Sexual Violence in Bolgatanga: A Case Study
on Definition, Risk Factors and Consequences
Master thesis Forensic Child and Youth Care Sciences Graduate School of Child Development and Education University of Amsterdam D.G.A. Verroen, 11062940 Thesis Supervisor: dr. F.B. van Rooij
Second Reader: dr. I.B. Wissink Amsterdam, April 23th 2018
2 Abstract
The aim of this study was to obtain insight in the perception of sexual violence in relation to the definition, risk factors and consequences in Bolgatanga, Upper East Region, Ghana. The results are based on five Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) (N = 32) with diverse inhabitants of Bolgatanga and surroundings and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with
professionals (N = 3) who are involved with education, support, investigation and prosecution related to sexual violence. Observations and In-depth Interviews (IDIs) (N = 3) during two sexual violence related incidents were used to observe how themes mentioned in the FGDs and KIIs can occur in everyday life. A small quantitative study (N = 42) took place to investigate which situations participants perceive as sexual violence and which not.
Regarding to the definition of sexual violence, the term ‘force’ is mentioned by all participants. One of the main risk factor given for the occurrence of sexual violence is indecent dressing. All given risk-factors were mainly girl-focused. According to multiple participants, power inequality in combination with poverty and gender-based norms play a role as well. Most themes that were mentioned during the interviews and discussions, were also visible in the two incidents. According to participants of both FGDs and KIIs, education is the key strategy to fight sexual violence in this region and prevention and intervention should take place within the cultural context.
During this study, it became clear that victim-blaming and stigmatising in relation to sexual violence is still present in this region and professionals face multiple challenges not only as a result of (cultural) attitudes and mindsets, but also due to shortcomings within the system.
3 Table of content
Introduction ………. 4
Sexual violence in Africa ………. 4
Consequences and risk factors ………. 5
Sexual violence in Ghana ………. 7
Method ………. 9 Design ………... 9 Ethics ……… 9 Study area ………. 11 Data collection ……….. 12 Data analysis ………. 17 Results ………... 19
Definition sexual violence and the law ………. 19
Risk factors and patterns ………... 22
Consequences for the victim ………. 25
Stigmatisation and victim-blaming ………... 25
Reporting, investigation and prosecution ………. 27
Own experiences ……… 32 Solutions ……… 34 Incidents ……… 35 Discussion ………. 40 References ………. 49 Appendix ………... 53
4 Introduction
A large proportion of violence experienced by women and girls globally is represented by intimate partner violence and sexual violence (García-Moreno et al., 2013). The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines sexual violence as: “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work” (Krug, Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi, & Lozano, 2002, pp. 149). Coercion can take place by using force, psychological intimidation or blackmail (García-Moreno, Guedes, & Knerr, 2012b).
Sexual violence can take many forms including rape, trafficking/sexual slavery, forced pregnancy, sexual harassment and sexual exploitation or abuse. Although males can also be victim of sexual violence, the majority of victims is female and the majority of perpetrators is male (García-Moreno, Guedes, & Knerr, 2012b; Inter-Agency Standing Committee, 2005). Sexual violence in Africa
According to the WHO, Africa is the leading continent with 45,6% of all women (15 years or older) reporting intimate partner violenceand/or non-partner sexual violence (García-Moreno et al., 2013). These estimates are likely to be lower than the actual prevalence given the sensitivities of reporting or talking about sexual violence, stigmatisation and fear of repercussions (García-Moreno et al., 2013). It is this underreporting that is worrying since sexual violence can lead to multiple health consequences (García-Moreno, Guedes, & Knerr, 2012b; Inter-Agency Standing Committee, 2005; Jina & Thomas, 2013; Krug et al., 2002). Not reporting to the police, not only makes it impossible to prosecute the perpetrators, but also deprives the victims of treatment and support in case of problems resulting from the violent experience.
5 Consequences and risk factors
The main consequences of sexual violence are related to reproductive health, mental health and social well-being (Krug et al., 2002). Unwanted pregnancies and gynaecological
problems are examples of reproductive consequences. Other recognised physical
consequences are HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Infection) and STIs (Sexual Transmitted Infections). Sexual violence can also lead to a number of mental health and behavioural problems like depression, PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) and aggressive behaviour (García-Moreno et al., 2012b; Krug et al., 2002). Other possible consequences are sleeping difficulties, increased anxiety, alcohol or drug use, eating disorders and in the extreme case suicide (Jina & Thomas, 2013).
There can also be cases of stigmatisation and victim-blaming (Ullman, Townsend, Filipas, & Starzynski, 2007). These negative social reactions are related to more psychological symptoms and can negatively influence the victim’s social wellbeing. Stigmatisation is the process of labelling undesirable characteristics to persons that create a separation of “us” from “them” (Castro & Farmer, 2005). These labelled persons lose their status and experience discrimination that can lead to unequal outcomes. Victim-blaming is a cognitive process where individuals allocate or attribute the responsibility of what happened to the victim (Grubb & Turner, 2012). Victim-blaming and stigmatisation could be the reason why many women do not report sexual violence to the police, clinical settings or nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) out of shame, afraid of being blamed or just not being believed (Krug et al., 2002).
According to the feminist theory, these attitudes towards victims of sexual violence emanate from patriarchal systems (Boakye, 2009). The stratification and social control in these systems are fundamental in the sexual domination of women. Patriarchal systems can encourage and justify sexual coercion, stigmatize the victims and trivialize sexual violence.
6 Many societies still have attitudes that justify, tolerate or condone violence against women (García-Moreno et al., 2012a). These attitudes often come from traditional beliefs suggesting that women are subordinate to men and have to be controlled by violence. This unequal position of women, poverty and normative use of violence are examples of societal risk factors that contribute to violence against women as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Factors associated with violence against women based on the ecological model. “Understanding and addressing violence against women: Overview,” by García-Moreno et al., 2012a.
Even legal systems can be part of toleration of violence against women. Legislations can be inadequately implemented or allow interpretation (Kilonzo et al., 2009). In many countries, traditional law and informal systems of justice have a greater cultural authority and thus more practical impact than national laws. The use of traditional and informal systems can therefore be seen as a risk factor on the community level. On the level of relationships, the perception that it is the man’s right of having sexual intercourse within a marriage and the girl’s
(García-7 Moreno et al., 2012b). Individual risk factors are a young age, low educational level,
maltreatment, witness of inter-parental abuse and harmful drug and alcohol use (see figure 1). Some of these risk factors are consistently associated with increased risk of violence against women across many countries in the world, others are more context specific (García-Moreno, Guedes, & Knerr, 2012a). Thus, making it important that in countries, own data is being collected because of differences in political and cultural factors (García-Moreno et al., 2013). The differences in perception of sexual violence, caused by culture or otherwise, could be the reason why laws do not seem to be effective, thus keeping the occurrence of this type of violence and underreporting high. Therefore, this study focused on the perception of sexual violence in relation to the definition, risk factors and consequences.
