Gender Activism: Prof Jane Naana Outlines NDCs Commitment To End Gender Based Violence

The next National Democratic Congress (NDC) led John and Jane government has proposed to tackle gender-based violence and all its associated forms head-on for the development of women and children.

A statement released from the Office of the Vice Presidential Candidate of the NDC, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, noted that: “Existing legal protections have so far proved inadequate in addressing the scale of the challenge faced by vulnerable women.”

Every year, the United Nations (UN) designates 16 days of Activism for “No Violence Against Women and Children” to mark advocacy against Gender-Based Violence.

Prof. Naana and the NDC joins the world to commemorate this year and promise to address violence against women and children: physical harm, sexual harm, psychological, economic harm and suffering to women.

This year, the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is themed: Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”

Reports indicate that gender-based violence heightened in most countries across the world in the period of lockdowns as a result of coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc in all sectors.

The UN describes this as a “Shadow Pandemic growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis and we need a global collective effort to stop it. As COVID-19 cases continue to strain health services, essential services, such as domestic violence shelters and helplines, have reached capacity.”

The statement by Prof. Naana stated, that a comprehensive, concerted approach must be adopted in order to effectively protect the well-being of vulnerable groups not just during a pandemic, but also in ways that address the structural and systemic barriers contributing to the vulnerability of victims.

“John Mahama and I dedicate ourselves to this commitment and we will confront these issues head-on, as outlined in The People’s Manifesto. We will propose and pass a bill to address sexual harassment everywhere, provide support and protection programs for victims of domestic violence, and eliminate all barriers faced by victims especially women and children in seeking remedy and justice. These are moral obligations we shall not shirk,” said Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang.

According to the statement, addressing gender-based violence and all it forms in Ghana would mean taking concrete and tangible actions.

The statement further noted that it will mean “resourcing the Domestic Violence Fund, eliminating medical fees for rape and defiled victims building shelters to accommodate victims of gender-based violence and ratifying the ILO C190. This should be a commitment that all of us embrace and strive to achieve.”