Greater Accra Tops In Sexual Assault Cases

The Greater Accra Region recorded the highest sexual assault cases of 5389 in the country, followed by Central, 2,673 and Ashanti, 2,370. The three regions recorded total sexual assault cases of 10,433. Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) disclosed this in Accra yesterday at the launch of �16 days Activism against gender-based violence.� The campaign, themed �Ending Sexual and Gender Base violence in Ghana: The Role of Men and Boys�, is a global initiative that seeks to raise awareness at the local, national and international level on violence against women. The launch also involved the media as a strategic stakeholder in providing a forum for dialogue to address the varied forms of violence against women and girls in eh Ghanaian society. Nana Oye Lithur said sexual and domestic violence infringed on the human rights of women and girls while violating their reproductive rights as well. She said the rippling effect of such violence were unwanted pregnancies which resulted n single parenting with challenges such as streetism. Nana Oye Lithur stated that awareness creation was a great strategy and a good starting point in any campaign concerning behaviour change, but not sufficient on its own to bring about sustained change. She said addressing Sexual and Gender Base Violence (SGBV) required understanding and challenging gender inequality, promoting women�s equal rights and creating social, political and economic environmental in which everyone was empowered to develop a dignified life. Nana Oye Lithur mentioned that her outfit, in collaboration with the United Nation Agencies, Civil Society and other stakeholders, would design programmes and strategies that focused on how to effectively engage men and boys at the various levels in the country, to help fight against SGBV.