What is a Domestic Violence?
"Domestic violence is much more than physical violence"
Domestic Violence Teaching Series
Signs of Domestic Violence
Destructive criticism and verbal abuse: shouting/mocking/accusing/name calling/verbally threatening
Pressure tactics: threatening to withhold money disconnect the telephone, take the car away, commit suicide, take the children away, lying to your friends and family about you, not allowing you to make your own decisions, refusing to give you chop money
Disrespect: persistently putting you down in front of other people, not listening or responding when you talk, interrupting your telephone calls, taking money from your purse or wallet without asking
Breaking trust: lying to you, withholding information from you, being jealous, having other relationships, breaking promises and shared agreements.
Isolation: monitoring or blocking your telephone calls, telling you where you can and cannot go, preventing you from seeing friends and relatives
Harassment: following you, checking up on you, opening your mail, repeatedly checking to see who has telephoned you, embarrassing you in public
Threats: making angry gestures, using physical size to intimidate, shouting you down, destroying your possessions, breaking things, wielding a knife or a gun, threatening to kill or harm you and the children
Sexual violence: punching, slapping, hitting, biting, pinching, kicking, pulling hair out, pushing, shoving, burning, strangling
Denial: saying the abuse doesn't happen, saying you caused the abusive behaviour, being publicly gentle and patient, crying and begging for forgiveness, saying it will never happen again
Categories and Examples of Abuse
| Physical Abuse |
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"My husband words abroad and I live at home with my in laws. They do not beat me, but they force be to stay at home and prevent me from leaving he house to socialize with friends and family. They only speak to me if they need something from me."Not all physical domestic violence involves one spouse beating another spouse. |
| Sexual Abuse |
|
“I was recently infected with HIV. I came to know that I contracted the virus from my husband. He knew that he had the virus when we were intimate but failed to tell me.”Sexual domestic violence doesn’t always involve intercourse. Sexual domestic violence CAN occur within a marriage |
| Economic Abuse |
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Degrading and threatening words are harmful within a domestic relationship. |
| Emotional Abuse |
|
" I stay at home to take care of the children and the household. The money that my husband gives me for this is often not enough for the family to survive. When we run sort of food he accuses me of spending the money on myself. I am constantly nervous about asking for money even when it is for food, clothing and other household items." |
Your Options
Domestic violence is abuse that occurs within a domestic relationship, In Ghana, through the Domestic Violence Act (DV Act), abuse is widely defined. Here are some details and examples regarding what constitutes domestic violence in Ghana. Within the DV Act there are four types of abuse: Physical, Sexual, Emotional & Economic. There are many examples within each category of abuse. You do not have to be a victim of physical violence to be protected by the act.
Contact
WiLDAF Ghana
Accra Phone: 233 302 768349
Volta Region Office: 233 3620 26076
Western Region Office: 233 3120 21552
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Other Legal Organization Service Providers:
FIDA Ghana (International Federation for Women Lawyers)233 302 229283
Women's Help Organizations
Ark Foundation 233 302 511610
Ark Foundation Crisis Response Line 233 243 777773
WISE (Women's Initiative for Self Empowerment) 233 302 781003
DOVVSU (Domestic Violence Support Unit) 233 302 687744, 233 302 662438
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