Just A Call Away · How Digital Innovation Is Bridging The Gap To SGBV Response

Madam Melonie Asibi
“Hello! You have called the Orange Support Centre, (OSC) how may I help You?’ says Michel Makafui Vogzogbe, a volunteer at the Centre.

Makafui proceeds to talk with the caller for a few minutes offering a listening ear, guidance, and advice.
After a few minutes, she tells the caller that her case would be forwarded to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service for further action and tells the caller to call back anytime.
“We receive calls from people all over the country, people who have been through Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV); it could be a physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, we listen to them and offer various medical, psychosocial and legal supports,” Makafui says.
There is a projected increase in the number of domestic violence cases as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions.
According to statistics from the UNICEF, 22 per cent of adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 years old have suffered sexual abuse in the past 12 months, the same group is also four times more likely to experience violence than those above 19 years; women and girls are likely to experience up to 3.7 times more, domestic violence than at other times.
Also, uneducated women are up to 2.5 times more likely to experience domestic violence than those who are educated and 27.7% of women have experienced at least one type of domestic violence in their lifetime.
The OSC is an innovation born out of collaboration between the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency (UNFPA) and the Domestic Violence Secretariat (DVS) of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP).
The Centre leverages technology to establish an integrated support system for SGBV victims and survivors to ensure a more comprehensive and coordinated approach to addressing the needs of the survivors.
The 24-hour facility, opened in March 2021 has created a safe avenue for survivors of SGBV, to receive timely, coordinated, and reliable support, be it psychosocial, access to legal services, referral to emergency shelters, and/or SGBV and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
OSC services are accessible to clients through a multifunction range of communication;
Toll-Free Number: The helpline (0800-111-222) is available for persons who need to report cases of abuse, get information about sexual and gender-based violence, domestic violence, and or seek support for themselves or others who are facing any form of abuse.
Walk-Ins: Individuals can also walk into the Centre and ask for support and access services. When the OSC is accessed in this way, a case file is opened for the individual, the necessary details are taken and then the needed services are provided.
BoaMe App: This is a mobile application and it is currently available on the Google play store. The App provides information on sexual and gender-based violence, allows an individual to report cases, and access support services.
Head of the DV Secretariat of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Madame Melonie Asibi, says there was the need for several innovative interventions to be put in place to ensure that such unfortunate realities are not magnified during and after the current COVID-19 pandemic, hence the establishment of the OSC.
She indicates that with these technological avenues, survivors of SGBV can access the needed support without having to physically move to the place.
Impact: The OSC has twelve workstations, two counselling rooms, and a waiting room.
Madam Asibi says the Centre has engaged 8,3778 people and provided 8,078 with information.
Through the OSC 300 cases have been attended to with 224 still active by the end of December 2021.
A total of 80 cases so far have been successfully closed and 21 halted due to client unresponsiveness.
Emphasizing the scale and reach of the centre, she says the OSC addresses cases from all over the country and affords the highest standard of confidentiality to cases concerning Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV).
SGBV Survivor’s Story
“I met him when I came to Accra to look for work, he helped me a lot,” says 20-year-old Fauzia Iddrissu, a sales girl at a glossary shop at Pobima, a community located in Ga West of the Greater Accra Region. “He even got me this job, but his bad temper was an issue.”
Fauzia, who left Pudo, in the Upper West Region, after her Junior High School (JHS) education, in search of greener pastures in Accra, five years ago, says her relationship with Abaga (her boyfriend) has not been all that rosy.
“He did a lot of things for me at the beginning but then he started beating me after the third year because he said I stopped obeying him”.
Fauzia says she could however not tell anyone of her ordeal or seek help. “And I was afraid he would beat me if I reported him.”
Fauzia lived with Abaga for two years until May 2021 when he assaulted her over a misunderstanding. “This time around I knew I had to confide in someone so I told my friend Mamuna who is a Kayayoo (head potter) at Agbogbloshie and she gave me the OSC number to call. When I called, I told the lady my story and she told me what to do so I reported to the Police and they are investigating the matter,” she explains. “Abaga has also left her alone.
Fauzia says she has since received psychological support from the OSC which has helped her overcome her ordeal.
“Oh, the centre has been of great help to me, even the way the ladies will talk to you and give you the help you need is very nice. If not for them, I will still be in an abusive relationship,” Fauzia says. “I have a job now so I can take care of myself.”
UNFPA Resident Representative Niyi Ojuolape says the demand for support through the OSC justifies the need for such an avenue to provide support to survivors.
“The Orange Support Centre is not only providing legal, medical, and psychological support to survivors of gender violence but working with the police to bring perpetrators to justice, Mr. Ojoulape adds.

*This article was produced with the support of the African Women’s Journalism Project (AWJP) in partnership with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and through the support of the Ford Foundation.

BY Jamila Akweley Okertchiri

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