More insight in these perceptions and information of the current situation can contribute to develop strategies which could help improving the situation of girls and females (WHO, 2016). Strategies which could help, according to the literature, are to strengthen health system leadership and governance, health providers capacity to respond, programmes to prevent violence and last but not least information collection and evidence. Intensive research including indicators could be used to develop, evaluate and scale up health systems (WHO, 2016).
Sexual violence in Ghana
In Ghana, where this study is conducted, the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey 2008 (GSS, GHS, & ICF Macro, 2009) indicates that almost one in five women has experienced sexual violence. The highest occurrence of experiencing sexual violence in Ghana is amongst women between 20-24 years (Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), 2014). Around 30% of the women experienced the sexual violence in the hand of current or former boyfriends and 19% is committed by a current husband or partner (GSS, 2009). Friends or acquaintances are in 14% of the cases the perpetrator, ex-husbands or partners in 9% of the cases and in 7% of the
8 time the perpetrator is a complete stranger. Only 5.3% of the victims sought help from the police.
The legal system of Ghana is a pluralist one that combines British common law and local customary law (Casey, 2011). The Ghanaian law does not define sexual violence as such, but there are a couple of sections in the criminal offences act 29 drafted in 1960 that can be related to sexual violence (Mensa-Bonsu, 2008). Section 97 deals with rape which is a first-degree felony with a conviction to imprisonment of no less than five years and not more than twenty-five years. The definition of rape in the Ghanaian law is the carnal knowledge (sexual intercourse) of a female of sixteen years or above without her consent. When the victim is under sixteen years of age, one speaks of defilement even if there is consent. Other sexual violence related felonies are indecent assault, unnatural carnal knowledge (sexual intercourse with a person in an unnatural manner or with an animal), incest, causing or encouraging prostitution of a child, procuration (forced prostitution of an adult), compulsion of marriage and carnal knowledge of any idiot, imbecile or a mental patient (Mensa-Bonsu, 2008). It is worth mentioning that sexual harassment, abuse and rape within the marriage are not considered as offences since such concepts are alien to Ghanaian cultures (Amoakohene, 2004).
In Ghana, consulting family elders, chiefs or religious leaders is the primary strategy used to resolve disputes (Casey, 2011). Key justice agencies struggle to manage with limited resources and have limited reach in rural areas. Thus, making chiefs continue to play a dominant role in maintaining law and order and resolving disputes within the communities in the absence of formal justice agencies. Although chiefs do not have the authority to deal with serious criminal cases, in practice, cases like defilement(sexual intercourse with a child) are often handled by traditional authorities instead of the formal judiciary (Casey, 2011).
9 This study is conducted in the town of Bolgatanga. It is organised around two main
objectives: first, to investigate the perspectives of people with different backgrounds in Bolgatanga on the definition, risk factors and consequences of sexual violence; secondly, to determine whether these perspectives have an influence on reactions, actions and aid when sexual violence occurs. From the literature it appears that within communities with a
patriarchal system and lower educational levels, which is the case in the study area, people are inclined to justify some sorts of sexual violence and trivialise it. People who are illiterate, are perhaps not always aware that the sexual acts are illegal and go against the law. In this setting, it lied in the assumption that victims are being stigmatised or blamed for what happened to them. A preference of informal authorities to handle sexual violence was expected as well.
Method Design
This thesis is based on a case study around sexual violence. In this study a mix-method design is used with the focus on qualitative research which included Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). This is supplemented with a small quantitative research. Two sexual related incidents were used to observe how themes mentioned in the FGDs and KIIs occur in real life. Processes and conversations in these situations have been observed and three In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) took place.
Ethics
Ethical approval for the study was received from the ethical commission of the University of Amsterdam. All participants were provided with background information of the study, their anonymity and the voluntary and confidential nature of their participation. Informed consent forms were signed before participation in the FGDs, KIIs, IDIs or the small quantitative research. In case of illiteracy and/or insufficient English language skills, the content and voluntary, anonymous and confidential nature of the study were read out loud and translated
10 when needed. The forms were in these cases signed by a witness and supplemented with a fingerprint of the participant. For the information about the occurrence of sexual violence and procedure of DOVVSU (Domestic Violence & Victim Support Unit), official approval was granted by the headquarters of police in Accra.
For the first incident, permission by the YHFG (Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana) was granted to observe and describe all conversations, actions and processes related to the case. Approval was also received by the head masters of the involved schools. For the second incident, written consent was obtained from the participants of the in-depth interviews (IDIs). To guarantee anonymity, no names are used and for storage of the data all names were
replaced by a participant number.
A translator has been used in the third FGD with the women in the rural village. This male translator was familiar with the women and had worked with them for a couple of years. The fact that he was a male, did not seem to have any effect on the group dynamic. He was asked to sign a confidentiality form. The structure of the meeting and the questions were discussed with the translator prior to the discussion. Although the participants of the fifth FGD with members of an extended family all spoke some English, they decided during the discussion that they preferred to speak in their local language (Frafra). One of the participants functioned as translator.
The positionality of the researcher can have an influence on all stages of the research process (Foote & Bartell, 2011). In this study, the fact that the researcher was hosted by the extended family from which family members participated in one of the FGDs could have make them feel obliged to participate. After the discussion, some of the family members expressed that they were happy they had contributed to the collection of data for such an important topic. During this study, it became clear that people in this region are not very open about the fact that they practise the traditional religion, because these practices are more and
11 more looked down on. This led to the decision to, apart from the fact that they could have felt obliged to participate, still use the information of this FGD since they were the only
participants of this study who practised the traditional religion and it is very important to also obtain the perspectives of participants who practice this religion. The non-religious, European background and black skin-color of the research might have influenced the relationship with the participants. Ghana is a very religious country where not practicing any religion can be seen as worshipping the devil or being immoral (Reuters Staff, 2012). During conversations, some participants expressed themselves negatively about white people [European or
American citizens]. This negative attitude could be explained by neo-colonial ideas where it is assumed that no African country is in fact free or independent (Diouf, 2016). They are still being stabilised and manipulated so that former colonizers can make a profit.
Study area
Bolgatanga is a municipality located in the centre of the Upper East Region of Ghana and is at the same time the regional capital (GSS, 2014). The main occupation in this region is agriculture. The municipality has a total population of 131,550 people (48% male, 52% female). Christianity (57,6%), Traditional religion (22,3%) and Islam (17,1%) are the three main religious groupings.
