Volta Region needs shelter for gender violence survivors — TUC Regional Secretary

The Volta and Oti Regional Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Edith Abla Amenuvor Afewu, has called on the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) to allocate a structure to serve as shelter to offer critical support and safety to adult survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). 

She said GBV remained a pervasive threat to women and girls in the Volta Region, a trend worsened by limited GBV response facilities and financing systems like adult shelters, high medical bills for survivors and poor institutional resources to address the issues.

Mrs Afewu said this in a petition delivered on behalf of women in the Volta Region after more than 500 women from 60 groups in the region participated in a five-kilometre ‘Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) Power Walk’ on the principal streets of Ho recently to mark International Women’s Day.

The participants also included students and persons with disability.

The day was observed on the theme: “For all women and girls: Rights, Equality, Empowerment…Accelerate Action.”

Persistent obstacles

The regional TUC secretary said despite commendable strides by the government and stakeholders in addressing gender issues, women in the Volta Region continued to face persistent obstacles to their well-being, participation in decision making and empowerment.

For instance, she said, female parliamentarians declined from four in 2020 to two in 2024, while women were only 6.8 per cent (31 females out of 458) of elected assembly members, deepening gender imbalance at the local level.

“We earnestly request the appointment of more women to the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to address this disparity and strengthen inclusive local governance,” she maintained.

Mrs Afewu said women, particularly those of reproductive age, faced significant challenges due to inadequate childcare facilities and insufficient protection against workplace sexual harassment and other abuses.

That, the regional TUC secretary said, hindered their productivity, well-being and work-life balance.

Mrs Afewu highlighted the need for conscious efforts to provide safe, secure childcare facilities for nursing mothers, both in the formal and informal sectors, to promote their effective participation. 

Adolescent pregnancy

She touched on adolescent pregnancy and child marriage, saying the incidence remained high in the region, with an average of 5,000 girls getting pregnant annually in the past four years, and blamed the trend on long school vacations under the free senior high school shift system, which she said left girls unsupervised and vulnerable.

“We, therefore, request a review of current vacation schedules to shorten prolonged breaks to limit unsupervised time and structured educational and recreational programmes during vacations to keep children, particularly girls, engaged and focused on their studies,” Mrs Afewu added.

She said women with disabilities face multiple vulnerabilities, discrimination and exclusion in many sectors, including accessible education, healthcare, social justice, participation and other social services.

“These create substantial barriers to their full participation, social services and enjoyment of quality life, including family life,” Mr Afewu pointed out.

Gender gap

The Volta Regional Director of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe, said Ghana had seen representation of women in key positions over the years, with the most significant being the first female Vice-President.

However, she said, challenges and barriers persisted on the path of women’s progress, citing Ghana’s overall gender gap index score of 33 per cent disparity between males and females.

“We hope that together we can work to address some of the issues for accelerated progress,” Mrs Kpe added.

The Chief Director of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC), Augustus Awity, who received the petition, assured that the petition would be handed over to the regional minister as soon as possible.