Ghana has one of the world’s highest cases of child marriage, with 8% of Ghanaian women getting married by the age 15 and 29% by the age 18. Polygamous unions, especially in the Northern region, remain a problem, as well as domestic violence and discriminatory attitudes towards women. Access to the judicial and legal system is limited, especially among vulnerable and rural populations and understanding of laws especially pertaining to women’s rights is weak.
Crossroads areas of intervention:
partners
DUNK – DEVELOPING UNITY, NURTURING KNOWLEDGE
DUNK is a youth-led, community-based organization established in November 2010 and Registered as a Non-Governmental Organization in March 2011. Its mission is to create safe spaces for at-risk children and women aged 8-19 years living in deprived communities. It provides a space for beneficiaries to play, learn, and grow; through sports, after-school support, life-skills, and vocational training. Through its programming, DUNK empowers children and young women to become agents of change in their own communities. DUNK is currently operating in the two most deprived communities in Accra: Nima and Jamestown, reaching out to 250 children and women each year.
PRO-LINK
Pro-Link focuses on bringing development opportunities for the rural poor, especially women and girls. Its mission is to advocate for and empower disadvantaged people to improve their health, educational and socio-economic status. Pro-Link’s efforts embrace a broad cross-section of rural development and advocacy issues, including reproductive health and education, HIV/AIDS, child survival, income generation, vocational training and food security. Crossroads International and Pro-Link work together since 2006 on women’s economic empowerment and gender-based violence.
WOMEN IN LAW AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA – GHANA (WILDAF GHANA)
WiLDAF Ghana is a non-governmental organization committed to the protection and promotion of women’s rights. It is a member of the pan-African WiLDAF network, active in 31 countries across Africa. WiLDAF works on improving women’s access to justice as well as increasing their participation in democracy through a combination of advocacy, training, legal literacy, education and research. WiLDAF Ghana works with Crossroads on access to justice and gender-based violence programs.
