In recent months, AWDF has noticed with deep concern, a rise in the frequency of violence-related deaths and injuries, and domestic violence cases being reported by the various Ghanaian mediahouses. Not only does it seem that violence has increased, it also seems that it comes in a wider variety of instances, some increasingly brutal and others startlingly fatal.

In reaction to this, three of our staff put together this personal blog piece on a call to action against violence against women very recently. Barely two weeks after, the Ghanaian celebrity representative to the popular South Africa-based Big Brother Africa, a very visible and internationally broadcasted reality show, slapped a fellow female housemate in a shocking act of violence which had them both expelled from the show, and left the entire continent debating. Our Communications Officer, Nana Sekyiamah issued an emphatic disapproval of this action of violence by a male against a female, and this was captured on leading radio stations and by Big Brother’s website.

These events have prompted us on the need to always ensure the availability of educative and preventive materials for victims and potential victims as well as perpetrators, on Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women. Hence, this resource paper on what defines Domestic Violence and places to go to for safety, counselling, protection and violence-related support in several countries all over the continent of Africa.

Violence rates are rising everywhere, for a variety of reasons, and as Mr. Freeman Tettey, DOVVSU (Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit) Public Relations Officer said in an interview with The Times newspaper in Accra in March this year, there were 15, 495 reported cases of violence against women last year in Ghana, and 2,474 cases of woman-to-man violence cases in the same period. It is about time we increase public awareness and education of this negative situation in our societies.

For the Resource Paper on Violence Against Women (What to do, Where to go), please click the link below:

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

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About the African Women’s Development Fund

Over the past ten years, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) has blazed a trail for women’s rights and philanthropy across the African continent. AWDF is an African, not for profit, grantmaking organisation. Since the start of operations in 2001, AWDF has provided US$19 million in grants to 800 women’s organisations in 42 African countries.

AWDF’s grant making processes are uniquely designed to meet the needs of African women and activities include the provision of small and larger grants to African women’s organisations, capacity building support and a strong focus on advocacy and movement building.