Dorcas Coker-Appiah, Ghana

Executive Director of the Gender Studies & Human Rights Documentation Centr

ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING LOW PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN INTEGRATED SCIENCE

The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that affect the low performance of senior high school students in Integrated Science in the Tamale Metropolis. Concurrent triangulation mixed methods design was used. The instruments used during data collection were questionnaires and interview guide. A multistage sampling process was used to select four hundred students and fifteen teachers who teach Integrated Science. Data collected was analysed using exploratory factor analysis and thematic content analysis. The study revealed three factors: school environmental factor, teacher attitude and student attitude as contributors to students’ low performance in Integrated Science. It is, therefore recommend that the education ministry should provide a comfortable learning environment for effective teaching and learning to improve students’ performance in Integrated Science.  Article visualizations

‘To Beijing and Back’: Reflections on the Influence of the Beijing Conference on Popular Notions of Women's Empowerment in Ghana

The 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing was a pivotal moment for legitimating women's rights work in Ghana and served as a powerful framing for women's empowerment. This article explores the Beijing conference and examines its influence on popular notions of and efforts to promote women's empowerment. We argue that the discursive context provided by the conference shaped popular narratives about women directly and also through its influence on the ideas and practices of public institutions and civil society. There is greater acceptance that women have rights that should be promoted and protected, and that there should be institutions and systems to which they have recourse. However, significant work remains to be done in tackling the resistances and tokenism that continue to dominate public discourses and actions to advance gender equality. Further efforts to advance women's empowerment and gender equality in Ghana must therefore build on the legacy of the Beijing conference

The Code of Gender in Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights: The case of traditional harmful practices

The European Court of Human Rights (the ECtHR) is not a court of asylum, however the Court does accept the application of the principle of non-refoulement. Accordingly, expulsion of asylum seekers can engage the responsibility of State parties if there are substantial grounds for believing that the asylum seeker may face treatment contrary to the standards of Article 3 upon return. In some cases the ECtHR has found an opportunity to make an assessment of the risk of being exposed to the harmful traditional practices upon expulsion or deportation. This paper seeks to examine the use of gender stereotypes in these judgements. The paper focuses, through feminist analysis, on the evaluation of the Court of the real risk of finding out whether or not the reasoning of the Court is based on a gender biased evaluation of the claim. Therefore, it explores the way the Court gives weight to different factors in the final determination of the case and concludes that the ECtHR‘s reasoning is based on gender-stereotyping and relies on the traditional notions of gender norms which then reproduce patriarchal and suppressive gender norms and reinforce gender inequalities

Attitudes and Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence in a Conservative Christian Church in Nigeria

This study examined attitude and perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV) in a conservative Christian Church in Nigeria. The study utilizing anonymous survey methodology sampled 377 participants attending Seventh Day Adventist Church in Port Harcourt area of Rivers State, Nigeria. Findings from this study indicate intimate partner violence is wide spread in this population.  The results show a significant relationship exist between, men's perceived right to control their wives' behaviour by force and justify such behaviour as culturally acceptable. The results therefore, indicate the need for family life education. The clergy and laity and those in the helping professions, community leaders and non-governmental organizations would need to device strategies towards putting an end to violence against women. Keywords: Attitude, Perception, Women, Violence, Culture, Counselling. DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/9-10-04 Publication date:May 31st 201

Prevalence of dating violence and its impact on undergraduate students’ learning at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana

The study explored the prevalence of dating violence and its impact on learning among undergraduate psychology students in the University of Cape Coast. The descriptive survey design was employed for the study with a total of 376 students made up of 193 males and 183 females drawn from the department of education and psychology. Proportional and systematic sampling procedures were employed to obtain the sample. Results revealed that undergraduate psychology students experience dating violence ranging from physical, psychological and sexual. Results indicated that dating violence has negative impact on students academically, socially and psychologically. It was again discovered that female undergraduate students and young undergraduate students experience dating violence more than male undergraduate students and older under undergraduate students. It was recommended that undergraduate students should postpone dating while in school and concentrate on their learning. Besides, those who may be affected should seek counselling.Keywords: Dating, violence, prevalence, undergraduate students, learnin

