Member of Parliament for Ketu South, Ablah Dzifa Gomashie has called for the abolishment of witch and wizard camps in the country.
According to her, the ideology of isolating elderly people accused of witchcraft and holding in witch camps is inhumane and must be stopped.
She appealed to the state to therefore demolish all witch camps identified across the country including the Gambaga witch camp, Kukuo witch camp, and the Nabuli witch camp.
Hon Dzifa Gomashie made the call in a statement she read on the floor of Parliament on Thursday 16, 2023 to commemorate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD).
She applauded the MPs for Wa East and Madina Constituencies for their bold step towards ensuring the passage of the anti-witchcraft bill to restore sanity and dignity to victims.
She urged for the Bill to be passed by Parliament as soon as possible.
June 15th of every year is designated as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). It was established by the United Nations in response to a proposal by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) which was initially organized in June 2006.
Over the next three decades, the United Nations estimates that the number of older persons worldwide is projected to more than double, reaching more than 1.5 billion persons in 2050.
The second fastest increase is projected for Sub-Saharan Africa, where the population aged 65 or over could grow from 32 million in 2019 to 101 million in 2050 (218 per cent) after North Africa and Western Asia which has recorded the fastest.
In Ghana, the elderly population is projected to grow by 2.5 million by 2025 to 6 million by 2050, representing about 12% of the total population Ngnenbe, (2015).
She lamented that gender based violence is a global pandemic that affects one in every three women in their lifetime.
According to her, 33%-37% of women in Ghana have experienced intimate partner violence in the course of their relationship.
She indicated that although both men and women suffer this fate, elderly women are the most vulnerable and cited incidents in Salaga and Mion where people where lynched on suspicion of being witches.
Ageing, she said, is an unavoidable phenomenon and hence the need to enhance the protection of the growing numbers of the elderly in societies.
