by Alex Osei-Boateng
ACCRA, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ghana on Saturday began a nationwide campaign against gender-based violence.
The 16 days of activism against gender-based violence is an international campaign that starts on Nov. 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and ends on the International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.
The campaign urges governments, development partners and civil societies to address the structural causes of inequality and marginalization that affect women, girls and the marginalized in general.
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisah Djaba, said in a statement that the campaign would continue to contribute to a world free from gender-based violence especially for women and girls.
This year's global theme for the campaign is "Leave No One Behind, End Violence Against Women and Girls".
Statistics by the national domestic violence unit of the Ghana Police Service indicate that from January to March 2016, 79 men were arrested for defilement while no woman was arrested on the same offence.
Also, 187 females were defiled as against 11 males within the same period.
"Leaving no one behind means prioritizing and putting people at the center of development and placing the progress of the most marginalized groups and communities first," said the statement.
