For the past few months, our radios and air spaces have been blasting out and vibrating with hair-raising acts of violence against women and children. What concerns us is the obvious disparity between the levels of violence before, and the levels currently. The magnitude of violence in Ghana is now overwhelming, and calls for immediate action from as many quarters as possible. The likely question on people’s minds will be “What are the various female activists in town doing? This, for us, is a very relevant question that requires prioritized and immediate action as its answer.

Be it due to complacency or lack of commitment to issues, we are not yet certain, but we definitely have seen a decrease in awareness creation and public campaigns against Domestic Violence in the country. Our media houses focus more on political issues and front-page scandals, amongst others, since these are what generate the huge amounts of revenue they desire. National issues surrounding Gender, Women, Children, and Empowerment have become de-prioritised in these media, only receiving central treatment once in every long while, or when prominent institutions and iconic figures make mention of them, which is often a momentary occurrence rarely sustained by the media stations.

Time was, when the “big guns” of women empowerment, female issues, and gender initiatives in Ghana all played very active roles before and during the 16days of Activism Against Violence Against Women, an event celebrated from 25^th November to 10^th December every year. All of a sudden this has ceased, and this event is marked by a few fluttering banners in inconspicuous locations in a few capital points in the country, a few newspaper and journal adverts with little stimulation or excitement to action, and very restrained, unexciting discussions in poorly publicized media programmes and forums. I vividly remember when we had attention-grabbing posters of abused women and children with inscriptions on them at vantage traffic lights in the capital which educated both literate and illiterate on the unacceptability of violence and abuse. This was an effective method of sparking debates and discussions among passengers in cars, taxis and tro-tros and even on pedestrian-walks. Remember that violence is no respecter of persons, class, profession nor public standing, and anybody at all could fall victim to it at any point in time.

From several recent reports coming in from Ghanaian media houses, Domestic Violence has taken on a new and deadly trend where abusers have progressed from physical battery to fatal attacks on both spouses and children. These attacks are often shown, post-occurrence, to have had murderous intent, and at times bear inherent traits of lunacy or mental illness. If this does not call for immediate governmental, national, and societal intervention, nothing does. Below is a catalogue of some of the recent reports on violence from random points and mediums:

• Man kills wife, commits suicide, 15^th May, 2012
• Father arrested for attempts incest with daughter, 16^th May, 2012
• Rapist kills two siblings, wounds mother, 15^th May, 2012
• Man kills his two kids, stabs pregnant wife, 3^rd May, 2012
• Man slashes wife’s throat for ‘daring’ to divorce him, 10^th May, 2012
• Pregnant woman dies from stab wounds, 4^th May,2012
• Trader cuts ex-lovers scrotum, testicles out, 7^th May, 2012
• Cop rapes married woman, 7^th May, 2012
• Man throws improvised explosive devices at 4 children for disturbing his siesta.
• Woman, 22, stabbed to death by boyfriend, 20^th April, 2012
• Fetish priest in court for murdering lover, 19^th April, 2012

“A suspected sex maniac has allegedly shot and killed two siblings and wounded their mother after raping their elder sister in the bush at Dukoto Junction in the Amenfi East District in the Western Region…………………”

“Police in Kumasi have commenced investigations into the death of a 22 year lady said to have been stabbed by her boyfriend at Oduom. The incident reportedly happened soon after *Maame Frema’s family told her boyfriend with whom she has a child that they could not continue the relationship. The victim is said to have reported her boyfriend’s abusive behavior to the family………………….”

“*Nana Sika Manim, a 35-year old fetish priest, on Thursday appeared before the Kade District Magistrate’s Court charged with murdering his 19-year-old girl friend……”

“Emotions took the better part of a 34-year-old man when he allegedly slaughtered his wife on a farm last Saturday after the woman had threatened to divorce him, The woman, whose name was given as *Akua Boaminh, was the mother of five children, including a two-year-old she was nursing before her death. According to the police, when the deceased’s body was discovered in the bush, it lay supine, with the face covered with a scarf, while the hands were tied to a tree. The body, stained with blood, was almost covered with ants.”

*names changed to protect their identity

Reading and listening to these heart-breaking stories of violence impresses more deeply in us, the need for women and female-focused organisations in Ghana to be more proactive and set up strategies to deal with all forms of violence, before the fatal happens. AWDF is not left out in this struggle to create a violence-free Ghana and Africa and will continue to use its programme that supports the 16days of Activism Against Violence Against Women to support women’s organizations across the continent, to create awareness and literally “make noise “through various activities to commemorate the event. AWDF has supported this event from 2003 to date, and has provided financial supports to over 105 women’s groups from 25 African Countries to the tune of over $USD 97,000. From our 2011 analysis of applications received from across the continent towards the 16days of activism we realised that just a few of the applications came from Ghana; the period was silent and most women’s groups were not heard or seen undertaking any serious or extensive public awareness campaigns and activities on violence against women, which is very uncharacteristic of the Ghanaian Civil Society community.

The current worsening trends, as seen, heard and read in the media is a clarion call for all women’s rights organisations to take awareness creation and education extremely seriously, because, who knows whom the next victim will be? No, don’t look over your shoulder.

Hilda de-Souza

Rose Buabeng

Gifty Anim

(Grants Department – AWDF)