Situating the Notion of “gbɛkɛfɔŋs” in the Discourse of Child Sexual Abuse Among the Ga in Accra,Ghana

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a prevalent problem in many societies across the globe. There have been several discussions of the subject and attempts have been made to explain its incidence and find ways to prevent and/or control it. However, despite these efforts, the problem seems to persist in developing countries like Ghana with dire consequences for the children and society at large. This paper sought to glean insights about the persistence of the problem by focusing on the discourse surrounding the subject. Using Focus Group Discussions with adult members in the Ga communities in Accra namely La, Teshie, and James Town where the phenomenon is relatively pervasive, the paper sought to understand the reasoning and the implications of accusing children who were sexually abused in the Ga community of seducing the perpetrators and engaging in sex for money. The paper posits that the labeling of victims of CSA as “gb?k?f??s” (children of bad character) disempowers children and perpetuates the abuse of children. Thus, introducing and situating this notion of “gb?k?f??s” in the center of the discourse largely results in a victimization of the victims and a vicious cycle of CSA. The conclusions from this study point to the need for a reorientation of parental and communal roles and an empowering of children to identify and resist sexual abuse.     

Evaluation of HIV/AIDS prevention through peer education, counselling, health care, training and urban refuges in Ghana

Since 1996, Ireland Aid has supported UNICEF Ghana in the implementation of five activities that promote behaviour change to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS and STIs. The interventions are run by different local organisations, and have provided over 75,000 in and out-of-school youth and commercial sex workers with preventive education. People retained the information given, are knowledgeable about how HIV is transmitted, and can name key preventive methods. They pass on the information to their friends. Commercial sex workers were empowered to support one another in negotiating for safer sex. The programme was supported by community members, leading to demand for condoms and for education on HIV/AIDS/STIs. One project gave support to pregnant girls, including health care and vocational training. A drawback in the programme has been the occasional delays in the supply of the educational materials to the peer educators.     

Understanding the concept of food sovereignty using the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP)

This article deepens the understanding of the emerging food sovereignty concept using a case study of a home-grown school feeding programme that promotes local food demand – supply linkages. A school feeding programme in four selected districts in Ghana is analysed with respect to community involvement in programme implementation and management as well as its socio-economic impacts. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches was used in data collection and analysis. Results showed a significant improvement in household food access and months of adequate household food provisioning, which were used as measurement proxies for food sovereignty, as a result of access to local market created by the Ghana School Feeding Programme. However, the study recommends more empirical evidence from research to support the claim that using locally produced food for school feeding actually reduces poverty and malnutrition in rural farming communities.     

A comparative analysis of pension reforms and challenges in Ghana and Nigeria

Ghana and Nigeria recently joined a number of countries that have incorporated fully‐funded defined contribution pension programmes into their national social security arrangements. Contemporary analyses of pension reforms, however, continue to focus on middle‐income countries in Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as on Member States of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development, thereby marginalizing recent pension policy reforms in sub‐Saharan African countries. This article examines the complete and partial shifts to defined contribution pension programmes in Nigeria and Ghana respectively, and points to a number of contextual and contingency factors that challenge the use of defined contribution schemes as a means to address problems of benefit adequacy in the sub‐Saharan African context.     

Intergenerational Cultural Transmission Among the Akan of Ghana

ABSTRACT

Sociocultural transmission is a necessary ingredient in societal stability, cohesion, and continuity everywhere. For the Akan of central and southern Ghana, an important aspect of societal cohesion occurred through intergenerational solidarity which existed principally in the extended family, with the elders acting as the primary instruments in cultural transmission. The extended family, especially as represented in the Akan traditional household, was regarded as one family. Elders were viewed as the embodiment of the past as well as members with the largest store of memories from the past. Reminiscences, remembrances, and oral narratives were passed down to children in whose lives these elders were intimately involved, and stories always contained some moral values that children were expected to learn from and apply. What appears to be occurring in contemporary Ghana are processes of change and persistence, and the task of this study is to assess changes in the Akan family, particularly the extended family, and their impact on the transmission of cultural values across generations.     

Multiple Modernities

ABSTRACT

Meaning is inscribed in the material/built environment and this article considers the materiality of change in urban Africa, focusing particularly on the kitchens of a group of first-generation professionals from northern Ghana who have “made it” and now live in the suburbs of Accra, Ghana. In the hometown area, they live in or are surrounded by the architectural idiom of mud and wattle round huts, whereas in relocation, as these Ghanaians become “modern,” they create modern housing designs. The new aesthetic is performative of their cosmopolitanism, as it speaks to their aspirations for new identities and status. At the same time, members of this new elite perpetuate old practices that are tied to an old materiality. To explore the change in identity and status that is embedded in design, and the accommodation of old and new practices, I focus on the change in the kitchen as it becomes representative of a supremely modern ideal.     

Psychosocial Correlates of Condom Use Intentions among Junior High School Students in the Bolgatanga Municipality of Ghana

ABSTRACT

Objectives: We explored sociodemographics, sexual experience, and psychosocial factors influencing condom use intentions of adolescents in Northern Ghana. Methods: Based on social cognitive theories and previous empirical studies investigating condom use, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2,018 adolescents (M age = 15.8 years) in Bolgatanga, Ghana. Correlations and multinomial logistic regressions were performed. Results: Findings showed that attitudes toward condom availability, injunctive norms toward condom use, sex experience, perceived susceptibility towards STIs, and perceived behavioral control toward buying as well as using condoms differentiated between people with different levels of intentions to use condoms. Conclusions: Implications for intervention development are discussed.     

Corporate social responsibility and multinational enterprise identity: insights from a mining company's attempt to localise in Ghana

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates how a US gold mining multinational enterprise (MNE) – one of the world's largest – operates its subsidiaries in various parts of the world by creating a unique ‘glocal identity’. The US parent company has experienced several significant challenges across its network of subsidiaries. These challenges were mostly linked to the enforcement of the MNE's identity and culture in its host environment. We contribute by describing, in detail, the attempts made by this company to localise its corporate social responsibility practices in Ghana as it sought to gain legitimacy and create an identity that would overcome the issues relating to the liability of foreignness. Our data come from a combination of sources, including questionnaires and detailed semi-structured interviews conducted with the key management employees of the mining company, members and opinion leaders of the company's host communities, and secondary sources. Our main finding is that the construction of a ‘host-friendly’ identity was centred around the mining company's involvement with the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation.     

The Challenges Facing Children Reunified With Their Families From an Orphanage in Ghana

This qualitative case study explores the challenges facing children reunified with their families from an orphanage in Ghana. Eight children, their biological families, and two social workers participated in semi‐structured interviews and shared their experiences and views. The study found that challenges facing the children include educational issues, poor living conditions and social isolation within their communities. The factors causing the challenges included the financial difficulties facing caregivers due to the lack of support, limited preparation for the children and their families for the reunification and the children's limited participation in the decisions concerning such reunification.