Thursday, June 17, 2010

June 2 - 3. A Conference on Ghana's Domestic Violence Act

On Tuesday and Wednesday I attended a two day conference on the status of Ghana’s implementation of it’s 2007 Domestic Violence Act, which was put on by Action Aid Ghana and the Ark Foundation. Both myself and another CCI intern, Joanne Pontbriand attended as WiLDAF representatives.

It was quite encouraging to see the number of participants at the conference, and to realize that there is a very healthy network of groups committed to fighting against domestic violence in Ghana, including NGOs, the Police Service, governmental agencies, social workers, medical professionals, and lawyers and members of the judiciary. (As a matter of fact, I actually spoke with the judge that had asked the day before whether I was up on charges.)

Ultimately, however, the conference concluded that Ghana is a long way from fully implementing the Act. The most glaring problem, it was agreed, is that no Regulations have been passed under the Act prescribing such things as protection order forms, training sessions for police and court officials, or the provision of financial assistance to victims. In addition, a fund that the Act calls for to support victims of domestic violence has yet to be set up, with the result that many women can’t afford to bring domestic violence cases to court and the police can’t afford to effectively investigate complaints.

I was quite unpleasantly surprised to speak with a couple of police officers working in the Domestic Violence Victims’ Support Unit who seemed to believe that in the absence of such Regulations they were unable to charge individuals under the Act, which of course is not the case. Clearly, there is a lack of understanding of the Act and its implications not just among ordinary women, but also among members of the special police unit designed to keep them safe from abuse.

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