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The Ghana Girl Guides Association (GGGA), a not for profit organization in Ghana, is embarking on a nationwide campaign to call for the end of sexual violence against girls and young women.

The campaign forms part of activities preceding the maiden homecoming celebration of the Association in Ghana.  According to a recent study by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, physical and sexual violence was identified as highly prevalent among young girls and women across the globe.  

The study further revealed that one in three women (33 %) have experienced physical and/or sexual violence since she was 15 years old and often, perpetrators of such forms of violence are close relations.

In Ghana, the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) reports that between 2011 – 2016, 1,856 women were raped; 26 of such offenses were committed every month while for each week, six (6) offenses, often by a partner or a close relation, were committed.

The Goodwill Ambassador of the Association, Ruth Afoko, during a tour of the Northern region, admonished all stakeholders including parents, traditional leaders and teachers to see issues of violence against women as a personal problem hence the need to join the campaign in the fight against all forms of violent acts perpetrated against girls and young women. ‘The fight against physical and sexual violence will not stop until that battle is won. I therefore appeal to all stakeholders to join hands in the global campaign to uproot this canker from within our society’ she noted.

The GGGA was establishment in Ghana in 1921 and belongs to the largest voluntary Movement dedicated to girls and young women in the world. The Association has transformed the lives of girls and young women across the country through various capacity building programmes including skills development, leadership trainings, mentorship programmes and other educational activities all aimed at empowering girls and young women to achieve their fullest potential and to become responsible citizens.

The maiden homecoming event however, comes off at the Girl Guides Training Centre at Achimota on October 20, 2018. Key activities on the day will include advocacy on Stop the Violence; craft making (batik, tie and dye, fabric resist dye, sewing, soap/detergent making, kente weaving, etc.); pioneering with ropes and wood, Free Being Me (advocacy on body confidence), education on menstrual hygiene and cooking competition.