According to the 2010 population and housing census of the Bolgatanga municipality (GSS, 2014), around 36% of the population never had any form of formal education and the majority of the people who had, only attained basic school education level (40,7%). English is the official language of Ghana, but there are many local Ghanaian languages (Anyidoho & Kropp Dakubu, 2008). Gurene (or Frafra) is the largest indigenous language used in the Upper East Region. Poverty indications of Ghana show that Northern Ghana, where the Upper East Region is part of, continues to be the poorest area in the country. Poverty is one of the risk factors for sexual violence on societal level (see figure 1). The low income and low
12 educational level of people in the Bolgatanga municipality increase the individual risk for sexual violence.
The type of family household which is dominant in this region is the extended family (GSS, 2014). The family is considered paramount in Ghanaian society (Cantalupo, Vollendorf Martin, Pak, & Shin, 2006). This can result in enormous pressure for women to keep abuse out of the justice system and settle the matters within the family. This can be one of the risk factors for sexual violence on community level.
According to the Chief State Attorney based in Bolgatanga (personal communication, April 21th, 2017), around ten cases are handled by him each year. The detective corporal of DOVVSU shared the numbers of reported cases in the Bolgatanga area since 2013 which are shown in Table 1.
Table 1
Reports of sexual (related) offences Bolgatanga and surrounding area 2013-2017 Crime 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Rape 2 0 1 0 1 Defilement 4 4 7 2 4 Indecent assault - - 0 1 1 Unnatural carnal 0 0 1 1 0 knowledge (Sodomie) Compulsion of marriage - - 2 5 0 Abduction - - 1 0 0 Carnal knowledge of
mentally disabled person - - 1 0 0
Source: Detective Corporal DOVVSU, personal communication, July 12th 2017
Note. (-) = no data available for that year
Data collection
Instruments. The data collection methods used in this study were FGDs, KIIs, IDIs and observations of two incidents and a small quantitative study. For the FGDs and KIIs, the researcher followed a schedule for the interviews and discussions (See for full protocol appendix 1).
13 The advantage of FGDs is that it can reduce the risk of feelings of pressure and anxiety in contrary to one-on-one interactions (Culley, Hudson, & Rapport, 2007). It also gives the opportunity to observe and analyse group interactions. To encourage more discussion, short descriptions of situations (vignettes) were given to elicit judgements about these scenarios (see appendix 1). The question to be answered by the participants was: “Is this sexual violence or not?” By using vignettes within a group discussion, data is collected on group values, group beliefs and group norms of behaviour (Jenkins, Bloor, Fischer, Berney, & Neale, 2010).
All FGD participants additionally took part in a small quantitative research which
consisted of appointing cards with situations to an envelope with yes, this is sexual violence or an envelope with no, this is not sexual violence. This to get more individual perspectives on what people perceive as sexual violence and what not. This addition gave the opportunity to cross-check the perspectives given during the discussions and gave participants who were maybe too shy to give their opinion in a group the chance to give their opinion freely and anonymous. This method has common grounds with the q-sort method used to study people’s viewpoints about a certain topic by sorting and ranking statements (Marshall & Van der Wolf, 2013). The only difference in this current study is that the participants could only sort the statements in two categories and no ranking took place. An additional ten individual participants were asked to participate in this quantitative research as well.
The participants were provided with ten cards with situations. All cards were marked with a participant number and participants were asked to write down demographic factors (gender, age, religion, ethnic group and highest educational level) on each card to make sure that all answers could be linked to the right person and used for analysis. The statements on the cards were as much as possible adapted to the cultural life environment of the participants. The statements included both actual examples of sexual violence and examples of other types of
14 violence and maltreatment. This to see if participants also understood what the word sexual in sexual violence means and not answered only on the concept violence. The examples of actual sexual violence were: rape by a stranger, unwanted intercourse by the husband, forced to undress yourself, unwanted kissing, unwanted groping and fondling, telling the girl/woman that she can only get the job/good grade when she has sex with him and continue sexual activities when the person says stop. The examples of other types of violence or maltreatment were: beating a girl/woman, giving no food to a girl/woman and having a polygamous family (more than 1 wife).
Procedure. In the women group FGD, the vignettes or dilemmas were left out, because they had to attend a funeral. The same applies to the family group, but for a different reason. The participants seemed to become more and more impatient and one participant was already on the point of leaving. The decision was made to ask the last question and close the
discussion. The small quantitative study took place at the end of the discussions with the exception of the Moslem boys and the Moslem girls FGDs where it took place prior to the discussion. The participants received drinks and a little snack after the discussion or during a short break when they participated in another research as well. A voice-recorder was used during all discussions.
During the KIIs, the same themes as in the FGDs were discussed to make comparison possible. The interviews were supplemented with questions about challenges the professionals face during their work in relation to sexual violence.
During the last phase of the research, two incidents arose which complied with the topic of the case study. The decision was made to observe the processes and conversations in these situations to see if and how the themes mentioned during the FGDs and KIIs occur in real life. The first incident only consisted of observations and in the second incident, three IDIs were held.
15 Immediately after every discussion or interview, fieldnotes were written down which included observed reactions, main themes that arose and descriptions of the surroundings. The FGDs, KIIs and IDIs were carried out in different places with different degrees of privacy. In case of bystanders, they were kindly asked to leave. The overall privacy was thereby protected and complied with the most feasible privacy in this part of the world, where houses with no windows and discussions outside and under a tree are very common.
Participants. The participants were mainly recruited by convenience sampling of already existing groups or individuals known by the researcher.
FGDs. A total of 32 individuals (N = 32) participated in the FGDs. Table 2 includes the description of the socio-demographic background of the participants of these discussions. The first two groups with Moslem boys and girls were recruited through the youth organisation ‘Lights of Islam’ situated in Bolgatanga. The third group included six married women from Sumbrungu, a rural village around twenty minutes from Bolgatanga. The women were all part of a group which produces local baskets. The fourth group comprised eleven remedial school students who were all preparing for their re-take on their Senior High School exams at the YHFG (Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana).The last focus group was held with five married male members of an extended family. There is no information about the sexual activity of the Moslem girls. All the other participants were sexually active based on the information they give.
Quantitative study. All participants of the FGDs, supplemented with ten individual individuals participated in the small quantitative research about examples of sexual violence (N = 42; 25 females, 17 males; 𝑀𝑀𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎= 28.55; 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎= 12.21). From the ten participants in the additional group (7 females, 3 males) between 16 and 31 years old (𝑀𝑀𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎= 26.90; 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎= 6.74), one participant was from de Kusasi ethnic group and the rest belonged to the Frafra ethnic group. One female completed only primary school, one completed JHS (Junior High
16 School), five completed SHS (Senior High School), two obtained their vocational education diploma and one had a university degree. Seven of them already were parents and were thereby clearly sexual active.
