A one-day training workshop organised for 50 frontline media personnel in Ghana’s three northern regions has ended with a call on media practitioners to engage in a consistent fight against gender-based violence.
The workshop was organised by the Domestic Violence Coalition (DV Coalition) in Wa, Upper West Regional capital, under the theme: “Enhancing the Capacity of Frontline Media Personnel in Responding to Gender-Based Violence.” It was aimed at helping the media to understand gender-based violence and its impact, police procedures, psychosocial services in existence and ethics in reporting and responding to gender-based violence.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Issahaku Salia, who made the call in a speech read for him by his deputy, Mr. Kale Caesar, lamented that, even though a number of violent acts had been reported to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, a great number of violent acts remained unreported as a result of discrimination and the fear of being further traumatised. He affirmed that it was time to expose all forms of violence in a manner that would bring perpetrators to book whilst not traumatising victims.
“Domestic violence and other forms of abuses against women are still prevalent in the Ghanaian society despite attempts to stem the tide,” he noted, adding “Until recently, domestic violence was seen in the Ghanaian setting as a trivial issue not worth investigating. This was quite understandable because such abuses, among spouses especially, are seen as inevitable and are deemed to be part of the marital progression.”
The Regional Minister, therefore, tasked media personnel to maximise their role as agents of change and reliable custodians of information by intensifying their coverage of issues of violence against women, men, children and the aged for educational and advocacy purposes. Alhaji Issahaku Salia appreciated the role being played by the Coalition in trying to build the capacities of the media in the three northern regions and urged all stakeholders to engage the media in human interest issues towards national development.
Welcoming participants to the workshop, Alhaji Bashiruddin Mahamudu Yahaya Kutia, a member of the Coalition’s steering committee, stressed that the time had come for the media to meet the growing expectations of the public by being more welcoming to the victims since “the perpetrator is known through the victim.” He, however, advised media practitioners to crosscheck facts before putting such a sensitive issue as gender-based violence to the public domain.
Mr. Adolf Awuku Bekoe, National Coordinator of the Coalition, acknowledged the contribution of the media so far in the fight, especially in helping to incubate the Domestic Violence Bill into law within a shorter time than the longer period it could have taken without their support. Mr. Bekoe said it took 5 years of “a serious fight” by interest groups in Ghana from 2002 (when government finally took up the bill) before the bill became law in 2007. He, however, expressed concern about what he described as “inappropriate” handling of gender-based cases. He decried the idea of sensationalising the situation as some media houses do and disapproved of bringing the victim and the perpetrator on such same platforms as live interviews on air. He noted that such channels could inflame passion and further traumatise the victims. Whilst calling on the press to admit their limits when involved in issues pertaining to gender-based violence by referring the reported cases to such appropriate quarters as the DOVVSU and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) among others, he also urged all stakeholders to intensify their campaign nationwide.
Mr. Bekoe also decried using ICT to promote pornography and debase women by posting videos and still pictures of sexual acts on the internet. He cited some cases in which some men, upon suffering an incurable breakup with their spouses, decided to hurt the women by luring or forcing them into what could be their last sexual encounter but which had been planned to be captured on film and afterwards posted on the internet or played on mobile phones as games to taunt the victims and their families. He had a tone of aggression in his voice when he added that such an act was an insult to the image of Ghana as a whole and the dignity of women everywhere.
He entreated the State to support the Ministry of Women and Children (MOWAC) and other stakeholders with robust budgetary allocations to help them effectively deliver on their mandates. He disclosed that, so far, the Coalition had only received support from CORDAID, a Dutch NGO, whilst MOWAC (which, according to him, enjoys only slim assistance from the State) had been receiving “massive” backing from the Dutch Government.
The Project Officer of the Coalition, Mrs. Ama A.Ofori-Antwi, who took the participants through “Understanding Gender-Based Violence and its Impact”, brought it to attention that many people go through various forms of abuse in relationships, at home and in the offices without realising it themselves. Gender-based violence and abuse, she noted, could be rooted in “socialisation”, encouraged by the “belief system” of a society and worsened by “internalisation”.
Touching on the impact, Mrs. Ofori-Antwi said the victims go through untold fears, social withdrawal, concentration deficiency, sleep disturbances, poor self-esteem, mood swings, depression and suicide instincts. Still on the impact, she said the perpetrators themselves could suffer public shame, rejection and jail terms as a result of abusing a person. She encouraged the media to empathetically welcome the victims who bring cases before them, avoid being judgmental of the victims and respect confidentiality whilst helping to advocate for change in policy and legislation when and where necessary. Mrs. Ofori-Antwi also underscored the need for the media to join the campaign for zero tolerance against gender-based violence and the need for them to help re-socialise young people by promoting gender issues in an ideal manner.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Alexander Amenyah, Upper West Regional Coordinator of DOVVSU, appreciated the contribution of the media so far but called for more cooperation, adding “Our doors are open.” The Coordinator said, even though lack of evidence on the part of some victims had remained a bottleneck for DOVVSU in bringing their perpetrators to justice, the Unit would not relent in effectively discouraging all forms of gender-based violence and ensuring that people are protected against any form of violence. But despite the submissions by the DOVVSU Coordinator and the praises showered on the Unit by the Regional Minister, subsequent reactions from participants who lauded the Coalition for the workshop pointed out that gathering information from DOVVSU has remained “unnecessarily difficult”.
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