Accra, July 13, GNA – A three-day international conference on trauma of abuse of women
and children, to enable organisations, groups and individuals to draw the attention of civil
society to the dangers faced by such vulnerable groups, opened in Accra on Wednesday. The conference is under the theme: 93The Trauma of Abuse of Women and Children – A
Societal Response.” It would also offer participants the opportunity to assess the legal, social, institutional and
cultural systems for victims of sexual violence and expand their knowledge and skills required
to counsel such victims. The programme is being organised by the Juniper Tree Counselling Centre, a Christian
non-profit, non-governmental organisation, that provides counselling, encouragement and
pastoral care among other things to depressed and traumatised victims of various forms of
abuses. Dr Joseline Fugar, Executive Director of Juniper Tree Counselling Centre, said the issue of
violence and abuse of women and children had increased in recent times despite the extensive
media reportage to create public awareness. She said in spite of the awareness being created, many of these sexual abuse incidences
still went unreported because of 93our cultural norms”. Dr Fugar said although perpetrators of the reported cases were often duly punished by the
law, the victims were left unattended to in terms of trauma management and psychological
rehabilitation. She said the silent position of such victims resulted in psychological trauma which
continued to be the leading cause of mental illness in the country. Dr Fugar said it was unfortunate that the country lacked the capacity to deal effectively
with the increasing cases of mental health issues in terms of the doctor-patient ratio and
infrastructure. “Currently there are only 14 practicing psychiatrics in Ghana and out of the about 2.4
million Ghanaians living with mental disorders only two per cent have access to care. “Many are still ignorant about the causes and treatments available and therefore attribute
every mental illness to activities of demons and sometimes the victims attempted suicide or
even completed suicides.” Dr Fugar advocated that attempted suicides should be considered a mental health issue
rather than a criminal offence and called on civil society to complement the legal efforts of
government by providing counselling and support to victims of abuse. Mrs Juliana Azumah Mensah, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, said government
had strengthened the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana
Police Service to effectively handle such cases. She entreated all to be vigilant and report perpetrators of such crimes to the appropriate
authorities for effective action. Dr Victor Kpodo, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Juniper Tree Counselling Centre,
said it was unfortunate that the law focused on punishing perpetrators leaving the needs of
victims unattended to and called on the media to follow up on the fates of victims after court
judgements. He also said his organisation would lead the way by collaborating with the relevant bodies
to train and certify Christian pastoral counsellors who could exhibit the highest Christian
ethical standards and also establish community counselling centres across the country to
provide help to those who were hurting. 13 July 11
Source: GhanaWeb