Table 2
Demographic background participants FGDs
Variables FGD 1 FGD 2 FGD 3 FGD 4 FGD 5 Participants – N 5 5 6 11 5 Gender – N Male Female 5 0 0 5 0 6 4 7 5 0 Age in years – M(SD) 19.60 (1.14) 17.40 (.55) 49.17 (2.79) 21.27 (1.10) 43.20 (9.91) Ethnic group – N Kasena Mossi Dagomba Dagbani Gonja FraFra Builsa Nabdam Mamprusi 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 Religion – N Moslem Traditional religion Catholic Pentecostal 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 0 8 2 0 4 0 1 Highest educational level – N
No education Basic school or part JHS or part SHS or part Technical/vocational University 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 Note. Ethnical groups are sometimes also known under a different name or with another spelling
KIIs: The first KII was conducted with the 53 years old, Christian Chief State Attorney based in Bolgatanga, the second, with the 41 years old programme director of the NGO ‘Afrikids’. This organisation, with the head office located in Bolgatanga, runs projects in the field of child protection, education and health in the three northern regions of Ghana
17 Bolgatanga. DOVVSU is a specialised police unit, established in 1998 (then known as
Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU)), to address the increase of abuse and violence against women and children and to research characteristics and trends related to these issues
(www.refworld.org). Their duty is to take statements, briefing victims, providing advice for prevention, refer victims to medical and counselling services and providing services of clinical psychologists and social workers (www.refworld.org)
Incidents. Incident 1 revolved around a sexual assault case at a primary school in the Talensi-Nabdam district (40 minutes from Bolgatanga). Observations took place from conversations between an employee of the YHFG with a) her colleagues at the organisation; b) the head master of the victim’s school; c) the victim; d) the girl’s class teacher; e) the headmaster of the perpetrator and f) teachers at the perpetrator’s school. The second incident revolved around an alleged rape in Navrongo (30 minutes from Bolgatanga). Three IDIs were held with the alleged victim, her uncle and the head master of her Senior High School who all agreed to talk about the incident.
Data analysis
The analysis of the FGDs and KIIs was based on the phases of Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967): 1) Exploration (discovering concepts); 2) specification (working out concepts); 3) reduction (determining core concepts and underlying relations and 4) integration (answering research questions) (Peters & Wester, 2007). Before analysis, all FGDs and KIIs were transcribed verbatim. Coding took place by using the qualitative data analysis and research software programme atlas.ti.
In the exploration phase, open coding was used (Peters, & Wester, 2007). With the open coding, beginning and ending of fragments were determined and viewed whether they were relevant for the research or not (Boeije, 2014). Relevant fragments got one or two codes and fragments about the same aspect got the same code. When the point of saturation arrived, the
18 specification phase started. In this phase, the focus was to find an underlying structure in all the codes (Peters, & Wester, 2007). Constant comparison or axial coding was used to look for those structures. Codes were disaggregated or linked together and important categories were described (Boeije, 2014).
The same procedure has been used in the reduction phase (Peters, & Wester, 2007). In this phase, selective coding took place. Determination took place of which aspects were repeated by multiple participants (Boeije, 2014). There has been looked at how the relevant aspects related to each other, in which context they occurred and if this was related to interpretations in literature. In the final stage, all the relevant findings were compared with the quantitative research and incidents.
The codes of this study were divided over nine main groups. When clear differences between the different FGDs were observed, this is explicitly stated in the results section. If not described, there were no clear differences and aspects were mentioned in all groups. To estimate the interrater reliability (IRR), two FGDs and two KIIs were coded by a second researcher. The overall IRR initially varied from 54 to 91%. The IRR of the FGD with the remedial school students (IRR = 69 – 91%) and the KII with the lawyer (IRR = 74 – 86%) can be considerate as good to almost perfect. Most of the differences in the FGD with the women group (IRR = 54 – 61%) and the KII with the Afrikids director (IRR = 57 – 59%) were due to double coding of one of the researchers. The second researcher, who had not been to Ghana, indicated that she found the interview with the Afrikids director difficult to follow, which resulted in difficulties in coding. To increase the reliability and secure consistency, double codes were changed into overarching codes and from the initial nine main code groups only seven were ultimately used to describe the results.
The quantitative data and demographic factors of the participants have been imported in SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). First, descriptive statistics were used to
19 look at the frequencies and percentages of given answers. Differences between groups in total sum of situations indicated as sexual violence were examined by a one-way ANOVA
(gender), correlation (age) and Kruskal-Wallis test (religion + educational level)
The two incidents were analysed as well. The narrative case study method was used to understand stages or phases in social processes and investigate a phenomenon within its environmental context (Brandell & Varkas, 2011). The incidents were compared with each other and with the results from the FGDs and KIIs of this study. Similarities are described in the results section.
Results
The results of the FGDs and KIIs are described under seven different headings which correspond with the seven main group codes of the analysis: Definition of sexual violence and the law; risk factors and patterns; consequences for the victim; stigmatisation and victim-blaming; reporting, investigation and prosecution; own experiences and solutions. The results of the quantitative study are described under the heading definition sexual violence and law. The incidents are discussed separately at the end, starting with a summary of both incidents followed by the similarities with the results of the FGDs and KIIs.
Definition sexual violence and the law
All the participants of the FGDs and KIIs were asked to give their own definition of sexual violence. Despite the lack of English language skills of some of the older participants, all groups were able to formulate their own definition. In the situation where the question had to be translated into Frafra (local language), the participants were already given some examples of sexual violence. The next quotation explains why: “So, the sexual violence is not actually having a direct translation in the language. So, instead I have indirectly explained by giving scenarios to them” (Translator focus group females).
20 Whereas the students of the remedial school and the women group mainly defined sexual violence in combination with examples of situations (within marriage, when you try to obtain a job, teenager forced by an adult), the male group, Moslem boys, Moslem girls and key informants came with more general descriptions as shown in the next quotes: “That is forcing to have sex” (male, 48 years, traditional religion) and “So, sexual violence is when someone is forced in engaging in sexual activities” (Moslem girl, 17 years). One of the key informants also includes the prevention of exercising sex: “a situation where someone is compelled to act in a way that is against his or her will or in instances where someone is also protected or prevented from exercising their sexual experience and emotions” (Director of programmes Afrikids, 41 years, Catholic).
