2,502 women suffer abuse in 9 Months

As many as 2,502 women in the country suffered various forms of abuse between January and September this year.

Of this, 837 were sexually assaulted, 130 were abducted, while 1,358 were battered.

This was disclosed by the National Director of the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Elizabeth Dassah, at the launch of activities to mark “Sixteen days of international activism on violence against women (VAM)”, which coincides with the United Nations International Day Against Violence Against Women, in Accra.

Superintendent Dassah described the statistics as “disturbing,” since the figure could be higher since most cases went unreported.

She said violence against women impacted negatively on the physical, reproductive, emotional and social well being of victims.

She said the unit had worked hand in hand with the Women's Initiative for Self Employment (WISE), a women's advocacy NGO, since its inception to train staff of the unit and provide counsellors for traumatized victims.

The Programmes Director of WISE, Mr Nortey Dua, called on the Government to state its position on the Domestic Violence Bill (DVB), which is a necessary measure for the protection of the human rights of citizens of the country.

He said there was the need for politicians to come out clearly on development issues, such as the elimination of all forms of gender based violence against women, in their campaigns for election into office.