In Ghana, survivors of sexual violence are paying a devastating price — not just in trauma, but in cash.
According to petrochemical engineering student and anti-sexual violence advocate Emmanuella Awelana Abakeh, the fight for justice in Ghana often ends before it begins — at the hospital or police station, where victims are told to pay for a medical report that can cost between GH¢300 and GH¢1,000.
“If you can’t afford it, you don’t get justice,” she wrote in a searing post on LinkedIn that has since sparked debate online.
Abakeh says she has spent months reading survivor stories, but one story “will never leave” her — that of a mother whose disabled daughter was defiled.
“She was asked for GH¢550 after her child was raped. She couldn’t pay. The case was dropped. The abuser still walks free.”
In another case, a survivor said, “The doctor told my mother the report would cost GH¢550. We didn’t have the money, so we stopped pursuing the case.”
“These are not rare,” Abakeh stressed. “They are normal. And they are cruel.”
She describes a justice system where survivors are billed for their pain, families give up because they’re too poor, and rapists walk free — not because of lack of evidence, but because of lack of money.
Unlike countries such as South Africa, where designated public facilities provide free medical exams for survivors, or Kenya, where the law mandates free treatment (though enforcement remains weak), Ghana has no such legal protection.
“There is no law at all,” Abakeh wrote. “Survivors are left to pay, or walk away. This is injustice. This is class-based discrimination. And it’s legal, because no law bans these fees.”
But amid the grim reality, she pointed to a glimmer of hope. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu, has abolished such fees in his district. His office now covers the costs for survivors to pursue justice — and he has promised to explore scaling the initiative nationwide.
Abakeh is now calling on Parliament to back a Private Member’s Bill to permanently end medical examination fees for survivors of sexual violence.
“Ghana needs that bill. Survivors need protection now,” she urged.
Her message to Ghanaians is clear: make noise. “Share survivor stories. Talk about it with your family, friends, colleagues. End the culture of quiet. And when MPs promise reform, remind them — survivors are waiting.”
“No survivor of sexual assault should ever have to pay to prove their pain,” she concluded. “Ghana, we are better than this. Let this post be a spark.”
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