Public Agenda (Accra)
Frederick Asiamah
3 July 2009
(Page 2 of 2)
The Gender, Violence Against Women and HIV/AIDS Project which commenced in May this year is based on the findings of the current research, The Role of Gender Norms and Domestic Violence in Increasing Women and Girls' Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS infection. From the research, it is found that "It is not only promiscuity that leads women to be infected with HIV/AIDS but there are other gender things that we need to look at to combat the disease." According to the Programme Manager, "If we concentrate only on the ABC approach, which is Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom Use, we are not going to make headway. But we need to look at the gender norms especially women in intimate partner relationships."
The project is funded by DFID-UK through WOMANKIND and is being piloted for three years in partnership with 3 organizations. Rural Watch is in charge of the project at Nsokwao in the Koforidua Municipality of the Eastern Region while Prolink oversees the project at Papesi in the Kadjebi West District of the Volta Region. The last community project is at Manwe in the Wa Municipality and is managed by Amassachina. The project is aimed at minimizing women's susceptibility to HIV infection resulting from gender inequality.
In between these two major projects, there was The Safe Schools Counseling Project, which was a two-year pilot project which sensitized intervention communities on issues of School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) and provided counseling services to abused children. It was implemented in thirty communities in three districts namely; Ajumako Enyan Essiam, Assin North and Assin South districts in the Central Region. The project was funded by USAID through the Safe Schools Project.
As part of its activities, the GC has established and operated a Women's Human Rights Resource Centre to provide evidence-based information for women's work in Ghana. In addition, it has developed: the Gender Lens Newsletter which is published biannually. Other publications of the GC include Information Pack on Violence against Women (2004), including pamphlets, posters etc.; A guide to the setting up of the Rural Response System (2008), a training manual on violence against women; Counseling Manual on School-Related Gender-Based Violence (2008); and Breaking the Silence and Challenging the Myths around Violence Against Women and Children in Ghana (2000).
Achievements/Impact
There are two achievements that are dear to Mrs. Brew-Ward. "One of our biggest successes I'll say is helping to get the DV Act passed in Ghana. Because for me-the passage is an indication that as a state we've come to the realization and recognition that violence against women is not acceptable." In the run up to the passage of the Act, the GC played a major role in the establishment of the Domestic Violence (DV) Coalition. Apart from holding a steering committee member position, the GC supported the development of the concept for the work of the coalition, provided space for the coalition's meetings and financial support towards the nation-wide consultation on the DV Act.
The other achievement is that through its community-base projects, it has helped to entrench consultation between men and women in the decision-making process. "Now you could see women really talking during community meetings and are contributing and participating in community decision making which was not the case before this project-and also now in their own homes-the men are realizing the need to consult women in decision-making whether at home or at the community level," Mrs. Brew-Ward stated.
In terms of impact, the GC says it has made substantial impact and will give itself a score of seven out of ten. On the whole, the GC believes the impact of women's rights organisations will measure at least six on a scale of one-to-ten.
Challenges
According to the Programme Manager, funding is a challenge and the lack of it means "you are not able to offer better remuneration packages and therefore not able to retain high caliber staff." They come and work with you ad after building their capacity over a year or two somebody snatches because they can offer better working conditions.
Her view is that to combat this, more donors need to consider the option of core support. "If you give only project funding and you don't give core support, how would the organisation even survive and be able to do that work and develop?" she queries.
On the other hand, "In the district where we've been working our main challenge with the police is the transfers." The programme officer regrets that after spending a lot of resources to train police officers on issues regarding DV, the officers are transferred within a short period, robbing the organisation of the opportunity to work with experienced personnel. Even so, the police still have a challenge with resources, especially in rural communities.
Expectations
A priority is to see women have easy and speedy access to justice. The GC expects to continue its partnership with other women's organisations to put into action the National Platform for Action. One of their immediate concerns will be to push for a Legislative Instrument that will drive the full enforcement of the DV Act.
Regarding the fight against HIV/AIDS, the GC will within the short to medium term push for the adoption of a national policy that will compel all implementers of HIV/AIDS programmes to include a gender dimension or lose funding for such programmes.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Public Agenda. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
