Violence against women, girls must be reported to the police

Superintendent Sylvester Asare, Head of Legal and Prosecution at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, has urged women and girls to report incidents of sexual abuse against them to the police.

That, he stressed, would help to identify and prosecute perpetrators, as well as minimise incidents of sexual violence in society.

“Sexual violence is pervasive, and it has become part of us, as a country, we need to do our best to control and reduce the menace to the nearest minimum,” he said.

Sup. Asare stated this at a Centre for Health Development and Research (CEHDAR) advocacy campaign meeting on sexual violence against women and girls held in Accra.

He urged community and church leaders, particularly mothers, to avoid addressing sexual violence-related situations at home and to always report such cases to authorities.

The police officer said anyone who was sexually abused in the country is entitled to justice and does not have to pay a fee to seek redress.

“Now this is how the system works, if you go to court, the case will be heard as the state versus the alleged offender, so the Republic must bear all the cost, as the victim is assisting the republic to do its work,” he said.

Sup. Asare urged victims to disclose violence against them immediately because incidents of assault are a game of evidence.

“When an incident happens, there is certain information that the doctor may need in addition to others and waiting to report cases after weeks or months is not advisable,” he noted.

In a speech read for her, Madam Lariba Zuweira Abudu, Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, said sexual violence disproportionately affects women and has devastating consequences for victims such as physical injuries, mental health problems, and poor well-being.

She observed that sexual assault had long-term, severe implications, including persistent inequalities between men and women, which limit women’s and girls’ ability to reach their full potential mentally, physically, educationally, and even in retaining jobs.

“These consequences are not only life-changing for the women concerned but also for their families, communities and wider societies, as gender inequalities become entrenched,” she said.

The minister urged all and sundry to protect vulnerable young girls and families.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in every three women, about 736 million women, are subjected to physical or sexual abuse from an intimate partner or sexual violence from a non-partner.

Sadly, the figure has remained unchanged over the last decade. By the time they reach their mid-twenties, one in every four young women aged 15 to 24 who have been in a relationship would have experienced sexual abuse by an intimate partner.

The statistics are alarming, as Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions with the highest prevalence rates of intimate partner violence among women aged 15 to 49, ranging from 33 to 51 per cent.