States and the Protection of Women in Africa:The Perceptions of Women Survivors of Domestic Violence in Ghana

Abstract

Violence against women consists of several heinous acts that are committed against women and girls. These include rape, domestic violence (DV), murder, female genital mutilation, and forced marriage. Globally, the underlying causes of DV are entrenched in patriarchal value systems that put women in subordinate positions to men. Actions aimed at revealing and fighting violence against women by the second-wave feminists movement during the 1970s in most countries pressured governments to see it as an issue of public concern. The objective of this study is to assess Ghana’s protection of DV victims from the perspective of survivors. The research design is a qualitative cross sectional study conducted at Weija-Gbawe, a municipality in the Greater Accra region. A total of twentyeight (28) semi structured interviews were conducted with: twenty-one (21) female DV survivors, three (3) women’s rights advocates, and one official each from Department of Social Welfare (DSW), Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and a medical officer. Content analysis was used to examine the qualitative data, and summary descriptive statistics performed on socio-demographic data. The median age of DV survivors was 42 years (range 23 to 54). All DV survivors knew at least one state agency responsible for protecting them but 90.5% (19/21) did not know the range of services available to them. The most patronized state agency was DOVVSU and their main sources of information on state support were radio and television. Victims of DV thought the state failed them through: delays in arresting and prosecuting perpetrators, poor attitude of some state officials, lack of temporary shelter for victims, economic hardship on family in the time that perpetrators are under investigation or detention, and the cost of medical reports in building evidence for their cases. In conclusion, Ghana has designated agencies for protecting victims of DV through arrests, prosecution, and detention of perpetrators. However, prosecution failures, costs of medical reports, lack of temporary shelters and upkeep support during the crisis period make these agencies less attractive to victims. These findings underscore Ghana’s weakness in keeping up with her international commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEDAW) and its optional protocol of applying due diligence to prevent, investigate, and punish acts of violence against women in accordance with national legislation. The study concluded by recommending a multi-dimensional policy approach to prevent DV and improve service provision to survivors in Ghana based on international human rights frameworks.