78% Ghanaians dislike physical force against women- Afrobarometer survey

Majority of Ghanaians say it is never justified for a man to physically discipline the spouse while most claimed violence against such genders including girls are uncommon in their locality and communities in the latest Afrobarometer report.

The report also says many women are likely to be criticised or harassed if they report gender-based violence to the authorities.

Overall, Ghanaians consider domestic violence to be a criminal matter requiring the involvement of law enforcement, rather than a private matter to be resolved within the family. Most believe that the police are likely to take cases of GBV seriously.

Key findings

The key findings in the survey indicates that more than three-fourths, thus, 78 percent of Ghanaians say violence against women is “not very common” or “not at all common” in their community but one in five citizens, thus, 21 percent disagree.

Also, about 85 percent of Ghanaians say it is “never” justified for a man to physically discipline his wife while about one in seven, thus, 11 percent think it is “sometimes”, or “always” and 3 percent justified.

Furthermore, more than four in 10 respondents, thus, 24 percent consider it “somewhat likely” or “very likely” and 18 percent says a woman will be criticised or harassed if she reports gender-based violence to the authorities while only one-third which is 35 percent say this is “very unlikely”.

The findings again indicated that almost nine out of 10 respondents which makes up to 86 percent believe that the police are likely to take cases of GBV seriously.

The survey reports that almost two-thirds, thus, 64 percent of Ghanaians say domestic violence should be treated as a criminal matter rather than as a private matter to be resolved within the family.

Source Eric Nii Sackey