Story by: Ishmael Barfi
As today, Sunday, 10th December 2023 marks the 16th Day of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the United Nations Population FunUNFPA) Ghana is advocating for improved support systems for victims and survivors in communities across the country.
According to the UNFPA Ghana, there is a need for Ghana to have a well-structured effective, and efficient support system to help victims and survivors of gender-based violence to heal and move on in life.
The UNFPA Programme Officer for Gender, Mr. Faisal Bawa made the passionate call during the 12th photo unveiling under the 16 Shades of Abuse picture unveiling project held at the Center for Gender Studies and Advocacy, University of Ghana, Accra.
He indicated that, for the data to look good, collectively as a country, the service delivery, and how women and abused persons receive support is very important.
“We need to look at support statistics. A system that is available nationwide, even within the institution, within the University of Ghana”, he said.
Scene from the event
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a campaign that is run by UNFPA Ghana and the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection from every 25th November to 10th December.
To him, how people can report issues of abuse and get the relevant and needed support is critical in the fight to end gender-based violence in homes, schools, and communities.
The availability of avenues for gender-based site support people to report needs to be visible in schools and communities to curb the menace.
“If you’re able to let people know that look, the system can support you, people will be able to speak against and then be able to take decisions”, he noted.
Touching on some measures that can be put in place to curb the menace, UNFPA officer for Gender, Faisal Bawa reiterated the need to hold perpetrators accountable as well as let people know that there is a cost for an action when you take it.
“Holding perpetrators accountable will kill the issues of people thinking that they can get away with hence the need to look at the court and the security agencies”, he advocated.
Prevention he said Is another crucial area that needs to be looked at citing issues of socialization, culture, and impunity.
“How are we socializing young people when it comes to issues of violence and abuse? What are we telling our boys? What are we telling our girls from the beginning? Some negative cultural practices that we know. How do we ensure that we engage our traditional system to be able to deal with it is very important”, he admonished.
Referring to the Ministry of Chieftaincy developing a policy on religion, he noted the need to see how as a country we can use the policy to address some practices within religious organization that is perpetrating violence.
UNFPA Ghana Advocates for improved support system for Gender Based Violence survivors
“Most important for me is how do we engage men and boys. And I’ve said it, we must engage men and boys to let men know that you can be masculine, but positive masculinity. You can be masculine but supportive”.
To be able to achieve the above, the UNFPA officer for Gender Faisal Bawa called on stakeholders to collectively work to produce very accurate data to see where “we are in terms of the statistics, gender, abuse, violence, where we are and how we are doing”.
On her part, Benedicta Sarfoa Asamoah, the Team Lead for the 16 Shades of Abuse picture unveiling explained that it is a form of allowing young photographers and creatives to come up with something creative about abuse, using photos.
“So now you are telling us the brilliance of empowerment or the dimness of abuse using a photograph or using a picture”.
According to her, the birth of 16 shades of abuse is a result of Ghana being a typical country where different forms of violence do not come into play in conversations and discussions.
“So due to that, this year, UNFPA Ghana decided to have a creative and innovative piece to it, which birthed 16 shades of abuse”, she noted.
Scene from the event
Giving a breakdown of the 16 shades of abuse, she disclosed that, UNFPA opened a call for all photographers in Ghana to apply and then send in at least a maximum of one photo to go through some various procedures.
Selecting the best 16, Benedicta Sarfoa Asamoah noted that, all the forms of violence were looked at, be it economic, verbal violence, psychological or emotional violence, and sexual violence.
This she said is to ensure that at the end of the campaign, all the forms of violence spoken of are showcased hence not being overlooked.
“They all deserve the equal spotlight and we have to ensure that everyone gets to know about it and we all fight against it with one voice”, he reiterated.
Adding that, “we are trying to involve all relevant stakeholders so that we come together with one voice against gender-based violence and also create awareness on it”.
“We have been to the Ghana National Mosque. We have been to Movenpick, We have been to various places the like British Council, and the British High Commission, Mrs. Asamoah stressed.
“We’re hoping to make it bigger and involve all the regions in Ghana to hear about this. We will be organizing a master class for the photographers to encourage them to do more, hence championing and fighting against gender-based violence.
“16 Shades of Abuse” is a bold and impactful initiative that aims to inspire positive change in the fight against GBV through the compelling medium of photography and art.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com