Perspectives on Sexual Abuse of School Children in Basic and Secondary Schools in Ghana

Objective: To explore and document the extent of sexual abuse of school children in Ghana and initiate an informed dialogue with all stakeholders for solutions. Method: This is a descriptive and exploratory survey. Information was collected from 49 public schools (490 school children, 116 parents and 49 head-teachers) from 4 out of the 110 districts in the country. Three sets of interview schedules were used to solicit information from school children, parents and head-teachers. In addition four focus group discussion sessions were held separately for school boys, school girls, male adults and female adults in each study area. Furthermore, relevant existing documents were reviewed for background information. Results: There is evidence suggesting the occurrence of sexual abuse in Ghana public schools. About 11.2% of the children who responded had been victims of either rape or defilement which is ‘the natural or unnatural carnal knowledge of any child under sixteen years of age’. The occurrence and severity of abuse are strongly related to gender. 92% of victims were female students. Conclusions: The current system of protecting children from sexual abuse in and outside of schools is ineffective. The study suggests strengthening of the existing protection system with community/school-based child protection teams

Key Triggers of domestic violence in Ghana: A victim centered analysis

Background: Prominent among the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the determination to put an end to all forms of discrimination against women and girls. Unfortunately, domestic and intimate partner violence constitute enduring and particularly traumatizing forms of gendered violence.Objective: In order to effectively address this crisis, it is important that this study investigates and identifies some key triggers of domestic violence in Accra, Ghana through the situational perspective of female victims.Methods: Using a survey research design, 385 questionnaires were administered with a 64.7 percent return rate, and in-depth interviews were conducted with willing female victims of domestic abuse.Results: The study identified alcoholism, patriarchal social structures, financial subjugation and male response to women’s growing economic independence as key triggers of domestic violence.Conclusion: It suggests the need for a focused interrogation of the changing causes, impact and policy implications of intimate partner and domestic violence

SUBSTANTIVE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN: THE CASE OF GHANA\u27S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW OF 2007

This study investigates the role of civil society organizations (CSOs), especially gender-based groups in increasing the \u27substantive\u27 representation or the perspectives, views, and concerns of women in public policy-making in emerging democracies. In the last 30 years, calls for equality in the representation of women have received a boost mainly because of the disparity between the proportions of women in national populations and in legislatures. In Ghana where women are about 50 percent of the population, women constitute only 8.7 percent of the 230-member parliament as of January 2009. Such disparities produce critical implications for women\u27s empowerment and participation in public policy-making, especially in emerging democracies. Ghana\u27s return to democratic governance in 1992 brought with it guaranteed freedoms and new avenues for participation by CSOs. Various civil society groups, including the women\u27s movement have emerged to take advantage of the new avenues to organize and be part of the democratic process. However, there is yet to be a comprehensive analysis of the role these groups play in the democratization process, especially in increasing women\u27s substantive representation and participation in Ghana, and so this study fills that gap. This mixed-method qualitative research applies a revision of John Kingdon\u27s multiple streams framework to comprehensively analyze the activities of the women\u27s movement to understand their motivations, goals, and impacts on the democratic process in Ghana. The archival information and also key informant interviews reviewed about the resources, strategies, and challenges faced by the women\u27s movement in their advocacy for Ghana\u27s 2007 Domestic Violence Law showed that such groups play vital role in democratization. A major finding from this study is that gender-based CSOs enhance avenues for attracting much-needed outside resources for institution and capacity building for both grassroots groups and official policy actors to improve the democratic process, especially in emerging societies. The study therefore argues that societies should recognize and support the development of CSOs to increase the avenues for participation by under-represented groups like women in the policy process. This position is more relevant in societies where women still have \u27token\u27 representations or fewer than 30 percent women in legislatures, and where institutional inadequacies exacerbate an already precarious situation for women\u27s participation in the policy process