The Human Rights and Governance (HRG) Centre has urged government to operationalise the Domestic Violence (DV) Fund to provide relief and adequate support for victims of domestic violence.

Ahead of the 2022 budget presentation by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, the group wants government to allocate and release money into the Fund to ensure that resources are made available to cater for the needs of domestic and sexual violence victims.

A statement signed by a private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, noted that despite a commitment made by the Ministry of Finance to allocate ¢1.5 million into the Fund, the amount has since not been released.

"It is, however, sad to note that the amount allocated was never made available for utilisation by the Secretariat and the DV Management Board established to apply the fund."

"Further, citizens, particularly our rural folks are not fully aware of the processes involved in accessing the fund," he said.

The Domestic Violence Act 2007 (Act 732) stipulated the setting up of the DV Fund where resources can be drawn to establish shelters and other support systems for victims of domestic violence.

However, since the Domestic Violence Act was enacted, there has not been adequate funding for the DV Fund, a situation the Centre says is affecting the fight against domestic violence in the country.

Cases of domestic violence continue to rise in the country.

Data from the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) indicates that 16,586 cases of domestic violence cases were reported in 2020.

Out of the number, 913 were emotional abuse cases and 77 were economic cases. Also, 3,731 cases of non-maintenance cases were reported in 2019, with the figure dropping to 1,548 in 2020.

The Human Rights Centre believes victims and survivors of these cases usually do not receive the justice due to the dysfunctional nature of the Fund.

"In the recent alleged case of sodomy involving a teacher and 19 pupils in the East Gonja District, parents of the victims lamented lack of funds as a reason for not securing medical reports which form the basis for the successful prosecution of sexual and domestic violence cases in Ghana."

"Salaga South MP, for instance, pledged to bear the medical examination cost for the victims while the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection remained silent on any financial support," the statement added.