DABALA AND SOGASCO GMM CLUBS HOLD WORKSHOP

Girls Making Media Club, an initiative of Plan West Africa as part of their periodic activities has hold a workshop for members of the club at both sogakofe and Dabala senior high schools, all in the Volta Region of Ghana.

The workshop which would last for three days started in the mornings of Friday 21^st December, 2012 and would end on Sunday, the 23^rd of December, 2012 at 5.30pm.

As part of activities, members would be taken through topics like sex and gender, discrimination and stereotyping, gender equality and women’s right, violence against women (VAW), basic knowledge in information and communication technology and other gender related topics.

In attendance are the project’s coordinator, Mrs. Lilly Clottey, Madam Emelia Oguaah, a retired social worker, Mr. Nana Odoi Gyampoh and Rev. Andoh both of Asempa fm an Accra based radio station and Africhild Media Concept (NGO) respectively.

It is aimed that at the end of the three day workshop, members would be acquainted on the numerous challenges confronting the feminine and the possible way of combating them.

GENDER AND SEX

Gender is the physical and/ or social condition of being male or female.

All males and females considered as one group.

Gender is also used to refer to all characteristics related to being male or female biologically or socially determined. Gender also includes those role and characteristics which depend on the society which we belong and vary greatly from one society to another. Meaning gender can change.

Sex: the state of being either a male or female. There are two sexes: male or female. Which one we belong to depends on whether we produce or fertilize eggs and this is determined before birth. The term sex therefore refers to the characteristics and roles of women/girls and men/boys connected to their biological function of reproduction e.g. Breasts, breast feeding. Uterus, giving birth, vagina, penis.

Some examples of sex characteristic

·          Women menstruate while men do not

·         Men have testicles while women have not

·         Women have developed breasts that are  usually capable of lactating, while men have not

·         Men generally have more massive bones than women

Gender refers to the roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men and which we learn as we grow up in that particular culture

Girls and women may be expected to

·         Be caring, gentle, passive, respectful and obedient

·         Be responsible for domestic chores and child care

·         Speak and dress modestly

·         Please and obey men

·         Control their sexuality, behave responsibly and not show their sexual feeding

Boy and men may be expected to

·         Be strong and not show that emotions

·         Marry and provide for their family

·         Girls and women are more likely to be subjected to violence, especially sexual violence and harmful traditional practices, such as genital cutting

·         Girls and women are not allowed to seek paid employment or do certain types of jobs and often receive lower pay for doing the same work as men

·         Women are under-represented In decision making bodies

·         The birth of a son causes more joy than birth of a daughter

·         Women expected to work and support their family and may have little time spend with their children

IN SUMMARY:

Definitions of gender equality and equity:

Gender equity means that women and men, boys and girls enjoy the same status. It means that women and men, girls and boys, have equal conditions for realizing their full human rights and potential to contribute to national, political, economic, social and cultural development and to benefit from the results. Gender equality is therefore the equal valuing by society of both the similarities and differences between men and women, boys and girls, and the varying roles that they play.

Gender equity: is the process of being fair to men and women, girls and boys. To ensure fairness, measures must often be available compensate for historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men, boys and girls, from otherwise operating on level playing field. Equity leads to equality.

Discrimination and stereotyping

Almost all societies discriminate against girls and women in various ways some more than in others.

They also have ideals of how both women and men should be and behave which lead to stereotyping both genders.

Discrimination: to treat one particular group of people less favorable than others because of the group, class or category to which that person belong rather than their individual merit. The consideration here is one sex or gender i.e. girls and women.

In the convention on the rights of the child non discrimination is a right but also a general principle which shows the importance attached. Non discrimination is also an important element in the universal declaration of human rights and convention of elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

Stereotype: stereotypes are generalization about a group of people whereby we attributed a defined set of characteristic to this group. These can be positive of negative e.g., men are intelligent, women and kinds, women are stupid, and men are not good with children

Gender discrimination

Gender discrimination is any distinction, exclusion or preference based on sex that has the effect of nullifying or in paining equality of opportunity and treatment. Many society’s value boys and men more highly than girls and women which have bad effects and the well being of girls and women.

·         Girls often receive less food than boys and are less likely to receive health care.

·         Girls are less likely to go to school or complete school and their brothers are given priorities

·         Girls are expected to help with domestic chores in preparation for being wives and mothers. Women may not be allowed outside the house hold alone or at all.

·         Girls are married and become mother at a very young age in some countries

·         Girls who become pregnant often have drop out of school and may be rejected by their families, whereas boys who father children usually stay at school

·         Girls and women cannot own or inherit land or property or decide about divorce or obtain custody of children in some cultures.

