Shelters Planned For Domestic Violence Victims

DETERMINED to ensure that victims of domestic violence are protected by the law, the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) Secretariat is in talks with donor agencies and the Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General to establish temporary shelters for them.

The shelters will ensure that victims have a place to spend times pending the hearing of their cases.

The acting Co-ordinator of the Secretariat, Mrs. Christina Boateng-Ankamah, said this in an interview with the Times in Accra on Wednesday, on an update of the implementation of the Act.

She said there had been occasions when those abused at night had spent their nights at police stations and other places, adding that 'this is not good as they are exposed to other health hazards'.

Mrs Boateng-Ankamah said the secretariat is also dialoguing with the Attorney-General’s Department to ensure that victims do not sit face-to-face in the court room with perpetrators because it has been established that victims, especially children, feel intimidated by their abusers in the courts and are afraid to tell the truth.

The secretariat is also lobbying the Attorney-General’s Department to possibly set days for courts to hear only cases of domestic violence.

'We want to fast track the process because most often, these cases are heard together with other cases and the delays make some victims lose interest in the cases,' she complained.

Asked if full implementation of the Act had started, she said the secretariat is making strides as it has begun hearing some cases and referring some to the courts.

She said it has put in place some measures to facilitate the implementation, adding that this year they plan to carry out 52 activities.

She mentioned some of the things done as the finalisation of a national plan of action , the composition of a board and the holding of meetings with its implementing agencies, including the ministries, departments and agencies and the civil society organisations.

'We have also been organising sensitisation workshops for officials of the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, Attorney-General’s Department, Judicial Service and National Commission on Civic Education, among others,' she said.

A hotline has been set up at the Greater Accra regional office of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Police Service, she added, stressing that it will be replicated in the other regions.

Mrs Boateng-Ankamah said the smooth take-off of the programme has been made possible through government support but indicated that finance still remains a major problem confronting the implementation.

She hoped that the Netherlands Embassy and the United Nations systems, which are the major donor partners for the programme, will fully commit themselves to its implementation.