The media has been charged to steer the campaign towards unsafe abortions which proceed to say the lives of ladies and younger ladies within the nation.
In keeping with a Challenge and Advocacy Officer with the Deliberate Parenthood Affiliation of Ghana (PPAG), Michael Tagoe, opposite to widespread beliefs held that abortion was unlawful within the nation and it was truly permissible by legislation.
“Beneath Sections 58 and 59 of the Felony Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), abortion is permissible in circumstances of rape, incest, foetal abnormalities, or conditions the place the being pregnant poses a threat to the bodily or psychological well being of the girl and the media should champion this to minimise using unsafe technique of ending pregnancies,” he defined.
Mr Tagoe gave the recommendation throughout a three-day workshop organised by the PPAG for chosen journalists from varied media homes within the nation on methods to successfully talk on Sexual and Reproductive Well being and Rights (SRHR) points.
It was geared toward equipping the journalists with the wanted expertise to boost their reportage on SRHR and likewise play advocacy roles as halfners in well being service supply.
Individuals had been taken via subjects akin to overview of SRHR, teenage being pregnant and contraceptives, human rights and comprehensive abortion care, speaking abortion, sexual and gender-based violence, reproductive well being education (RHE), service supply and advocacy, and gender-transformative advocacy (GTA) for RHE.
Mr Tagoe additionally suggested the general public to not be hostile, notably towards teenage ladies who discovered themselves pregnant however as a substitute supply them help in various methods to allow them navigate the journey.
He introduced protected areas, including PPAG’s “Yenkasa”, a digital contact centre with toll free quantity -0800202010- to satisfy the changing SRHR wants of younger folks nationwide.
The Challenge Chief for the EmpowHER challenge, Naadu Awuradwoa Addico, urged journalists to combine GTA into their reporting, problem dangerous stereotypes, and create narratives that empower individuals to make knowledgeable reproductive well being choices.
“This strategy ensures that no matter you might be doing is challenging norms or reworking unequal energy constructions and gender stereotypes.
The tales we inform can both enhance entry to reproductive well being companies or create extra obstacles. It’s as much as us to make sure that reproductive well being schooling is factual, inclusive, and culturally related,” she urged.
For his half, the Director of Programmes & Service Supply, Emmanuel Okanta Akoto, reaffirmed PPAG’s dedication to working with the media to maintain conversations round SRHR and to make sure that insurance policies and professionalgrammes replicate the wants of vulnerable teams, particularly girls and ladies.
He urged journalists and media practitioners to actively advocate for Sexual and Reproductive Well being (SRH) schooling and companies, making certain that girls and younger folks can entry these important companies with out worry, discrimination or victimisation.
