Madam Freda Akosua Prempeh, Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, says the widespread ignorance on the Domestic Violence (DV) Act (2007) – Act 732 especially among those providing essential services to victims, has stifled justice delivery for the victims.
To address this, the Ministry would soon commence a rigorous nationwide awareness creation programme, to build the capacities of the service providers, she hinted.
The aim is to offer the needed services to sufferers of Domestic Violence in the various communities.
Madam Prempeh was speaking at the opening of the maiden sensitization workshop on the Act in Kumasi.
The workshop, which was funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was attended by selected officers from CHRAJ, DOVVSU, Ministries of Health and Education in the Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo, Bono East and Eastern Regions.
It aimed at equipping the participants with knowledge and skills to be relevant in efforts to offer help to victims who were seeking justice, while assisting survivors of Domestic Violence to access support, as had been enshrined in the Act.
Madam Prempeh said Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) was still on the rise despite diverse efforts by government and other stakeholders to tackle it.
She said the Ministry, being the state machinery responsible for coordinating all SGBV would not relent on getting everybody enlightened on the Act and its implementation framework.
The Deputy Minister said her Ministry had printed 470 copies of the Legislative Instrument, which were being distributed to key stakeholders at the zonal levels to enable them render effective and efficient services to victims and survivors of Domestic Violence.
The Ministry had also begun engagements with the Chief Justice and the Ministry of Health to ensure that issues of SGBV were addressed in accordance with the law, adding that, a rapid response centre had been set up at Agbobloshie and Madina markets in Accra to offer assistance to victims.
