A representative of the Techiman Traditional Council and the Adonten Hemaa of Tanoso, Nana Akua Serwaa Bonsu, has praised the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA Ghana) for exposing key community stakeholders in the Techiman Municipality to proper ways of handling Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) cases.

The Queen Mother made these remarks in an interview with JoyNews on 4^th August, 2022, at the end of a 2-day training for key officials of institutions in rights protection and other relevant stakeholders within the Techiman Municipality.

The main aim of the workshop was to promote experience sharing and stakeholder collaboration on justice delivery efforts for poor persons who suffer SGBV, as well as monitoring of reported SGBV cases for effective prosecution.

Led by the Executive Director of AWLA, Madam Edna Kuma, the workshop focused on key topics related to effective justice delivery, corruption handling and better strategies for promoting justice for SGBV survivors.

Stakeholders in attendance included: Municipal Directors of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, National Commission for Civic Education, Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, and the Municipal Gender Officer.

The rest were: officials from the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Judicial Service of Ghana (Techiman Circuit Court), the Techiman Municipal Education Directorate, Ghana Health Service, the Municipal Health Directorate, Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations, and ‘Motor Riders Association, among others.

Lauding AWLA for the impact of the 2-day training, Nana Akua Serwaa Bonsu indicated that the workshop had “exposed participants to better ways of dealing with SGBV cases in the Techiman Municipality.”

She pledged to send ‘the message’ to colleague Queen Mothers in various traditional areas to ensure they are able to take education on SGBV into homes at the community level.

She reminded everyone that “sometimes, access to justice is not only about money, but knowledge on court process is very key in securing the desired outcome through the court.”