A 19 years old Moslem male described sexual violence as:
Yeah, I think sexual violence is the act of harassing someone, the victim’s emotional feelings …. I mean the opponent is strictly ready to have sexual contact with a victim, the victim tries to refuse but it does not have the power to do that. In that situation, it’s sexual violence because the victim is not in support of that.….
The element of force was clearly present in all given definitions by both focus group participants as the key informants. In the remedial school group, they started to define sexual violence as forcing a person who is underaged. The terms ‘sexual violence’ and ‘defilement’ were used alternately by the participants in the rest of the discussion. This led to some confusion. At some points, they corrected each other upon which the researcher gave the definition of defilement.
In the focus groups with the younger people, some dilemmas were presented where the participants had to decide whether it was a case of sexual violence or not. In the remedial school group some situations were not labelled as sexual violence.
21 One participant explained:
it is not sexual violence because they were not having sex with that person but they were disgracing the female or exposing the female for people to see, to teasing her or things like that but it was not sexual violence (female, 21 years, Catholic)
The researcher then asked what their definition of sex was. It turned out that they only considered penetration as sex. In the vignette where the girl stays silence and does not make clear whether she wants to have sex or not, the participants in first instance did not see this as sexual violence as illustrated in the next quotes. “Maybe the silence may show that maybe the lady is feeling shy to tell you that yes or no maybe, but she maybe agrees with what you are going to do to her” (male, Moslem); “…if the lady didn’t want to have sex, she’ll would have say no exactly” (female, 17 years, Moslem); “Madam no, it was not sexual violence…. because there is a saying that silence means consent” (male, 22 years, Catholic). After some discussions about the dilemma’s, every group agreed that these were examples of sexual violence as well.
All participants of this study stated that both males and females can be victims of sexual violence, but that the majority of the victims are women. In the FGDs, domestic violence, in the form of beating the wife, was mentioned a couple times in the context of sexual violence. All women in the different groups indicated that husbands sometimes use force to have sex, but the majority indicated that it is the wife’s duty to satisfy the husband and that he should not be punished for this. The Chief State Attorney added to this that in Ghanaian law, spousal rape is not an offence. In this case, women can make a domestic violence report at most.
The results of the quantitative study are presented in Table 3. A one-way ANOVA, correlation and Kruswall-Wallis test were conducted to examine differences between groups. There were no significant differences found in what participants perceived as sexual violence in relation to gender F(1,39) = .35, p > 0.05; age r = .06, N = 41, p > 0.05; religion 𝑥𝑥2(4, N =
22 42) = 9.39, p > 0.05 and educational level 𝑥𝑥2(7,41) = 4.47, p > 0.05. The actual examples of sexual violence were perceived as such more than the other forms of violence. Noticeable, is the fact that 71.4% of the participants indicated unwanted intercourse with the husband as sexual violence, while during the discussions a high percentage seemed to justify force by the husband. The extra participants who did not take part in a discussion, had a lower total score of situations (M = 4.10) that they considered to be sexual violence than the individuals who took part in a FGD (M = 6,42). The difference between these two groups was significant F(1,39) = 7.07, p < 0.05.
Table 3
Percentages of participants considering the situation to be sexual violence
Situations Percentages (%) yes, this is sexual violence
Rape by a stranger* 76.2
Unwanted intercourse by the husband* 71.4
Forced to undress yourself* 69.0
Unwanted kissing* 81.0
Unwanted groping and fondling* 66.7
Telling the girl/woman that she can only get 76.2
the job/good grade when she has sex with him*
Continue sexual activities when the person says stop* 63.4
Beating a girl/woman** 40.5
Giving no food to a girl/woman** 21.4
Having a polygamous family (more than 1 wife)** 21.4
Note. * = actual examples of sexual violence; ** = other forms of violence or maltreatment
Risk factors and patterns
Risk factors of becoming a victim of sexual violence that came up during the FGDs were insulting a guy, being too friendly to someone, way of dressing, girls allowing men to spend money on them and roaming alone, especially at night. Although most of the examples were linked to the risk of becoming a victim, some characteristics or risks of becoming a
perpetrator were mentioned as well, such as having a mental illness. A few participants linked being a perpetrator with the religious belief or ethnical group of that person. The Chief State Attorney often comes across perpetrators who are a former boyfriend or husband or cases
23 where there is some sort of power inequality such as in age or strength. Related to power inequality, participants in the FGDs gave the examples of child versus adult, boss versus employee and teacher versus student. Single-sex schools seem to create a higher risk of becoming a victim of a teacher or watchman.
According to especially the younger participants, poverty in the region plays a key role in sexual violence. They explained that it is difficult to get a job in this part of the world. Thus, making people (especially women and girls) more inclined to allow sexual acts out of fear of losing their job or not getting the position. The same goes for obtaining good grades at school. A teacher can abuse his or her power to let students pass their exams in return for sex.
The older participants put the blame more on changes within society. As one of the females of the women group indicates:
…the dressing of the woman… here in our area, women are used to dress and covering themselves and so, that is what is happening. So, because of modernisation, some of the girls are beginning to wear short dresses and they don’t cover them. So, when some men see that, it arouses them and they also rape (female, 52 years, Christian) One of the males of the extended family said:
Being that these days people don’t sleep early, like those days people used to sleep around 8 o’clock. Now, people roam throughout the night. So, if it’s in the night and the lady is roaming alone in the night and a man sees her. Some of the men can rape (male, 47 years, Christian)
In two of the FGDs, leaving your child alone in the house is mentioned as a risk factor as well. According to two key informants, this lack of parental supervision and the ignorance of people are causes for the occurrence of sexual violence. According to the DOVVSU detective corporal, illiteracy [low education] is part of this problem. This leads to people not knowing
24 what is illegal. This applies to the perpetrators as well as to the victims. It is not always the case that there are pre-planned bad intentions. The next quote illustrates this:
…most of these things are perpetrated not because people are naturally wicked, but it is because they don’t even know……That is the element of the ignorance and most of them they don’t know that what they are doing, constitute an illegality (Director of programmes Afrikids, 41 years, Catholic).
The Afrikids director continues with the fact that there are some old practises that lead to conflicts between what tradition often prescribes and what the Ghanaian law considers to be illegal. An example of that is compulsion of marriage as illustrated by the next case described by the DOVVSU detective corporal.
The young girl was a school drop-out. She was dating and got pregnant. The family of the boy went to the girl’s family to acknowledge him as the father. The head of the girl’s family decided that the girl should automatically go to the other family and marry the boy. The girl refused and they took the baby to the father’s family so that she would follow. The girl fled home for almost a week and the mother made a report to the police. DOVVSU went to the village and talked to the elders. The baby was returned to the mother.
