The continuous struggle to liberate and empower women and girls will never be complete without the history of the Mirabal Sisters,political activists in the Dominican Republic who were assassinated in 1960. This sad event marked the historical significance behind the celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Annually,the celebration is done for 16 days starting from 25th November – 10th December with the use of the official color orange which symbolizes a better future without the pervasive human rights violation that affects 1 out of 3 women and girls worldwide.
It is a known fact that some of these violences against women and girls are sometimes done consciously and unconsciously.
Hence it is of great importance for us all to understand what violence against women means if we have to eliminate violence against women.
The United Nations defines domestic violence as “any act of general abuse or violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women”. This includes threats such as acts of coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life. Thus, domestic violence can take any form in the case of rape in the context of conflict, marriage, relationship and by strangers, sexual harassment or advances,traffick for sexual exploitation or domestic servitude, child brides(married before the age of 18) and so forth and so on.
It is therefore not surprising that in Ghana as at 2008, reports from the Institute of Development Studies, Ghana Statistical Service and its associates showed that 38.7% of ever-married Ghanaian woman between the ages of 15 and 49 had experience physical, emotional and sexual violence by a husband or partner at some point in their lives.
Also alarming is the fact that almost 200 million women and girls alone today have undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or cutting in 30 countries. According to some few publications in the United Nations International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation in 2016, in most countries the majority of girls are cut by age 5. Research also shows that in some countries, up to one-third of adolescent girls report their first sexual experience as being forced. In the European Union, 45% to 55% of women have experienced sexual harassment since the age of 15.
As Sir Patrick Stewart once said “it is in our hands to stop violence towards women. Based on this premise, I firmly believe that if for nothing at all we should be touched by the dangers our young girls, our sisters, future mothers, lawyers, teachers etc are facing. These are very particular cases where we must all rise up and kick against all forms of violations against women and particularly our girls because, the act regardless of perceived culture benefits is inhumane and unlawfully;steals from the girls their right to choose or make well meaningful and calculated decisions about critical issues concerning their lives.
It is also of interest to know that women who have been physically or sexually abused by their partners are more than twice as likely to have an abortion, almost twice as likely to experience depression and in some regions, 1.5 times more likely to acquire HIV as compared to women who have not experienced partner violence.( www.unwomen.org )
It is worrying to know that still we continue to record high rates of violence against women either domestic or international after the unanimous decision or declaration to eliminate violence against women in the 1990’s by the United Nations Assembly.
However, with the strong advocacy and activism by many concerned stakeholders, there has been significant changes. For instance ,we have the passage of laws on domestic violence, laws on sexual harassment, rape etc and these are really of great help to the cause because fewer women, less than 40% who have been violated seek help.
We must applaud the efforts of both domestic and international organizations who are helping to achieve this cause especially in Ghana. Just recently,on 17 August 2016, there was the launch of the Domestic Violence Research Report in Ghana by the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the key objective that the evidence generated will be used to advance legal, policy and pragmatic interventions to reduce the level of domestic violence as well as towards making all girls and women live free from violence. Admittedly,this would not have been achieved without the tireless efforts of all stakeholders especially the Honorable Minister of Gender,Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur and her ministry and all who helped to put in place the Domestic Violence Act.
We need more of these actions.
Fighting this dangerous “beast” called domestic violence cannot be attained through the efforts of a person. It takes everyone and it will continuously take the collective efforts of all of us to eliminate violence against women. That is why I am appealing to everyone most importantly you. I would like you to join me in fighting the unending battle of domestic violence against women and girls which sometimes leads to death, shattered dreams, psychological traumas, hatred, and can lead to conflict(s) between or among mankind.
We should as a matter of urgency begin to;
– intensify the education on the need to eliminate domestic violence against women.
– educate women and girls on their sexual and reproductive rights,how to prevent and respond to violence.
– promote gender equality.
– make available and accessible, data on existing violence against women to help create a good awareness on the need to eliminate violence against women
– address issues of violence through finding workable and lasting solutions.
– make some reforms to certain outmoded cultural norms and practices.
– institutionalize our institutions and put in place punitive measures to punish all offenders and violators of women and girls rights without fear or favor.
– strengthen relationships with other stakeholders especially international organizations and multinational corporations who are also championing the course to eliminate violence against women.
I want to work towards creating a world where every girl and woman can have the freedom to choose who or what she wants to be.
I humbly need you in this. I do believe deep down in my heart that, together as men and women, boys and girls, rich and poor, old and young, we can take all the needed steps to build a brighter future if not for ourselves but for our generation and the generations yet unborn irrespective of the things that separate us as men and women.
Lets ORANGE together so that we can SECURE a safe and free future for women and girls.
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