The role of Christian local congregations in dealing with intimate partner violence in Ghana: A case of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana

september 2021–august 2024

Veiledere

Main Supervisor: Annette Rose Leis-Peters, Professor, VID

Co-Supervisor: Esther Mombo, Professor, St. Paul’s University, Kenya

About the project

The alarming rate of gender-based violence (intimate partner violence) against women globally, nationally and locally has attracted attention in international and metropolitan spheres of authorized knowledge. With the growth of Christianity in Ghana and the binary role religion plays in development, Christian local congregations are strategically positioned and equipped to partner with government and civil society organizations to address this social menace and to empower women in society.

This short-term ethnographic study will explore and critically analyze the reactive and proactive practices and values of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG) in the Southeastern parts of Ghana and its implications for sustainably transforming and empowering female survivors of abuse. It will employ individual interviews, focus group interviews, participant observation and documents as data collection instruments. With the sensitizing role of African feminist theology and community development as theoretical frameworks, the study will inductively analyze collected data using thematic analysis.

The project aims to contribute to the scientific discourse on theology and development by mapping out the potential role of churches’ contributions to better and professional practices in relation to IPV and the SDG 3 (good health) and 5 (gender equality), in partnership (SDG 17) with other actors in society.

Background

Diakonia and Christian Social Practice

Research Group

CODE community development

Institusjon

VID vitenskapelige høgskole