Other examples of cultural practices given during the KIIs are women who are compelled to remarry a family member when they have lost their husbands and men’s belief that if they want to marry a woman, they can seize her with force. They will capture the woman,
sometimes with the help of friends, and keep her in a room. Later, the man informs the
woman’s family that he has to marry her because they had sex. This and other forms of sexual violence happens especially during festival time. The reason given for why sexual violence occurs mainly during festivals is the following: “14 days or 15 days, it’s characterised by drinking, dancing, staying out late in the night and socialising. And this usually creates an
25 opportunity for things like this to happen.” (Director of programmes Afrikids, 41 years, Catholic). Multiple participants of the FGDs indicated that the use of alcohol and drugs creates a higher risk of becoming a victim as well as becoming a perpetrator
Consequences for the victim
The participants gave examples of reproductive or physical consequences, psychological consequences (mental health) and relational consequences that have an influence on the social well-being of the victim. The consequences indicated the most in the FGDs were physical consequences like bleedings, pregnancies, STIs and AIDS. Psychological consequences were only given after explicitly asking. “you can become mad……. when you are forced into sexual and violent. It can cause you to become abnormal. You lose your conscious and you can do anything to harm your life” (female, 20 years, Catholic). Examples of relational consequences given by the participants were divorce and consequences resulting from stigmatisation and victim-blaming.
The key informants confirmed these consequences for the victims but addressed
depressions after such violence as well. The director of Afrikids points out that it can lead to instability of mothers, whereby they cannot take good care of their children. One of the things that contributes a lot to this instability is stigmatisation.
Stigmatisation and victim-blaming
The risk factors for the occurrence of sexual violence mentioned earlier by both male as female participants are mainly focused on girls. Indecent dressing of women is mentioned as risk factor or cause of sexual violence in all discussions and interviews. It sometimes hinted a form of blaming. “And that one you have caused it. It’s your behaviour that caused that or maybe your code of dress that have putting you into that mess” (female, 23 years, Christian). A participant of the women group agreed to this by explaining: “here as a woman you are supposed to cover yourselves. So, if you don’t cover yourself and you’re exposed yourself for
26 a man to see and the man rapes you, it’s your own fault” (Translation, female, 53 years, Pentecostalist)
A young Moslem male added to this:
she showed you her private parts so you are also a human, you are not made of wood. You have sexual feelings …. So, it depends the kind of dressing that can cause the rape. The dressing. It’s the dressing.
Blaming the victim can also lead to not reporting the case to the police as becomes clear in the next quotation: “She would tell the daughter don’t dress that way it’s no good. But if the daughter keeps on exposing herself and a man rapes her, she will not go the police station to report it” (Translation, female, 46 years, Catholic).
According to the DOVVSU detective corporal, there is also a lot of stigmatisation of the victim after sexual violence. This stigma, according to the Afrikids director, can affect the victim’s economic activities and thereby also affects the support they can give to her children. After a rape, a woman loses some amount of her dignity amongst her peers and community. The stigma can even force women to migrate, because they are not able to cope with the situation in their own community. They are given names and there are examples of allocation of rules within the community. Some victims are no longer allowed to participate in certain cultural practices.
According to the Afrikids director, the consequences of stigma are worse when there are no gatekeepers (usually older women within the community who give counselling and support). One of the females of a FGD acts as a gatekeeper or women’s leader in her
community. When for example the husband beats his wife up, they come to her to report. She will then bring the case to the chief and community leaders and the matter will be discussed and settled with the husband and wife to prevent recurrence.
27 Not only victims are being stigmatised, but organisations as well. Because Afrikids is a NGO, people may think that they are working with white people and that, according to the director, sometimes leads to resistance. There is an assumption that whites [people from western countries] think that they are superior and want to change African cultural practices. Therefore, Afrikids has to be very careful with whom they target and in which way.
According to the director, also the attitude of healthcare workers is sometimes so judgemental and stigmatising arising from their background, religion or culture, that it makes services unattractive for local communities.
Reporting, investigation and prosecution
Blaming and stigmatisation is according to the key informants, one of the reasons why women do not report cases of sexual violence. The fact that cases are handled in open court (closed court for defilement cases since 2016) does not promote going to the police. Out of shame or fear that the case will otherwise bring disgrace to the family, there is sometimes a preference for using informal systems to handle certain cases. According to two key
informants, cases are regularly dealt with amongst community members (informal law) or within families. It even happens that after a case is reported, the complete family comes to the office to withdraw the case.
Solving disputes informally has a lot to do with the tight relationships people have in this region as clarified in the next quote.
here our relationship with one another is so close that we just live within one another…. You know we relate well, we attend each other’s funerals. If we are here and we hear a cry, we all run there to see what is happening, to try see one another. So, sometimes when a situation like that arises [sexual violence], you look at it maybe this is a mistake. Let’s see how we can correct it. You see. So, we don’t look at the criminal aspect of it more. We rather look at how related we are, how close we are….
28 We still see how we can suppress the issue, put it down…. So, it’s how we’re related … how close we are. (male, 55 years, traditional religion)
To keep these relationships well, people often do not go to the police as described by the Afrikids director:
And again, there is also this issue of how relations in Ghana and Africa. This person knows that person. That person knows another person and so one. So, people are even willing to condone crime because of these relationships…… people finding means and ways of taking them out of getting it up to the police station and claim that they want an out of court, out of police settlement.
The suggestion that sexual violence should be discussed with someone they know (teacher, family member, elder) before a possible police report, is mentioned a couple of times in the FGDs and KIIs. “The immediate parents are those they report the matter to…. We also report to the elders and we convene a family meeting” (male, 55 years, traditional religion). He further explains that when a girl goes to the police without notifying her family, they can still decide to withdraw the report.
Some females indicated that reporting their husband would be a disgrace to the marriage. Also, in case of imprisonment, the wife will be left alone to be a single parent. As revenge, the husband can go outside to chase other women which results in a higher risk to catch a STI. There is a fear of losing their children as well.
in our tradition, when a man marries a woman and you give birth and let’s say there’s a divorce case. The children belong to the man. And so, they don’t want anything to happen and if they report and there’s a divorce they’ll lose their children
(Translation, female, 48 years, Catholic) The detective corporal added to this that some communities, especially Moslems, do not report violence at all. It is for them socially unthinkable to report a husband or father. He
29 beliefs that Traditionalists and Christians feel freer to report sexual cases or domestic
violence.
That traditional practices also play a role in reporting becomes clear by an example given by the detective corporal. In some traditions, it is normal that the future husband pays cattle to the girl’s family to marry her. At DOVVSU, the officers sometimes see that parents wait whether they will receive something. If not, they make a report that their daughter has been abducted or forced to marry. It also occurs that assembly men or opinion leaders force the girls not to report or go to court.
