Violence Against Women in Ghana: The Interventions by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

Authors

  • Patricia Essel Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF-Ghana), P. O. Box LG 488, Legon, Accra, 23321, Ghana
  • Ronald Essel University of Cape Coast (UCC), College of Distance Education (CoDE), University Post Office, P.M.B, Cape-Coast, 03321, Ghana

Keywords:

Ghana, Interventions, Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Violence against women (VAW).

Abstract

Violence against Women (VAW) is a worldwide pandemic that permeates across all geographical boundaries and impacts all people and societies regardless of culture, class, ethnicity, age, race, socio-economic status, political leaning, or religion. It is a daily phenomenon faced by humanity from the household level to national levels. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have devised several means of curbing VAW but the menace still persist. This qualitative research assessed the effectiveness of the strategies adopted by four key NGOs in addressing VAW within the Ghanaian context. The study targeted a total of fifty two respondents comprising; eight personnel from the four selected NGOs; twelve state actors; fourteen non-state actors and eighteen direct beneficiaries through the usage of in-depth (informal) and key informant interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, direct field observations as well as desk top review of official documents. The study found out that, all four NGOs utilised among others, five key strategies in tackling the menace of VAW in Ghana and these are awareness creation, lobbying and advocacy, community mobilisation, activism and networking, training/capacity building and service provision. The study results further indicated that, notwithstanding the efficacy of the strategies deployed by the NGOs, there were some challenges that confronted the NGOs in their fight against VAW.

Notable among them were the lack of willingness on the part of victims of VAW to report and further pursue perpetrators of VAW, financial constraints facing the NGOs as well as state actors and lack of well-coordinated approach on the part of all stakeholders in their effort to eradicate VAW in Ghana. The study made a number of recommendations, including collaborative efforts of all stakeholders to fight VAW, adequate resourcing and funding of the NGOs by both government and donor agencies.  Also recommended is the intensification of the education on the unlawfulness of VAW and that, any culprits apprehended would be punished by law. These and many others will serve as measures to improve the effectiveness of the strategies employed by the NGOs in their fight against the cancerous menace of VAW in Ghana.

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Published

2019-02-24

How to Cite

Essel, P., & Essel, R. (2019). Violence Against Women in Ghana: The Interventions by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR), 44(1), 63–96. Retrieved from https://gssrr.org/index.php/JournalOfBasicAndApplied/article/view/9614

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