1 out of 3 Ghanaian women in relationships suffer abuse - Angela Dwamena-Aboagye

The Executive Director of the Ark Foundation, Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, has expressed worry about the surge in domestic abuse in the country, emphasising that one in three Ghanaian women in relationships have suffered abuse.

Speaking in a recent interview with Joy News, she pointed out significant gaps in the implementation of laws meant to protect victims of domestic violence, calling for urgent reforms to address systemic challenges.

"We (Ark Foundation) work with girls who have been abused by their fathers or their brothers and have children with their fathers. Or a woman who is running from her husband because he is strangling her to death. This is our human capital, and it is more endemic than we think.

"One out of three adult women in relationships have suffered abuse. 27 to 30 percent of women in any type of relationship have suffered intimate partner abuse, this is in the data it hasn't changed in the last ten years," she stated.

Angela Dwamena-Aboagye acknowledged that while Ghana has strong domestic violence laws, enforcement remains a critical issue.

She emphasised the challenges victims face in securing protection orders, which require legal representation and incur significant costs.

"You know in Ghana, we have the laws, but implementation becomes a problem, that has always been a big challenge, getting very important aspects of the laws implemented.

"Protection orders, for example, still victims need a lawyer to file for protection orders before the court, and lawyers cost money," she stated.

She noted that while the government claims to have allocated resources to the domestic violence fund, those working on the ground receive little to no support.

"For some reasons, the police are not all the time up to speed doing the protection orders. We have the domestic violence fund up and running, we hear the government has put money in it but those of us on the ground are getting next to nothing," she added.

She referenced a report by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), which estimates that domestic violence costs Ghana up to $286 million annually in lost productivity and medical expenses.

"I don't know why we will do this to a whole host of people who cost us up to $286 million annually. From an ISSER report time lost at work and treatment is $286 million," she noted.

She emphasised the ripple effect of domestic violence, which impacts families, workplaces, and the nation’s economy.

"When women suffer, the whole nation suffers," she stated, adding that the human and economic costs of domestic violence are far greater than many realise.

JKB/ ADG

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