Upper East records 86 cases of assault in nine months

The Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVSU) of the Ghana Police Service in the Upper East Region, has recorded 86 cases of assault from January to September this year.

Other cases recorded within the same period included 24 cases of non-maintenance and 24 cases of offensive conduct and breach of peace.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Kojo Appiah, Upper East Regional acting Coordinator of DOVSU, made these known at a public forum to commemorate the 16 days of activism in Bolgatanga, sponsored by Action Aid Ghana, a non-governmental organization.

He said women formed the majority of victims while men were cited as perpetrators of the offences.

According to ASP Appiah, investigations conducted on assault cases, indicated that victims went through the ordeal long before reporting to the DOVSU, though the police had educated the public on domestic violence.

He said some of the victims reported to the police as a last resort because they wanted to avoid family ridicule, were constrained by traditional beliefs, and others with the excuse that they could not pay for medical bills.

ASP Appiah appealed to stakeholders to support the enforcement of the Legislative Instrument law (LI) on Domestic Violence act (Act 732), to punish perpetrators of violence. He said this would also define roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, especially victims of violence, and spell qualification for free medical care.