Absa Bank & UN Women Ghana Team Up to Promote Women's Safety

• Absa Bank Ghana partnered with UN Women Ghana and the African Women Leaders Network
• The event focused on raising awareness of gender-based violence
• It was intended to mobilize collective action toward the creation of safer environments

Absa Bank Ghana, in collaboration with UN Women Ghana and the African Women Leaders Network, organised an event as part of the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.

It emphasized the protection and furtherance of the rights of women and girls everywhere, whether within workplaces, homes, or communities. The ceremony, which was held at Absa Bank’s Head Office on Accra High Street, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to speaking out against abuse and treating it as a serious issue.

Present at the ceremony were representatives of the United Nations, UN Women Ghana, the African Women Leaders Network, and Absa employees. In her opening remarks, Annie Aborah, Credit Director at Absa Bank Ghana stated that efforts to end gender-based violence must be pursued all year round.

She noted that policies, programs, and conversations have the potential to bring safer worlds into being, and gender based violence is a serious public issue that demands continued action.

Dr Afua Ansre, United Nations Representative, spoke on the global theme for this year’s campaign: Unite to end digital violence against all women and girls. She underlined that violence is preventable and summoned everybody to collective responsibility to promote safety online and offline.

Isaac Sampah of Absa spoke about violence against women in the workplace. He outlined the bank's internal guidelines and procedures for creating a positive work atmosphere that is safe for all employees.

The bank has developed strategies for addressing issues related to the treatment of women in the workplace, including the development of an employee assistance program.

Dr. Charity Binka, President of the African Women Leaders Network, urged everyone to continue to advocate for ending gender-based violence even after the annual campaign ends.

Gender-based violence exists in every type of job across all sectors of society; therefore, everyone should be willing to speak out and be supportive of individuals experiencing this type of violence.

On behalf of MenZone (a volunteer network of male employees within Absa), Chief Strategy and Operations Officer, Adolf Kpegah, gave a short address about what men can do to help eliminate harmful gender roles as well as ensure women and girl's safety.

Finally, Absa raised the Orange Flag as an expression of the organization's commitment to ending gender-based violence and joining in solidarity to end suffering from this type of violence worldwide.