Women told take advantage of the Domestic Violence Act

Nyinahin (Ash) Jan 22, GNA - Madam Aba Oppong, Gender and Reproductive=

Health activist, has appealed to victims of domestic violence to have the=

courage to seek justice in the courts. She said it was time they took their rights and those of children=

seriously to fend off any infractions. Madam Oppong was speaking at a day's forum for members of community-ba= sed anti-violence teams in the Atwima-Mponua District at Nyinahin. She said they should take advantage of the protection given to them by=

the Domestic Violence Act by reporting offenders to face the full rigors of the law. Madam Oppong said assault of women and children could no longer be treated as "purely family affair" that should be kept out of the public arena. She praised Women in Law and Development Africa (WILDAF), a woman's righ= t organization, and the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP), an NG= O, which over the years had been relentless in the crusade to shield women f= rom physical and psychological abuse. Mrs Opoku Agyemang, an Assistant Programme Officer of CEDEP, said the passage of the Domestic Violence Act, showed that given determined, well-focused and united campaign, the cultural ills against women in soci= ety could be removed. She appealed to district assemblies to assist the communities to form anti-violence teams to fight all kinds of violence and report offenders f= or p