Enforce law on provision of free medical care to domestic violence victims – Gender activist

Gender activist and the Executive Director of Ark Foundation, Angela Dwamena-Aboagye is calling on the Ministries of Interior, Gender and Health, to ensure that the law that mandates the state to provide free medical care for victims of domestic violence is enforced.

According to her, most victims of domestic violence are not able to get the needed justice because they are unable to pay for the medical forms charged by the doctors, making it difficult for the police to prosecute perpetrators of the act because the required evidence isn’t provided to the court.

She stated that “we have a situation where the provision that talks about free medical care in the Act is not being enforced or is not being used in such a way that it will help the case of victims. The reason being that the doctors are charging; legally they are required to charge for signing the medical forms but it’s a very old regulation and right now the doctors are using their own discretion to charge all kinds of fees".

"Because of that, the victims cannot go to the hospital, and even when they go, they don’t go back for the medical forms because they cannot pay. And that is a big part of the docket that is being built for prosecution so if it doesn’t come, then the police are unable to investigate well enough to send to prosecution”.

She further indicated that although it is legal for doctors to charge for the signing of medical forms, she believes the health, gender and interior ministries can take up this matter to ensure domestic violence victims get free medical care as stated in the Domestic Violence Act 2007 (Act 732), section 8(3) by establishing it under the National Health Insurance Scheme or rather find a way of compensating the doctors.

“That is a ministerial issue, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Gender, and the Ministry of Health must take this matter up because it’s in the law and make sure that we either bring it under the National Health Insurance Scheme or find a way of compensating the doctors for writing those reports, otherwise many of the cases that we have on domestic violence and sexual and gender-based violence will be thrown out of court,” she said.

Speaking at a workshop organised by the Criminal Investigations Department on the Domestic Violence Act, Mrs Dwamena-Aboagye urged government to establish shelters that will help victims of domestic violence.

“In the Domestic Violence Act, for example, there is a way in which the committee shows how services must be coordinated in the country. So the police, social welfare, the hospital, medical personnel, other NGOs that provide services need to be coordinated in such a way that they can handle one specific case that has several aspects in a way that helps the victim and even the family of the victim”.