African Women Lawyers Association

A.W.L.A has a six-member Project Committee under the Projects Coordinator. The Committee meets at least bi-annually to decide on projects the Association should embark on, using A.W.L.A's objectives as a guide. Some projects are however donor driven, in other words, A.W.L.A may be requested to undertake a specific project by any of its donors.

A.W.L.A is currently engaged in the following projects:

Domestic Violence (DV) in Ghana

This nationwide project is funded by the Danish Agency for International Development (DANIDA) as part of its Poverty Reduction Program. The project has six component parts:

a. Training of Police Officers on DV - A total of 220 senior Police Officers have to date been trained from all ten regions of Ghana.

b. Training of Trainers for the Domestic Violence and Supporters Unit of Ghana Police Service - 40 officers have been trained so far, in a move to ensure the sustainability of the project.

c. Sensitisation of Judicial Officers - The aim is to sensitise Judicial Service Staff, especially Judges, on DV. Two workshops have been held for Circuit Court Judges and Magistrates, being the courts of first instance where DV cases are initiated. Based on the response following the workshops however, the program will be extended to Judges of the Superior Courts nationwide.

d. Intra-Agency Consultations - A series of roundtable conferences of stakeholders made up of representatives from the Attorney-General's Department, the Department of Social Welfare, the Ministry of Health and the Police Service have commenced. The objective is to come up with a comprehensive framework for coordinating the work of all these bodies on DV. Follow up conferences will be organised during the year.

Juvenile Justice and Children's Rights

With logistical support from UNICEF, AWLA is training Non-Commissioned Police Officers on laws pertaining to juvenile justice, and on how to handle cases involving juveniles. The initial preparations for the four-year program have been completed.

Sexual Harrassment

With funding from the US Embassy, AWLA conducted a nationwide survey on sexual harrassment in the workplace. The results of this baseline reasearch led to the formulation of a 'Best Practices' checklist for employers. The next major milestone is to engage in advocacy in this area.

Reproductive Rights

AWLA is coordinating the Ghana Reproductive Health Alliance made up of the Ghana Medical Association, the Ghana Project on Maternal Mortality and the Ghana Health Service in partnertship with the Regional Reproductive Rights NGO to produce a comprehensivve policy for advocacy on unsafe abortions. This efforts follows an earlier exercise to bring to the fore the need for family planning in Ghana.