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26.11.2015 Press Release

International Day To End Violence Against Women; Are Our Women Safe In Our Menogenic Societies…??

Exla Group Gender Programme (eggp) Quizzes…
26.11.2015 LISTEN
By ExLA Group

25th November is earmarked as an International Day to End Violence Against Women. On this day we recount all the physical, sexual and psychological brutalities women and girls have suffered from their male counterparts in our mostly monogenic societies.

Several advocacies and campaigns have been advanced to champion this great course of JUSTICE and GENDER EQUALITY. The ExLA Group Gender Programme; the gender desk of Excellent Leadership Group (ExLA Group), in observance of this day poses the critical question; ARE OUR WOMEN SAFE IN OUR MONOGENIC SOCIETIES ???

It is disheartening in this 21st Century to read from various news and media reportage of several forms of violence and brutalities meted out on women under very bizarre circumstances with no rescue attempts extended to these women victims which ranges from physical abuse, sexual harassment, psychological trauma and malevolent brutalities.

The UN General Assembly (1993) defines Violence Against Women (VAW) as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

A UNESCO report indicates that, 1 in 3 women has experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. In 2015, 125 countries have laws on sexual harassment, 119 countries have laws on domestic violence, and only 52 have laws on marital rape. The report further emphasizes that, in many countries women still don’t have the right to decide whether or not to have sex and their “no” is seldom taken seriously.

On this day, we at EGGP want to re-emphasise the need to prioritise the Security of Women as significant to ending violence against women. Several reportage point to fact that security of our women are under threat. A recent case study in Ghana is the incidence on the stabbing of a third year student of the University of Professional Studies, Accra by a “taxi driver” boyfriend in her hostel over an alleged cheating by Jennifer Attieku (Victim).

Incidences such as these reveals a security breach and raises a high alert on the safety of our women on campuses and communities. There are enumerable reference of such violence against women on several occasions with no form of justice and reprimand sanctioned to perpetrators of these violence against women.

Some researchers have proven, most perpetrators of violence against women either go unpunished or are not sanctioned with stiffer punishment to serve as a deterrent onto their male fellows. The question that begs for an answer is; ARE OUR WOMEN SAFE IN THIS MENOGENIC SOCIETY? Security of citizenry is key in every societal construct. EGGP would want to on this world advocacy day call on all stakeholders to mitigate all factors to exposes women to acts of violence by their male counterparts as well as embark on pragmatic ways to safeguard the security of our women.

We at ExLA Group Gender Programme in joining hands and voices to the many voices raised around the world declares that; IT IS TIME TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THE TIME IS NOW!!!!!

“The Peace and Security of our Women and Children is the Peace and Security of the World” – EGGP, 2015

Maranatha Agyei Tiwaa
Director
ExLA Group Gender Programme – EGGP
+233 247 232 085
[email protected] / [email protected]

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