Gender Advisor at Oxfam Ghana, Thelma Hayford, has advocated for a change in the approach to addressing issues related to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.

According to her, it is imperative for gender-based violence to be given the necessary attention to aid in tackling it.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing ’16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’ being championed by the United Nations, Ms Hayford emphasized the need for the inclusion of boys and men in the campaign.

She explained that activism on such issues over the years has primarily focused on women and girls, neglecting the diverse forms of abuse that men or boys also encounter.

“Let’s flip the script; we know that women and girls are the victims of SGBV, per the reports we receive, but also men experience this too. Over the years, we’ve seen an increase in sodomy and abuse of our boy child. So, let’s change the narrative and engage men as well to disabuse their minds of all the cultural norms and social norms that tend to enforce abusing their partners, wives, or sisters.”
Thelma Hayford

Furthermore, Ms Hayford emphasized the need for relevant laws to be set in motion in tackling the menace against both men and women.

“We need to let them know that the laws work, and the perpetrators have to stop. We need to bring more men on board to help us create this awareness.”
Thelma Hayford

Highlighting on the openness of women in sharing their experiences and encounters of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), Ms Hayford indicated that although the levels of reporting are improving, “the constraints still exist because of the fear of backlash, the lack of safe spaces for women and girls to voice their experiences”.

To this end, she urged government to prioritize gender-related matters through its budgetary allocations.

“The way we see it is how the government of the day is ready to rally for the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection, among others, and also the allocation of budgets, and that’s how we see the heart of the government.”
Thelma Hayford

Experiences of women with gender-based violence

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has revealed that approximately 94% of children between the ages of one and fourteen in Ghana have experienced one form of gender-based violence, while over 48% of Ghanaian women and girls have been sexually abused.

The United Nations, since 2008, annually embarks on the UNITE campaign, which runs parallel to the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence from 25th November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) until 10th December – Human Rights Day.

The year’s theme is dubbed: ‘Invest to prevent violence against women and girls’, forming part of efforts to end violence against women by the year 2030.

The campaign calls on citizens to show how much they care about ending violence against women and girls by sharing the actions they are taking to create a world free from violence towards women. This year’s campaign also calls on governments worldwide to share how they are investing in gender-based violence prevention.

According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), about 24.4 per cent of women between 15-49 years experience intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.

In addition, 19.2 percent of ever-partnered women aged 15-49 years experience intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence and 19.3 percent of women aged 20 to 24 years were first married or in union before their 18th birthday.