Beware of potential rapists - Gender Centre advises women

The Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre (Gender Centre) says the impact of sexual assault devastates the victims and called for stringent guidelines to adequately prepare women against rapists.

The centre has accordingly issued protective guidelines directing women to carry along pepper powder, a mace spray, insecticide spray, keys or a whistle to protect themselves against attackers.

Apart from the possibility of becoming pregnant, rape victims can also acquire deadly sexually transmitted diseases.

The guidelines, made available to Ghana News Agency at the weekend, said rape was so enormous that the victim might feel guilty and ashamed and experience fear, anger or depression.

The Gender Centre warned women that “if you are in the company of men in a drinking bar do not leave your drink unattended to, watch who pours your drinks so that they don’t add pills to make you weak or knock you out”.

It advised women to decline lift offers from strangers, avoid group of men if possible, as well as unnecessary favours from men.

The centre admonished women to be vigilant; watch men who are approaching them and always try to walk with confidence as though they know where they are going.

It said if one was attacked: “Tell the attacker that you are in a menstrual period, pregnant or have sexually transmitted disease like HIV and AIDS.”

The centre suggested that victims should try to shout, bite, kick or pull hard the man’s hairs, eyes, penis or testicles when they are attacked.

The fact about rape in Ghana is that 27 per cent of women have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime, while one in every three women has been fondled or touched against their will.

Available data also indicate that two out of 10 women had their first experience of sex against their will, while two in five women are harassed or coerced when they refuse their sex partners’ will.

Seven per cent of women have been forced to touch a man’s penis and six per cent have been threatened by a school-teacher or principal that their schooling will suffer if they do not have sex.

Forty per cent of women have been threatened with demands for sex before being given a job or having a favour done.

Studies also show that women of between 10 and 18 years are most at risk of sexual violence in all its forms.

According to the 2013 Amnesty International report, violence against women and girls in Ghana remains rife, with nearly 10,000 cases reported to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Police Service, while a chunk are thought to be under reported and not adequately addressed by the government.