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Past research on violence in Ghana primarily discusses domestic violence and some types of sexual violence, but lacks a comprehensive analysis of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and its wider costs and impacts. Our study on the social costs of VAWG is a unique contribution, which aims to fill that gap. Through indepth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) with adult women and men, we explored the health impact of VAWG and the resulting social and economic consequences on survivors, their families and their communities. The research, which took place in the Eastern, Central, and Greater Accra regions of Ghana, points to several physical and mental health outcomes among survivors including physical injuries and disability, as well as impacts on mental health such as anxiety and suicidal ideation. Many VAWG survivors also experience stigma and social isolation. Our findings also reveal that survivors’ families can bear various social and economic costs. Lack of public and private service provision and shelters for survivors heighten these impacts. Without institutional support for survivors, families and communities absorb these costs of VAWG.

Transgender is now one of the more contested issues in feminist theory and practice. In this chapter I argue along with Deyi that “Transgender feminists are not agents of patriarchy or a mockery to feminism.” Instead they need to be seen as “a celebration of the central principles that feminists have long sought to have recognized … that self-determination is a principle worth fighting for, that we as feminists in all body forms have become a social movement that can create spaces that enable those that are differently gendered to express their true selves” (Deyi 2012). As Van der Merwe poignantly states, “I am that transgender woman featured in so many Ph.D dissertations, HIV research, and documentation of violent experiences [but] I have a face, I have a name, and I have an identity.” In this chapter I also argue along with Van der Merwe that “We transgender women must be seen in our racial, class, and other diversities. Ultimately, it is we who are the relevant stakeholders in our struggle for equality and rights” (Van der Merwe and Leigh 2013).

No abstract available. (Published: 17 July 2016) Citation: Poteat TC et al. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2016, 19(Suppl 2) :21193 http://www.jiasociety.org/index.php/jias/article/view/21193 | http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.19.3.21193