The above visualization is a summary of assault cases in Ghana reported to DOVVSU from 2014 – 2016. Firstly, we looked at victims of this criminal act, suspects, the relationship that exists between them and then how many cases were recorded under each relationship.
Assault, is defined by the Criminal Code of Ghana as:
A person makes an assault and battery upon another person, if without the other
person’s consent, and with the intention of causing harm, pain, or fear, or
annoyance to the other person, or of exciting him to anger, he forcibly touches the
other person, or causes any person, animal, or matter to forcibly touch him. (Criminal Code 1960, Section 86)
Assault cases are reported in the news quite often. What this post seeks to do is to give room for a new perspective in the way these cases are discussed. The figures represented above indicate that women suffer assault in this country more than their male counterparts. Men on the other hand remain the worst culprits of assault.
Lastly, on the topic of the relationship between the suspect and the victim, from the infographic above, most suspects of assault cases are found in the nuclear family of the victims. Which is very heartbreaking to know that most people suffer assault from members of their immediate family. For the 3-year period, 1967 cases were recorded for the nuclear family. The number of reported cases for extended family follows closely at 1571. This means assault is more likely to take place in the home setting than anywhere else. It also implies that we need to be tactful and prompt in conflict resolution within families so as to reduce the occurence of assault.