Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) and Domestic Violence Legislation in Ghana
Inside a cramped room filled by overstuffed files and two desks at the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), Public Relations Representative Irene Oppong and Station Manager Whoknows Kwaku Attipoe work diligently to keep up with the steady stream of victims they see in their Accra location.
In a city of millions, the few benches lining the cramped, dim hallways of DOVVSU fill quickly with people and the unit is the only one for the Accra area. Privacy for the victims is minimal. “We see about 38 to 40 people a day here,” says Oppong. The DOVVSU functions to investigate all offenses of domestic violence, handle those cases and prosecute where necessary.
Domestic violence is defined as a family member, a partner or an ex-partner physically or psychologically dominating through economic, sexual or emotional abuses. Domestic violence persists against men, women and children around the world. “Most often we see offenders who are relatives,” adds Oppong.
One of Attipoe’s greatest challenges at his job as Station Manager at DOVVSU is educating the public about the law and helping them understand that domestic violence is not acceptable, and is punishable by law. For defilement (sex with a female under the age of 16), a perpetrator can go to prison for 7-25 years and for rape, a perpetrator can go to prison for 5-25 years.
The Domestic Violence Bill passed in February 2007 mandated financial assistance to fight domestic violence and set up a Victims of Domestic Violence Support Fund supported by voluntary contributions and Parliament. The fund is supposed to provide enough money for the DOVVSU to provide basic support to victims and assist with matters of rehabilitation and reintegration. But the funding has not come a year and a half later. The DOVVSU is understaffed and lacks supplies to effectively deal with all the cases that come its way.
In fact, Attipoe says, the DOVVSU needs photographic evidence of the victim in order to file a lawsuit, but the department does not own a camera. “We ask people to go out and get a photo of themselves for us,” says Attipoe. Not only is this a humiliating process for the victim, they also must pay for the photo themselves, a charge that some cannot afford.
“Many people expect that victims should have free medical care,” says Attipoe. But the hospital charges people for services and then many victims don’t return to DOVVSU to take advantage of their free counseling and legal assistance.
Formerly known as the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU), the DOVVSU changed to its present name between 2004 and 2005 and now openly accepts male victims of domestic violence. The Domestic Violence Bill is gender-neutral. But, an overwhelming majority of the victims at DOVVSU are females.
In a report from 1999, the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre found that one in three women in Ghana experienced physical violence. According to Actionaid Ghana, two in three women do not report experiences of abuse, especially sexual violence, suggesting that reported cases grossly underestimate the prevalence of domestic violence.
In her publication, “Violence against Women in Ghana: An Analysis of Cases Presented in the Print Media,” Susanna Osam offers insight and advice to make progress for female victims. “Women are socialized to be submissive, obedient and conforming,” she writes. “Men are allowed to chastise and discipline women and to assert their authority over them. It will take a great deal of commitment, sustained interest, and adequate allocation of resources for us to make headway to save the lives of millions of women from the brutalities of men.”
When asked if the Domestic Violence Bill has helped operations at DOVVSU, Attipoe said yes and no because the bill is gender neutral so it is there to protect everybody, but without resources like education and money, the office can do little to make a real difference for victims of domestic violence in Ghana. “We have a weapon to fight domestic violence,” says Attipoe, “but we cannot fight without ammunition.”
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