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Ghana: Cost of Forms Barrier to Justice for Rape Victims
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Accra Mail (Accra)
8 May 2008
Posted to the web 8 May 2008
Ernest Kissiedu
Accra
Mrs. Theodora Aba Ayensu, a lawyer and human rights activist has said eliminating abuses against women and children should not be left out in the country's quest to attain a middle-income status by 2015.
Speaking to the ADM in Accra, she said the increasing rate of rape, child labour, human trafficking and other human rights violations were not encouraging in a country that had attained 51 years of independence.
She said although the passage of policy documents such as the Human Trafficking Act and the Domestic Violence Acts were commendable, civil society and corporate bodies should support the crusade to do away with such inhuman treatment that women and children were often subjected to.
Mrs. Aba Ayensu told ADM that statistics from the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment on child labor and trafficking were not encouraging as over 242,000 children between the ages of 13 and 17 were engaged in mining, fishing, quarrying and other economic activities.
She expressed regret that human trafficking had now become a big business generating more than 32 million dollars annually for traffickers worldwide.
She called on the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs to put in place a human trafficking board and secretariat to ensure that those who violated the human trafficking laws were dealt with severely.
Mrs. Aba Ayensu said although policies to protect children were essential, there was the need to develop capacities of impoverished families to reduce the menace since poverty made people more susceptible to trafficking.
A spokesperson of Accra's Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), Madam Esther Danso said most rape cases are left unattended to because of the costs including even the forms required to take in the victim's details.
The medical form, she said, requires a doctor's signature. "Without it, a rape victim has no chance of winning a case against her attacker. And getting the form signed also costs 20 to 35 Ghana cedis. As a result, more than half of rape victims give up their hope of justice", she said.
Madam Danso said the cost of the medical form puts a heavy financial burden on women already weighed down by physical and psychological trauma.
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She said 70% to 80% of victims choose not to pursue justice even after reporting the case to the police. "They can't afford the medical bills so they don't come back. It's not the medical exams that costs money, but the form itself. They'll examine you all right, give you the medication, but when it comes to writing the report, endorsing the medical form, that's where you've got to pay before the doctor signs", she said.
Dr. Daniel Bramson, a gynaecologist said doctors charge so much for a signature because they may be called to testify in court if the rape victim presses charges.
"When this happens, it's we ourselves who have to pay the cost associated with testifying as well as accept any missing salary from the time spent out of the office", he said.
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