Ahuofe Patricia, Ghanaian actress, Founder and Executive Director of She Power Africa, together with her team on July 25, 2018, embarked on her mission to empower young female students of the Gomoa Dampase D/A Model Basic School against sexual abuse in the central region of Ghana.
She Power is a non-governmental organisation creating awareness and empowering young girls against sexual abuse in Africa with the vision to promote gender equality and end sexual violence against women and children in collaboration with Lokhanda.
She Power in accordance with the aspirations of the Ministry of Education is an effective girl-child protection programme with an educational curriculum designed to create and ensure a culture of safety and security for all educational institutions teaching practical, fun and appropriate simple effective means of awareness, prevention, escape and survival skills and also to provide long-term support for female child victims of sexual abuse.
The programme led by Ahuofe Patricia, legally known as Priscilla Opoku Agyeman, saw 72 female participants between Class 6 to JHS 2 within the ages of 12-18 learn and practice safety skills to understand consent, build confidence, recognise, prevent and also report any form of sexual misconduct ranging from stalking, rape, molestation, inappropriate touching and comments, watching p*rnography and sexual exploitations in order to curb the disturbing statistics of about 33% of children and 27% of women said to have been sexually abused by the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Ghana.
During the training, girls were also thought to be persistent in getting help or response from trusted authorities or persons when they experience any behaviour or threat of abuse likely from friends, teachers, headmasters, family relatives and other perpetrators.
With the aim to study and determine the prevalence of physical, sexual and emotional forms of abuse, the Executive Director together with the Project Manager Mr Lord Kwadjo Andoh and rest of the team explained thoroughly and conducted a survey with questionnaires distributed amongst the girls and asked to anonymously complete them.
The boys were also thought about consent and as bystanders to observe, stop and also report any form of behaviour or abuse against victims and must not see girls as an object of abuse.
The programme ended with an amazing remark from the Headmaster in the person of Mr Paul Dagbui Joseph stating that: “I have witnessed and I trust that She Power is the new dawn to stop abuse in our schools and has come to stay, please don‘t go we need you here” with a smile and a cheer from the staff and students they all applauded and screamed the She Power Mantra (She Power – My Right, My Voice) as they together took pictures to climax the occasion.
Speaking in an interview with Ahuofe Patricia, she stated “I am very humbled and privileged to be given such an opportunity to contribute my quota to our nation-building. It is my prayer and hopes that together with support from friends, government, stakeholders and everyone out there, we can give a voice to all women to speak out and defend our rights and fulfil our full potential especially dealing with such underreported chronic behaviour destroying the future of our young women and children.”