Violence Against Women
Source: AllAfrica
Vice President of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Mr. Affail Monney, on the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence has reminded the media of their constitutional duty to uphold the principles enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
He has thus urged all journalists to play their roles as watch dogs of the society by exposing or publically censuring anyone who perpetuates any act of violence in the country.
He said it was an established fact that information and structures that disseminate it are the most powerful weapons ever to be invented, such that by leveraging the power it wielded and disseminating relevant information, the media could make a world of difference in the fight against anti-women tendencies and practices.
"The media should declare zero tolerance for violence against women. And regardless of their social standing or political connections offenders should not escape media exposure or public censure. The law enforcement bodies should be bold to ensure that those who find themselves on the wrong side of the law taste the biting edge of the law."
Mr. Monney was speaking at an encounter in Accra which engaged the media and civil society organisations (CSOs) to propagate issues of gender-based violence. It was under the topic, "Media Partnership for a Violence Free Home, Society and Nation," and was organised by the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC) and other stake holders.
He encouraged the media to scale up their fundamental duty of educating and shedding light on all laws that deal with violence against women. For them to do so meaningfully, he said the media must be well educated and well-sensitized.
"It is sad that the media sometimes constitute a problem rather than a solution to the issue of violence against women. Some of the stories we carry and films we show glorify violence against women. We also inflict psychological violence on women by the content of our stories. All these must stop."
He added that the media has a responsibility imposed by destiny and professional obligations to ensure that wives, mothers and sisters enjoy their God-given rights free from violence and socio-cultural inhibitions.
In a presentation, Mrs. Mercy Adjabeng, Information, Communication and Advocacy Programmes Officer of the Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF), declared there could be no peace in the world when there was war at home.
She recalled that national and regional statistics of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) show that assault, defilement and rape, were the most recorded incidents of violence against women in Ghana.
She encouraged Ghanaian women and children to be bold and report all cases of domestic violence and not to be afraid of the unstable domestic violence systems, since the media from hence would expose anyone who threatened their lives.
The 25th day of November each year marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against Violence which originated from the US in 1991.
Ms. Tatiana Kotlyarenko, Executive Director of the Enslavement Prevention Alliance -West Africa (EPAWA), brought to attention the role men played both in the elimination and the perpetuation of violence.
She said men have been tagged as abusers, violators and perpetrators; however, they could also be termed as protectors, change makers and eradicators of the same crime.
She challenged men to stand against violence especially concerning women, since their mothers, sisters, daughters or even wives could be victims at any point in time.
"Masculinity is your ability to protect women and not to abuse them." She appealed to the media to expose offenders by publishing their pictures and identities to the public and not that of victims since it could psychologically victimise the latter further.
Other speakers at the encounter included the first Director of MOWAC, Mr. Geshon K. Kumor, Mr. Jonas Bortei Applerh-Executive, Secretary of the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons.