The Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) is a unit in the

Ghana Police Service The Ghana Police Service (GPS) is the main law enforcement agency of Ghana. The service is under the control of the Ghanaian Ministry of the Interior, and employs over 30,000 officers across its 651 stations. Organisational structure The Ghana P ...

. It has the capacity to oversee matters of

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

against women and children. DOVVSU has a mission to prevent, apprehend and prosecute culprits of

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

and

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

. The unit provides support and protection for victims of domestic

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

by interrelating activities with the Department of Social Welfare, the

International Federation of Women Lawyers The International Federation of Women Lawyers (IFWL), in Spanish ''Federación Internacional de Abogadas'' (FIDA), is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that enhances the status of women and children by providing legal aid, legal ...

and the Legal Aid Board. DOVVSU assists victims of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

physical assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

and

neglect In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...

. DOVVSU is mandated by, ''The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the Police Service Act, the Criminal and other Offences Act, Act 29/60, the Children’s Act, Act, 560 /98, the Juvenile Justice Act, Act 653/2003, Ghana Domestic Violence Act (Act 732) 2007.''

Organization

DOVVSU previously Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) was introduced in October 1998 as a special unit to handle violence against the vulnerable. Assigned a new name to Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit in 2005, is composed of police personnel with offices in all regional capitals and desks in majority of districts in Ghana.{{Cite web, url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/45f147367.html, title=Refworld {{! Ghana: Domestic Violence Victim Support Unit (DOVVISU), formerly the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU), established by the Ghanaian police and whether it provides protection to women in Ghana (March 2006), last=Refugees, first=United Nations High Commissioner for, website=Refworld, access-date=2019-05-26

References

__FORCETOC__ Law enforcement agencies of Ghana Domestic violence Women in Ghana Violence against women in Ghana