Civic Society Organisations (CSOs) and stakeholders in the Volta Region have received commendation for promoting citizen reporting in the Volta Region.

The Ghana Statistical Service in 2021 piloted citizen reporting digital platforms for sanitation and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in 30 districts and Municipalities in the country to generate data to influence policy decisions in the country.

Ms Levlyn Konadu Asiedu, the National Coordinator of the Ghana CSOs platform on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), who joined a stakeholder advocacy event in Ho organised in collaboration with SEND Ghana, said that leading the quantum of reports on “Let Us Talk Ghana,” the SGBV app, showed “a sense of responsibility.”

Of the total 618 reports generated on the app since March 2023 when it was made active, the Ho Municipality owns a total 322 and the Ketu South Municipality, also in the Region, followed with 164 reports.

Most of the districts had recorded single digits, and the National Coordinator applauded partners in the Region for the successes of the programme, and said strategies used in Ho would become a model for the others.

“Ho is a dynamic city. The reporting shows the vision of the stakeholders and the duty bearers here. There is a sense of responsibility in Ho. The people here do not see problems as government’s problems, and it gives the sense of ownership and collaboration in Ho,” she said.

A total of 297 of the 618 reports related to allegations of physical assault, and 166 pertained to the denial of basic needs, 63 on sexual harassment, 47 on rape and defilement, and 45 cases of restricted movement.

Madame Asiedu revealed also that 44 of the reports were generated by persons that identified as living with disabilities, and said it showed efforts by stakeholders to assist people in making use of the platforms.

“The reporting is very impressive. Everybody takes reporting as his or her own problem. Even the minute issues. The major factor is reporting for others, and Volta used these strategies to top the league.”

“Ho did a marvelous job, and the results are very good, but we need the data,” she added, calling on stakeholders to appreciate the need to enhance the reporting, and on MMDCEs and other leaders to help address the issues exposed.”

The app had registered a considerable number of children as young as 15 and even less, and direct partners of the programme, during the meeting spoke of notable abuses that came up, including transactional sex in senior high and tertiary schools.

Patrice Richardson, founder of Eclectic Love, a child development organisation in Ho, said issues sometimes included the denial of food, as children came to report abuses in their homes and communities.

Lovia Tetteh of Loveaid Foundation, who is the district conveyor for the project, made a presentation on reporting using the app, and said most girls were denied voices in their homes amid the male dominated family orientation.

Mrs. Thywill Kpe, Regional Director of the Department of Gender, said, economic abuse had been compounding sexual abuse, and that the Department and its stakeholders sought to, as part of considerable interventions, set up a fund to support sensitisation and other programmes.

Comfort Ntewusu of the Police Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit said sensitisation remained important as more than 5,000 cases had been reported to the Unit in the Region, with more than 3,000 yet to be resolved.

She said the influence of traditional leaders also was required as “education must descend to all.”

Joshua Ayayi, Director of Youth Alliance for Sustainability, moderated the session, and said CSOs had plan to undertake community engagements and durbars to bring together chiefs to and other key personalities to help strengthen advocacy, and noted some difficulties

with bringing onboard tertiary institutions, which he said was being addressed.

“Clean Ghana,” the sanitation app, is also running alongside the SGBV platform to enable citizen contribution to the sustainability of the environment and had generated some 60 reports in the Ho Municipality so far, with four waste management companies signing on to it.

Both apps are built highly interactive and make provisions for the submission of comments.

The Let Us Talk Ghana app, for instance, has publications on sexual and gender-based violence, and provides toll-free call access to some relevant institutions, agencies, and organisations.

Source: Ghana News Agency