Director for Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Dr. Henrietta Asante-Sarpong, has described the online space as an easier means for perpetrators to commit gender-based violence, especially against women.
Speaking at a public forum in Accra on the theme “Countering Online Gender-Based Violence in Ghana: From Evidence to Action,” she echoed concerns raised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), calling for urgent interventions to tackle the growing trend.
“I think this forum is an eye-opening one. We have all alluded to the fact that, even from the monitoring work done by the Media Foundation for West Africa, we see that the online space has become an easier means for people to perpetrate gender-based violence,” Dr. Asante-Sarpong noted.
Her comments came after the MFWA shared findings from a study conducted between August 2024 and March 2025, which focused on online gender-based violence across five key platforms: Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Ghana Web, TikTok, and Instagram.
Dora Boamah Mawutor, Programme Director for Freedom of Expression at MFWA, explained that the study highlighted the worrying levels of abuse targeted at women online, especially female politicians.
She stressed the need for a collective response from government, civil society, the media, and digital platform owners to tackle the issue head-on and create safer online spaces for women.
