Women have been advised to stop the practice of providing dowry for men to present to their (women) parents as bride price to marry them.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Emmanuel Holortu, Northern Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS), who gave the advice, said such a practice was dangerous and amounted to courting domestic violence.
He gave the advice when making a presentation during an orientation on gender based violence laws and management of domestic violence cases for members of Kpandai District Domestic Violence Committee at Kpandai.
The orientation, which focused on Domestic Violence Act, Criminal Offences Act and the Children’s Act, was to enhance community participation in the enforcement of laws against sexual and gender-based violence cases in the district.
DOVVSU of the GPS in collaboration with the Northern Regional Coordinating Council with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has formed 21 Domestic Violence Committees at the Kpandai District to help create awareness about domestic violence and report such cases for prosecution.
ASP Holortu said women who provided dowry for their marriages were bound to suffer domestic violence as well as divorce as their husbands believed that their wives forced them into the marriage.
He said such situations were common in the country saying it is the duty of men to provide the dowry to show their love and commitment for the marriage.
He also spoke against forced marriages saying people should be allowed to choose their partners to avoid domestic violence associated with such marriages.
ASP Holortu spoke about the cases of domestic violence being recorded in the region calling for inter-agency collaboration to prosecute perpetrators of such crimes to reduce the trend.
He commended members of the Kpandai District Domestic Violence Committee for the hard work, which had led to increased reporting of domestic violence cases at the district.
At Kpandai District, 60 cases of domestic violence were recorded in 2016 as against 13 cases in the first quarter of this year.
Mr Samuel Owusu Boateng, Kpandai District Coordinating Director urged members of the Domestic Violence Committees at the district to intensify their efforts to ensure increased awareness on domestic violence and support for victims as well as report such cases for prosecution to reduce the trend.
Madam Stella Amoani, Member of the Domestic Violence Committee from Balai Community at the district, said the orientation had helped to better explain domestic violence cases and how to handle such cases in relation to the laws of the country.