Another factor that effects the willingness to report a sexual violence case, is the tendency to condone such violence. Participants came with certain perspectives on sex that encourage these justifications:
like a person, the sperms that a person do produce always too much even if the persons don’t always have sex, maybe every month or sometimes the person can die through it….… The master [teacher] told us that his friend even died out of that
(female, remedial school group) In addition, masturbation is seen as a sin and against religious beliefs according to
participants in the remedial school group. One participant indicated that it can lead to infections because you use your hands. So, when masturbation is not allowed, you will have to have sex. According to one girl, you do not want to harm or kill your husband, therefore you have to have sex with him even when you don’t want to. So, blaming and stigmatisation, preference for informal disputes, sex related perspectives and cultural hierarchy can prevent people from reporting sexual violence.
But even when people do want to report to the police, there are some difficulties they can face. An example, given by multiple participants is the fear that the one you reported will try to get revenge. Other problems are the lack of proof and the fear of not being believed. One of
30 the participants mentioned that when the assumed perpetrator has financial means, he can bribe the police and set himself free. Also, there is a lack of offices where people can report and when there is an office, it is not always that inviting.
According to the detective corporal, the vision of DOVVSU is to create an environment where domestic violence can be freely reported and to collaborate with stakeholders to provide and coordinate a timely response to victims of abuse. In his opinion this is not being realised completely. First of all, the officers do provide counselling, but they do not have any specific training. Just recently they had a 2-days coaching course. The detective corporal indicates that he himself learned everything by experience. The environment is according to him not sufficient and friendly. There are no comfortable seats, no coffee or even water to offer, not enough space or quiet place to discuss the matter in private and the office does not even have a computer. The lack of computers makes data collection very difficult. The office in Bolgatanga is the only DOVVSU office in the Upper East Region. All the police stations in the region are obligated to report rape cases and defilement at this office. The detective corporal beliefs that these cases are being shared, but not always all the minor sex related crimes. Thus, making it difficult to estimate the occurrence of sexual violence. Next to problems with reporting, there are problems with the prosecution as well.
To be able to prosecute, the Chief State Attorney depends totally on reports from the police. When people don’t file report at the police station, he cannot prosecute. People sometimes do not even come to court to present the evidence. He often hears that people travelled to another place in the country. It also happens that there are false accusations. About this the Chief State Attorney says:
You see in some cases some women, excuse me to say, they have a problem with somebody. Some lie that my daughter has been sexually abused by this man. You have to get some money from the person. It happens
31 For prosecution, there need to be proof. This is sometimes hard to get. The Chief Attorney gives the example of defilement, where determination that the victim is under 16 years of age is very important. Not everyone in Ghana has a birth certificate and without a proper determination of age, the case could fall. Another problem is the need for a medical report, according to the detective corporal. The police provide a medical form, but the victims have to go to the hospital themselves and pay for the medical examination (20-60 euro in 2017). This is often too expensive and the case cannot come to court of will fail because of lack of proof. Bolgatanga and surroundings also have an inefficient address system. It is sometimes difficult for the corporal and his colleagues to find the right house for their investigation.
During the interview, the detective corporal shows some attributes that are used for JuJu (magic where a supernatural power is ascribed to a certain object). In these cases, he says, it is difficult to get the victim back. The perpetrator has in his words ‘total control’ over the girl and she will run back to him time after time. The detective corporal refuged to explain the concept ‘Juju’ and its presumed power further. He only emphasised that he himself does not believe in magic like that and that it cannot influence an officer.
According to him, most convictions in the last five years were for defilement. From the 21 cases there were 11 convictions. Punishments were between 2,5-8 years in prison. Four cases are still under trial and six cases failed due to lack of evidence and death of the suspect. Of the four rape cases, one suspect was convicted to seven years, one is still under trial and two escaped. None of the abduction cases went to court. There was no conviction in the cases of compulsion of marriage, unnatural carnal knowledge and indecent assault. This due to lack of evidence or the situation seemed to be otherwise. Parents reported a man for having sex with their mentally disabled daughter, but the couple stated that they loved each other and live together. They see it often that parents file report for abduction of their daughters, but the girls
32 sometimes want the relationships themselves. When the police go the man’s house, they will not find the girl there. The case is then dismissed.
The Chief State attorney mentioned that the numbers of sexual violence are declining, because perpetrators were prosecuted successfully and this brings fear among people. According to the Afrikids director, this fear is not so present anymore since the laws are not being enforced as good as they were in the past. One of the male participants of the FGDs suggests that perpetrators should be disciplined by caning in public. To sum up, it seems that lack of law enforcement and challenges related to reporting, investigation and prosecution are making it difficult to decrease the numbers of sexual violence.
Own experiences
Participants of the FGDs were asked if they had ever experienced or witnessed any sexual violence. Only participants in the women group indicated to have been a victim of sexual violence. With a lot of laughter, they explained how their husbands forced them to have sex. “Sometimes you will receive several beatings and so it pains……. even the man will force you and tear your panties and beat you up” (female, 46 years, Catholic).
Two Moslem males described the next situations which occurred in their communities:
there is in our village one of ‘the this thing’ [expletive, commonly used in this region] the girl’s their mother sent her to ‘the this thing’ the market to buy this thing, this thing home. To buy something for her. So, when she was when she was going back, one of ‘the this thing’ those weed smokers, they called the girl and
she forced the girl and she raped the girl, for now she is in jail. That guy is in ‘this thing’ jail. They jailed him
I do know someone who has been a victim of sexual violence that was back in my stay in school. A lady was after prep [place where students can do schoolwork after school
33 hours], she was moving back to her dormitory which was a big distance to the prep hall and unfortunately a group of the village guys, two of them attacked her and then had the sexual misconduct with her. I mean rape…. She was taken to, she was rushed to the hospital because there was discharge of blood from her organ. So, she was rushed to the hospital and then later on was send home. Before she came for her final exam…. ah, they came to the place and arrested two of those guys
One of the males in the family group has experienced a situation from the viewpoint of a person who had to make a judgement. This quote gives an insight in how the so-called informal law works.
