ON A DAILY basis, the rights of women and children in Ghana are violated in various forms with impunity while the perpetrators often go unpunished because the victims usually have little or no access to the justice system, according to participants at a workshop on the issue last week.

Frustration with the justice system has led at least one women to take her own life, said a representative of Women in Law and Development (WiLDAF), citing a paper by Justice Mrs. Mabel Yamoa, a high court judge in Tema.

The woman in the case, Madam Ama, had financial and marital problems with her husband and wanted legal redress. Initially determined to get justice, she went through numerous odds just to have her case heard and that took her to different organizations including the then Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU), now Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), International Federation of Women Lawyers, (FIDA), Ghana, Department of Social Welfare (DSW), Legal Aid Board (LAB) and the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

In spite of her efforts, Madam Ama got frustrated and at some point and before she was assigned a lawyer from the LAB, she committed suicide.

This is just one of the numerous real situations that demonstrate the impediment to women's and children's access to justice, despite the fact that there are statutory and international instruments that seek to protect their rights and access to justice.

Some circumstances under which women and children would want to seek redress include rape, defilement, incest, bigamy, assault, threat to life, abduction, a parent's inability to provide basic necessities of life for a child or children and issues of child custody, among many others.

Presently in Ghana, there is a provision for women's rights under Article 27 that states, "women shall be guaranteed equal rights to training and promotion without impediments from any person." International provisions back the national laws, such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women.

The provision for children in Ghana is guaranteed under Article 28, which mandates Parliament to enact laws to ensure the rights of children that has been translated into the Children's Act.

To ascertain the current situation of access to justice by women and children and to seek solutions, CUSO, a non-governmental organization, organized a workshop Friday that brought together stakeholders in the justice system, including representatives from governmental organizations such as CHRAJ, DOVVSU, Judicial Service, Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture, Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs and the DSW.

Those from non-governmental organizations included WiLDAF, FIDA, Ark Foundation, Women's Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE), Safe Motherhood Organization, International Association for the Advancement of Women in Africa (ASAWA), Women Against AIDS in Africa and some traditional leaders.

Dr. Henry Daannaa, acting research officer at the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture, noted that access to justice is the opportunity for people to have their grievances redressed or the means by which they can be heard about wrongs which they have suffered.

This, he said, was very important because without such access, justice itself becomes illusory, adding, "When we talk of access to justice for women and children, therefore, our focus is directed to the issue of whether or not women and children in Ghana are afforded the opportunity by which their special grievances are heard."

Mrs. Sandra Cofie of the Judicial Service added that access to justice must be equally accessible to all and must also lead to results that are individually and socially just and equitable.

"Children are suffering in silence because families attempt to settle serious sensitive cases such as rape and defilement by accepting monetary compensation from offenders."

Challenges: 'tradition,' costs The experts identified various cultural issues that hindered women and children from accessing justice. Key among them is the fact that there is a predominance of cultural stereotypes that are prejudicial to women.

These, they noted, were mainly harmful traditional practices such as dedication of girls to shrines (trokosi), female genital mutilation, widowhood rites, child marriage, denial of land, property, wife inheritance and other inheritance rights that relate to matrilineal and patrilineal systems.

In addition, customary and religious laws and practices reinforce male superiority and female inferiority, and justify discrimination on the basis of sex and other inequalities against women and children.

Dr. Daannaa noted that Article 25 of the constitution provided that no person in Ghana shall be punished for any offence under a law that was not been passed by Parliament.

This, he said, meant "customs and traditions practiced by the various local communities which obviously are not laws passed by Parliament should not and cannot be the basis for punishing anybody."

In all, most of these cultural factors are said to be acceptable to people in areas where they are practiced and that is why women and children in particular do not seek redress in such cases.

Another challenge identified by the experts was a general lack of knowledge on the rights of women and children, particularly where they should go to seek redress for infringed rights.

A lack of enforcement of existing laws to prevent violation of rights or punish perpetrators is also a barrier to justice. This is further compounded by the fact that legal instruments that support national laws in protecting the rights of women and children are not used by lawyers and judges in adjudicating cases relating to women and children, the experts said.

Another aspect noted was the cost involved in seeking justice, especially at the courts. Some costs come in the form of filing fees for court processes -- usually a percentage of claim being sought in a particular case.

The cost of medical examinations that victims are required to pay before getting medical reports as evidence in cases of physical assault, rape, defilement and others is also a disincentive for people, particularly the poor.

His Worship Winfred K. Owusu, a magistrate at the La district court, pointed out that many cases were not pursued due to victims' inability to produce evidence, usually in the form of medical reports, because they could not afford the cost.

He also noted that perpetrators who have financial advantage over their victims are usually able to employ the services of lawyers while the victims are left without any assistance, which often discourages them.

According to Owusu, the fact that the courts do not control hospitals and their staff meant the court could not do anything about the cost of medical reports, although they do take such costs into consideration when awarding compensations and costs.

The unavailability of legal aid was identified as a factor that worsens the situation of many women. Representatives from almost all the institutions that have the mandate to protect women and children against violation of their rights and help them in seeking legal redress -- such as the DSW, LAB, CRHAJ and the Ghana Police Service - complained that they are under-resourced and lack adequate funds to fight the cause of women and children effectively.

Societal attitudes such as stigmatization and intervention from family members and religious leaders in matters relating to violation of rights also constitute a barrier for women and children seeking redress.

"Children are suffering in silence because families attempt to settle serious sensitive cases such as rape and defilement by accepting monetary compensation from offenders," said His Worship Owusu.

Negative or unjust outcomes in similar cases also prevent women from accessing justice, since they get the impression that after going through all the hurdles involved in trial, the outcome would not be favourable, even when they seem to have a good case.

The way forward The stakeholders called for effective education on the rights of women as well as where they should go to seek redress when those rights are infringed upon.

In the case of harmful traditional practices, Dr. Daannaa mentioned that emphasis on overcoming the situation should focus on education rather than legislation, stressing, "legislation about tradition without sufficient prior education is mere mirage."

This education, he noted, must not seek to attack people's customs by branding them as barbaric, primitive or uncivilized because that might attract retaliation or people might perform such practices in secret.

Also, he said there was the need for implementation mechanisms to be strengthened Article 26 of the constitution, which stipulates that all cultural practices that dehumanize a person are prohibited.

A strong collaboration between the legal system and traditional rulers would help build confidence in accessing justice as well as collaboration between governmental and non-governmental organizations in this area to make access to justice easy and affordable, he stressed.

His Worship Owusu indicated that waiving the cost of filing fees or making them more affordable would improve the ability of women and children to seek legal redress. He called also for adequate financial and logistical support for the organizations that have the mandate to support victims, especially the LAB and individual lawyers and firms that take up cases of the poor and less fortunate in the country.

Mrs. Cofie with the Judicial Service noted that the service recognizes numerous lapses in the system, particularly in respect of women and children, and has taken measures to improve the administration of justice in the country.

"Through a set of performance monitoring and integrity enhancing projects, we set about to restore and rebuild confidence in Ghana's justice system", she stressed, adding, "we sought to strengthen our own capacity as an institution to deliver quality administration of justice."

The service sought to increase access to justice by strengthening the capacity of magistrate courts through mechanisms such as automation, the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), provision of training and capacity building to magistrates and staff of the courts to improve effectiveness in delivering court services at the district level, she said.