<<Print>>

A two-day workshop organized by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in partnership with the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), to sensitize urban refugees on gender based violence and its effects on society, has ended in Accra. The workshop, which formed part of activities marking this year's "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence", was to educate urban refugees in the country on the services and opportunities, in terms of legal protection, available to them when they fall victim to violence and other abuses. In an address, Mrs Catherine Lawluvy, Coordinator of UNHCR Urban Refugee Project in Ghana, said despite the opportunities and services available to victims of abuses under the laws in Ghana, some of the refugees were ignorant about them. She said because of their ignorance, some had and might even act contrary to the country's laws, which would lead to their prosecution, resulting in agony and psychological trauma. Mrs. Lawluvy pointed out that these necessitated the organization of the workshop to educate them on the need to stay away from violence. Police Chief Inspector Irene Oppong, Public Relations Officer of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, who spoke on "Legal and police services available for survivors of gender based violence" explained the operations of the unit to the participants. She told them to urgently report cases of abuse to the DOVVSU for prompt action and justice for them. Naa Atwei Owusu, Organisational Capacity Building and Learning Coordinator of the Ark Foundation, who spoke on "Medical and psycho-social services available for survivors of gender based violence" urged victims of violence not to be content with only the medical services they get, but they should avail themselves of counselling to end the trauma. The '16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence' is an international campaign adopted at the first Women's Global Leadership Institute in 1991. The participants also adopted November 25 as 'International Day Against Violence Against Women' and December 10 as 'International Human Rights Day'. These were to symbolically link violence against women and human rights to emphasize that such acts were a violation of human rights. Other activities during the period include November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. The campaign had been used as a strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women. This year's event is under the theme "Commit, Act, Demand: We Can End Violence Against Women".