I think they handled a number of cases like that before, when I was assemblyman. …. the lady reported that she was, somebody attempted to rape her. ….. The lady came and reported to me. We’ve invited the man and the man denied but according to some people they had a struggle in the millet. …. after the report we just tried to find out whether somebody, whether that happened, the lady said no it had not happened. ... The man tried to explain that that was the girlfriend. …. So, at the end of the day, we just tried to find out whether you know there were injuries or there were you know losses maybe, there was nothing. So, we spoke to both of them, they understood one another and everything was clear. …. if it was not true the lady would now have taken it lightly. (male, 55 years, traditional religion)
Participants of the FGDs also indicated that they are sometimes confronted with videos of sexual violence. As a result, the matter gets to more people and can have consequences for a woman’s chance of getting married as shown in the next quote.
if not for now that the social media and one man make these things to go far. You know it’s not used to be like that. Two, three years back, anything like that happens
34 here and that girl still gets a husband to marry within, not far away (male, 55 years, traditional religion)
This quote slightly illustrates that victims are still being stigmatised in this region. Some of the videos are, according to a girl from the remedial school, so explicit that it shocks the people who watch it. Although, the videos are sometimes quite shocking, people (especially the youth) continue to spread them.
Solutions
Most of the solutions given by the participants of the FGDs are related to how boys and girls should behave. Girls should dress themselves appropriate and not associating with people they don’t know. When a girl does not want to have sex, she has to be firm and clear. Boys should be advised not to unnecessarily roam and play with girls and should consider their reactions towards the girl and her response. Both boys and girls should abstain from sex as long as possible and stay away from alcohol and drugs.
In both the FGDs as the KIIs, education seems to be the key strategy in the fight against sexual violence. Youth should be made aware of the consequences like pregnancies, STIs and AIDS. People also need to be taught about how to react in case of sexual violence. One girl of the remedial school was taught by her teacher that when rape occurs, you should go
immediately to the police and don’t wash yourself. This to preserve proof. She was also told by a female teacher not to struggle against the perpetrator and ask him to use a condom to minimalize harm as much as possible. Children, especially a girlchild, should be taught to voice out confidently and report cases, according to the women leader of the Sumbrungu community. People should not only be educated about the illegality of practices and human rights, but especially girls should know how to reduce the risk to get sexually violated.
The program director of Afrikids and the detective corporal of DOVVSU believe it is also very important to educate professionals how to deal with victims, how to counsel them and
35 make them feel comfortable with talking about their experiences. Next to education, two of the key informants also emphasise that it is very important to approach sexual violence within a social context. The Afrikids director explains why:
And in educating …… we are looking at the community structures. So, we find the chiefs, we find the women who need this ……. and then we also find community opinion leaders who work under the traditional and customary practices as the people that we target and try to use them as agents of change so that they will eventually be the ones who try and educate
Important stakeholders in the fight against sexual violence that the key informants
enumerate are: NGOs, DOVVSU, Ghana Police Service (GPS), Ghana Health Service (GHS), Department of Social Welfare (DSW), Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) and people of importance within the communities (chiefs, assemblymen, opinion leaders, gatekeepers). The believe that God can help you is mentioned a couple times as well. Education on sexual rights and appropriate behaviour are seen as key strategy in the fight against sexual violence. Though participants emphasise that it must be administered within a cultural sensitive context.
Incidents
Two incidents are added to observe how the themes mentioned in the FGDs and KIIs occur in real life and how issues of (alleged) sexual violence are being dealt with. First a summary of both incidents is given, followed by the similarities with the results of the FGDs and KIIs.
36 Textbox 1
Incident 1
The Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana (YHFG) has a programme called FLASH (Friends Love and Sexual Health). This program educates children from Upper Primary and Junior High School (JHS) about different sex related topics. A fieldworker of the YHFG went to one of the schools for monitoring one of her projects. She was caught by the rain and had to shelter at a primary school. While waiting, she had a conversation with the headmaster of this school and he informed her about a case of sexual abuse of one of his students. She came back at the office with the story about the young girl of the primary school that had been sexually abused by a boy from JHS. She asked for advice from her colleagues because she was wondering what the role of the YHFG should be in cases like this. The opinion of the whole staff was that as an organisation with the focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), you cannot do nothing. Decided was to do at least a follow-up and go back to both schools.
The JHS was visited to find out whether they were aware of the case. The fieldworker decided to act like if she was doing her monitoring of the FLASH program. Slowly, she changed the topic into teasing and finally into forced sex. From there, she indicated that she heard of an incident that took place with one of the students of the school. In first instance, the employees of the school said that they weren’t aware of the case. The fieldworker emphasised that she was not there to try to find out who did it but just what happened. A male teacher advised the fieldworker to call the headmaster in a what seemed like an irritated tone in his voice. She replied by saying that the incident was not a topic to talk about over the phone. The man answered back that she could just ask if something like that happened and that the headmaster can then answer with yes or no. The man added to this “or is that not what you want to know?” The fieldworker left the issue and continued talking about the project and ended the conversation.
After that, she visited the primary school. She was received very friendly and started chatting with the headmaster about the heavy rain from last time. The FLASH teacher came, but the fieldworker immediately told that she only wanted to talk to the headmaster about the incident. The headmaster immediately understood and asked the people to leave. The fieldworker indicated that she wanted some more information about the case and that she wanted to use it in the future as an example to warn other people without using any names. The headmaster immediately ordered someone to get the abused girl. This was not the intention of the fieldworker. While waiting, the headmaster talked about security problems at the school grounds. They lock the classrooms but people still enter when school is closed.
The girl’s class teacher entered the room to join the conversation. The abused girl was a six years old girl who looked very shy. The conversation was not very private, teachers and other children entered and left the room constantly. They explained that the abuse happened two or three weeks ago in a classroom. The boy involved was a 13 years old boy from JHS and possibly Moslem because of his surname. The girl lived across the school and was collecting water. It was already getting dark. The boy put his hand over her mouth and carried her to the primary school. In a classroom, he tried to penetrate her but when he did not succeed in that, he tried to wider the girl’s vagina with his fingers.
Because the girl stayed a long time away from home, the grandmother, where the girl lives, came looking for her. She found the girl when she was walking back to the house. The grandmother asked her what happened and the girl told the complete story. The grandmother went to the headmaster of the JHS to complain and not to the primary school. The teacher of the primary school only came aware about the situation after talking to the grandmother about the girl’s absence and complaints of headaches. He notified the headmaster. The headmaster of the primary school wished that the grandmother had gone to him because he would immediately make a report at the police station. Now he could not intervene because the headmaster of the JHS was already handling the case.
The teacher of the girl knew that the families of both the girl and the boy were currently negotiating the situation. The fieldworker had her arm around the girl. At some point, the headmaster and teacher were both interrogating the girl. The girl became shyer and shyer. Then the researcher of this study intervened and suggested that it would be better to first tell the girl that we are here to help her and to prevent this from happening to other girls. The teacher replied that the girl was very shy now and told more the last time he talked to her.
