The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) has reiterated the need for the Ministry of Education to make girls education a top priority and support the fight against gender violence in schools.
It called on government and policy makers to create gender and violence against girls' desks in all schools to facilitate action to end violence against women.
Mrs Theresa Adjei-Mensah Boakye, National Vice Chairperson of GNECC made the call at the launch of 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Girls in Accra.
She noted that women and children were mostly affected during conflicts and abuses in the country.
The programme on the theme: "Silence is Violence; 16 Days to Break the Chains of Silence on Violence Against Women."
Mrs Boakye explained that women alone could not fight the challenges they faced hence the need for awareness creation on gender issues to combat violence against them.
She urged girls being abused to be bold to defend themselves and report their ordeal to the appropriate authorities to seek redress "rather
than keeping silence and allowing the perpetrators to walk about freely in the communities".
"Fear should not be the reason for the silence. Be courageous to speak out so that the perpetrators would be punished severely for their violence against women and girls," she added.
Mrs Boakye called for the establishment of Domestic Violence and Victim Support Units in schools and strengthen the Girls Education Units to help address the numerous complaints of violence against girls.
Mr Leslie Tetteh, National Co-ordinator of GNECC said the campaign was to mark the activism against all forms of inhuman, violence and abuse of the rights of girls, learn and develop their full potentials in schools.
Mr Tetteh said perpetrators of such crimes were still in business and continued to make schools unsafe for girls and called on the law enforcement agencies to ensure that all abuse cases against girls were fast tracked and
the perpetrators prosecuted.
Mrs Abena Adubea Acheampong, Country Co-ordinator, University Service of Canada reiterated the need for girls being abused to expose the perpetrators.