DETERMINANTS OF GENDER -BASED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN THE TOLON DISTRICT OF GHANA

Abstract

Violence against women is a persistent and universal problem occurring in every culture and social group as a result of unequal distribution of power in society between women and men. The objective of this study was to explore the determinants of gender-based violence among women in the Tolon District of the Northern Region of Ghana. A cross sectional descriptive study using both quantitative and qualitative methods was conducted. A sample size of 400 women was used in this study. Systematic sampling procedure was used in the selection of households of respondents. The mean age of the respondents was 34.29 ± 6.38. About 3.2% of the respondents have ever been raped whilst 12.3% were forced by men who tried to have sexual intercourse with them. It was found that 34% never suffered sexual abuse. Cases of physical violence/assaults were more than sexual assaults (89.7% versus 66%). Only 2.5% of the physical assaults were reported to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU). An assessment of abusive cultural practices showed that 17% of the respondents went through female genital cutting whilst 2.5% of the respondents said they were forced to do abusive widowhood rites. Compared to women who had no education, women who attained secondary or higher education had significantly lower odds of suffering gender- based violence (GBV) (AOR = 3.7, CI: 1.4-9.5). In conclusion, there were more physical abuses than sexual abuses against women in the study communities. Husbands and boyfriends of women were the worst perpetrators of physical abuses against women. It is recommended that more education should be done on GBV among men since they are the perpetrators of these abuses