfare of the abused.
Nana Sekyima of the African Women Development Fund (AWDF) commended gender activists and said Ghana was a shinning example to other African countries who had fought for years for the passage of the Domestic Violence Act.
She said the AWDF supported women in areas of human rights and peace building.
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