VIOLENCE AGAINST RURAL WOMEN AND THEIR SOCIO ECONOMIC WELLBEING. A CASE OF WOMEN VICTIMS IN THE JIRAPA DISTRICT, GHANA

Abstract

Violence against women is seen as any form of harm or pain brought to bear on an individual causing temporary or permanent damage by virtue of being a woman. There are several forms of violence against women depending on the field of study including physical, sexual, economic, political and psychological violence. Violence against women is caused by many factors including poverty, traditional factors, alcoholism among others. The root cause however is the inequality between men and women caused by unequal power relations. Socio-economic well-being of rural women hinges on the economic, education, political and health care delivery. Both probability and non -probability sampling techniques were employed in selecting a total of 153 respondents. Data was collected using in-depth interviews, personal interview questionnaire and focus group discussions. The research employed case study research design. The theory under pinning the research is the hierarchical gender prescriptions theory which is based on the freedom of individuals making choices regardless of the levels of inequality. The research revealed among others that violence against women in the Jirapa District has more health effects (that is, 37% of respondents indicated that). Other effects as the findings revealed were on the education (24%), political or decision making (11%), and economic (28%) of the rural woman. A conclusion was drawn that violence against women really has a great influence on the socio-economic well-being of rural women given the chi-squares analysis. It is recommended that, the institutions responsible for fighting to reduce violence against women in the Jirapa District must be strengthened in order to collaborate well with the existing civil society organizations to design and implement innovative plans to bring this social problem under control. Special educational packages must be designed to cater for increased enrollment and retention of girls in school by the Ghana Education Service.