A Legislative Instrument (LI) to compel perpetrators of domestic violence to pay for the medical expenses of their victims will soon be passed, the Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, has said. "The Domestic Violence Act clearly stipulates that medical expenses of victims should be borne by perpetrators. However, for this to be enforced, there should be an LI in place," she explained. The minister said this at a workshop held in Accra, to review the medical referral form for domestic violence victims. It was organised by the Ministry and sponsored by the Netherlands Embassy, and it will enable stakeholders to identify lapses in the current medical referral form and make inputs, which would be forwarded to the Ministry of Health for incorporation in the design for new forms. The cost of medical forms for domestic violence victims, doctors' consultation fees and the distortions of vital information on the forms, according to Mrs Azumah Mensah, had generated a lot of concern in the country. She stressed the need for medical schools to train students on the proper treatment of victims of gender based violence saying that would enable the doctors to give accurate and detailed information that would lead to the prosecution of the perpetrators. The minister noted that due to poverty and ignorance, victims had been denied medical attention even though access to medical treatment was a right for all persons, irrespective of their socio-economic background. Source: The Ghanaian Times