WOMEN URGED TO REPORT CASES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (D/G, Monday, March 2, 2009. PAGE 40)

THE acting Upper East Regional Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Kenneth Adabayire, has urged women to report cases of domestic violence to the security agencies for appropriate action.
He said there was the need to protect the rights of women to enhance their development.
Mr Adabayire was speaking at a forum organised by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ghana to sensitise community and opinion leaders from five communities in the Bolgatanga municipality to the effects of domestic violence on families.
The participants were drawn from the Balungu, Kandiga, Sumbrungu, Zorko and Zuarungu communities.
According to Mr Adabayire, even though some men were victims of Domestic Violence, women were the worst affected.
He, therefore, urged the participants to fight for the rights of women, stressing that the passage of the Domestic Violence Act demonstrated the government’s commitment to gender equality.
“Once human rights are respected, it will help in the development and peaceful co-existence,” he said.
Mr Adabayire said although the courts were there to handle all cases of domestic violence, the best and preferred way of handling such cases was the alternative dispute resolution, and therefore urged the participants to explore that mode of solving problems.
The Regional Project Coordinator of FIDA-Ghana, Mr David Atinga, expressed worry at the high rate of domestic violence in the region, stressing that over the past two years, more than 300 of such cases had been received by his outfit.
According to him, those cases had either been handled directly by FIDA’s paralegal office in Bolgatanga or referred to other law enforcement agencies. “Eight cases ended up in court and they have sent very strong signals to perpetrators of women rights abuses that we are serious”, Mr Atinga said.
He commended organisations such as CHRAJ, Legal Aid Board and the Department of Social Welfare for their keen involvement in tackling the issues of domestic violence in the region.
The Principal Field Officer of the National Commission for Civic Education, Mr Gomez Adongo, enjoined the participants to do away with cultural practices in the region that infringed on the rights of women.
He, therefore, implored the participants to fight for the rights of women, stressing that the passage of the Domestic Violence Act demonstrated the government’s commitment to gender equality.