Mr Salifu Issifu Kanton, the Executive Director for Community Development Alliance (CDA) Ghana, has said the endpoint to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) starts with people speaking out about the acts being perpetrated against them.
He said among the many ways of curbing the acts of SGBV is, first of all, getting to talk about it.
Mr Kanton said this during a panel discussion session at the launching ceremony of the Wa Chapter Club of the Children and Youth in Broadcasting (CYIB) – Curious Minds in Wa over the weekend.
The launch of the Club was on the theme: “Harnessing and Catalyzing the Potentials of Young People for National Growth” and it was to climax the 16 Days of Activism on the topic: “Unite Against Gender-Based Violence: Leave No Woman or Girl Behind”.
Mr Kanton said people should freely talk about issues of SGBV that they come across in society without guilt or any iota of shyness.
He advised school children, both girls and boys, to report any acts by their peers and teachers suggestive of SGBV to their teachers and proprietors respectively for redress.
“You are a schoolgirl, your class teacher is touching our breast, your buttocks… you are a boy, your madam has invited you to the office to remove her button or zip… speak about it, tell the school teacher, tell the head teacher, tell the proprietor and that is how we stop it,” he said.
Mr Kanton stressed that every member of the society – men and women, young and old – can help address issues of SGBV, but said that it must first begin with talking about it.
Chief Inspector Stella Niabi, the Station Officer at the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), Upper West Region, encouraged children to be assertive in seeking defence and protection of their body rights.
“Each of you should be assertive when it comes to your body. He should not tell you you are beautiful when your parents know,” she stressed.
She also admonished parents not to introduce their children to child pornography by exposing them to the nudity or nakedness of their bodies.
Mr Philip Tengzu, the Regional Coordinator of the CYIB-Curious Minds, Wa Chapter Club, speaking briefly about Curious Minds, said the Club exists to promote the well-being and development of children and young people through rights-based advocacy.
He said children’s limited knowledge and access to their rights lead to infringements that culminate in school dropout, 'streetism', and trafficking, among others.
He said it was in that light that the Club tied its launch to the 16 Days of Activism to bring to the awareness of all stakeholders the need for concerted efforts aimed at mitigating the ravaging effects of SGBV, especially against vulnerable groups.
The Deputy Executive Coordinator of the CYIB-Curious Minds, Mr David Aburabura said the organization embarked on an expansion drive to get a lot more young people to join, support and be supported in advocating for society’s wellbeing.
He said the assemblage of the young people would give them a solid voice for putting duty-bearers to act in the best interest of children and youth – that is, allocating enough resources to education, health, and other aspects of human advancement.
He emphasized the organization’s principle of demanding the fulfilment of rights with their accompanying responsibilities, urging that rights be demanded responsibly.
The event was characterized by poetry recitals, stage drama and songs with the icing on the cake being the plaque unveiling signifying the Chapter Club's official launch.
It saw in attendance a plethora of stakeholders from the departments of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, youth groups, school children, and significant others.
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