·         Important family decisions, for example about household expenditures how many children to have

·         Take the lead in relationships and in sex

SEXUAL HARRASMENT (what everybody must know)

Sexual harassment is unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior that makes a student feel uncomfortable or unsafe. It is a continuum of unwanted behaviors ranging from spoken or written comments and stares to actual physical assault and attempted rape. Sexual harassment demeans a student on the basis of his/her sex. It is often confused with flirting. However, sexual harassment does not feel good to the victim. It is a form of bullying; it is about power of one person over another. Sexual harassment is against the law.

Sexual harassment can happen to anybody, to both girls and boys. It may involve different sex or same sex situations. Sexual harassment is defined by the receiver. Perception of an incident may differ; if one person does not feel good about the interaction, the behavior needs to stop. Sexual harassment can be one-time occurrence, or it can happen many times over several weeks or months. No one deserves to be sexually harassed.

What can students do?

·         Tell the harasser to stop even though doing this may be difficult or embarrassing

·         Avoid being alone with the harasser.

·         Do not blame yourself. Harassment is not your fault.

·         If the harassment continues, keep a record of what happened (times, places, witnesses and how you reacted).

·         Save any notes or pictures from the harasser.

·         Tell a trusted adult and keep telling until you find someone who believes you.

·         Find out who at your school is responsible for dealing with complaints about sexual harassment.

·         Always tell an adult if you see someone else being harassed.

What can parents do?

·         Set a good example; treat everyone with respect.

·         Talk to your child about sexual harassment.

·         Beware that sexual harassment may involve different-sex or same-sex situations.

·         Encourage children to talk openly with you.

·         Build self-esteem by focusing on your child’s positive qualities.

·         Do not encourage or ignore sexual harassment.

·         Do not confuse sexual harassment with normal “kid stuff.” It is not teasing, flirting or harmless fun.

·         Assist your child in making contact with school personnel.

·         You have a right to file a legal complaint.

What sexual harassment maybe,

·         Mimicking someone in an insulting way.

·         Making suggestive body movements.

·         Making sexual or suggestive gestures or looks (i.e., winking, licking lips)

·         Staring at someone’s body or body parts

·         Sexual drawings or pictures

Physical

·         Touching, pinching, or grabbing body parts

·         Pulling someone’s clothes or your own clothes off

·         Giving “snuggies” or snapping bra straps

·         Brushing up against someone

·         Being forced to kiss, hug, etc. without your consent

Verbal

·         Sexual or dirty notes and jokes

·         Name calling or obscene remarks

·         Making suggestive or sexual remarks about someone’s body

·         Spreading sexual rumors or rating other students as to sexual activity or performance

·         Being called “gay” or “lesbian”

·         Talking about one’s sexual activity in front of others

Often, we do believe that the sufferer of the action is the only person affected in a way but this perception is no longer the case but both the sufferer and the doer stand in a way to equally or partially face whatever consequent that evolves out of the harassment process.

The receiver may:

·         Experience a loss of self-confidence or self-esteem

·         Feel fear, anger, embarrassment, depression, humiliation, anxiety, shame, or helplessness

·         Find it hard to pay attention or concentrate in school

·         Dread, or even avoid going to school or a class in which they expect harassment

·         Withdraw from others, or develop other social problems

·         Have difficulty sleeping

·         Exhibit a change in dress or behavior

·         Develop an inability to trust others

The harasser may:

·         Experience disciplinary action at school including suspension or expulsion

·         Suffer legal consequences that may include criminal or civil charges

·         Be unaware that their behavior may be seen as sexual harassment

·         Have trouble knowing and reading how other people feel

·         Have difficulty knowing the difference between flirting and sexual harassment

·         Experience embarrassment and/or blame

·         Experience isolation from peers

·         Develop more serious behavioral problems without intervention

Remember: it is probably sexual harassment if the person feels uncomfortable or threatened as a result of the action. It does not matter what the harasser intended.

Personally, I strongly believe that what we put on goes a long way to initiate a process of sexual harassment. Before one goes out in a particular outfit, the proceeding questions must be asked:

·         Is my outfit a morally accepted one in my society?

·         Would I in turn distract someone else’s attention?

·         Is my outfit out of context?

Modernity definitely would call for change. Even with what we put on. But it does not mean we go out naked or almost naked.

Put together by: Felix Akaho Junior

Member GMM-GHANA

GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM

Credit: Lincoln Board Of Education