Some victims of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region are being denied justice due to a growing wave of interference from some traditional leaders.
Despite police investigations, these traditional leaders are reportedly stepping in to free suspects, derailing efforts to bring offenders to justice.
The Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service in the municipality has recorded 13 SGBV-related cases between January and September 2024, including crimes such as child theft, defilement, rape and intimate partner violence.
Similarly, the West Mamprusi Municipal Department of Social Welfare recorded 10 SGBV-related cases during the same period, adding to the troubling statistics.
The rise of Gender-Based Violence in the region is not only a legal challenge but is also obstructing young girls’ access to education, calling for immediate action from stakeholders and NGOs alike.
Although four perpetrators are currently serving jail terms, police efforts to prosecute others have been hampered by chiefs’ interventions.
Confirming the incident to the Insight Report GH, Collins Selasi, Assistant Director of DOVVSU in West Mamprusi, said “From January to September, we had 13 significant Sexual and Gender-Based Violence cases. All these cases were related to SGBV”.
He pointed out that interference from both chiefs and politically connected individuals was derailing efforts to fight the menace in the area, adding that some chiefs were often resistant when women filed complaints against their husbands, compelling them to withdraw their cases.
“The interference of politically affiliated individuals and some of our revered chiefs is a serious challenge.
They don’t want to hear that a woman has taken her husband to the police. They often intimidate women into withdrawing their cases” Mr Selasi lamented.
DOVVSU, under the Ghana Police Service is appealing to PARDA, a non-governmental organization, to collaborate with stakeholders to combat SGBV in West Mamprusi and the North East Region at large through their “Power 2 Choose”(P2C) project.
“So we are only appealing to PARDA to help us, especially, in training the other personnel. Because in the police service, we have so many departments but at least, each and every police officer must know something about this SGBV thing,” Selasi appealed for police involvement in PARDA sensitization workshops on SGBVs.
Story by Dokurugu Alhassan, Walewale
writer’s email:dokurugualhass@gmail.com