Group pushes for offences court

COALITION on Domestic Violence Legislation in Ghana (DV Coalition) has called for the establishment of two gender-based and sexual offences court in the district courts to increase women’s access to justice in the country.

According to a report released by the DV Coalition dubbed: “State of the Nation’s Response to Sexual and Gender-based Violence Response,” most women living in poverty have limited or no access to formal channels of obtaining access to justice.

According to the group, the judicial processes still remain cumbersome and very expensive.

The release noted that the cost of procuring a medical report, without which prosecution is impossible, was prohibitive.

The report recommended that medical-legal response to sexual and gender-based violence issues should be coordinated between the range of actors and sectors involved in the prevention of and response to sexual violence.

It further explained that the response of state institutions to domestic violence was hampered by inadequate legislation, lack of protocols, dismissal of cases due to police officers and the insensitivity of staff of state institutions.

Speaking with Today in an interview, National Coordinator of DV Coalition, Mr. Adolf Awuku Bekoe, maintained that Ghana was best in passing laws but worse in their implementation.

The domestic violence law was passed in 2007 but it was just last year that its regulations were enacted after almost a decade.” he added.

According to him, Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), which is mandated to handle such issues, needs to be strengthened for an effective implementation of the Domestic Violence Act 2007 (Act732).

The National Coordinator of DV Coalition, noted that the current module of gender-based violence training at the police training school was not comprehensive enough, neither was it an examinable course.