Advocacy & Outreach

ADVOCACY

A core feature of CEGRADs mandate is to educate the university community and the sexual harassment committee on sexual harassment issues. Sexual harassment training workshops undertaken have as a result targeted students and other key stakeholders in the line of receiving and addressing sexual harassment occurrence on campus; the sexual harassment committee, hall tutors/wardens, hall counsellors and the counselling unit. Students training take place in two forms, during orientation of fresh students and specific programmes organised on sexual harassment awareness and Gender Based Violence such as Relationship Tidbits. The centre also organises annual international women’s day programmes where various issues of concern to women are addressed.

The advocacy activities of CEGRAD include the following:

  • Promote women’s rights and gender equality in student enrolment, staff appointment, promotion and retention,
  • Act as a focal point for receiving and addressing complaints that border on gender discrimination and women’s rights abuses,
  • Foster collaboration between members of UCC and institutions and organizations working on gender issues,
  • Make sexual harassment unattractive on UCC campus.

Advocacy Activities Undertaken by CEGRAD

  • Commemoration of International Days (2014 to Date)
    • International Day of Women and Girls in Science
    • International Day of the Boy Child 
    • Menstrual Hygiene Day 
    • International Day of the Girl Child
    • Breast Cancer Awareness Month
    • International Men’s Day 
    • 16-Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (2014 to Date)
  • TIME with CEGRAD (Monthly ATL Radio Discussion) (2020 to Date)
  • CEGRAD Webinar Series (2020-2022)
  • CampLife (Relationship) Tidbits Trainings (2017 to date)
  • International Women’s Day (2014 to date)
  • Sexual Harassment Trainings (2014 to date)
  • Students’ collaborative activities support- CEGRAD supports student groups on UCC Campus on developing themes and programme outline, assisting with budget, providing resource persons for their seminars and conferences. The following groups have been supported:
    • Students Representative Council (SRC), UCC 
    • Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG) UCC
    • National Union of Ghana Students, UCC (NUGS)
    • Distance Education Students Association of Ghana (DESAG), UCC

 

COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITIES

The Centre supports and collaborates with Women’s Groups on campus and beyond to organise training workshops and symposiums on Women’s Health, Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Harassment, as well as commemorate International Days. The groups include: 

  • Women’s wing of the Senior Staff Association (SSA), UCC
  • Women’s wing of University Teachers Association, Ghana (UTAG), UCC
  • Women’s wing of the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), UCC
  • Graduate Women International, UCC
  • Organisation of Women in Science in Developing Countries (OWSD), UCC
  • Women in Engineering Ghana
  • SRC
  • GRASAG 

 OUTREACH

These are categorized into internal and external outreach. The internal activities focus on activities carried out for departments within the university of Cape Coast. The outreach activities of CEGRAD include the following:

  • Facilitate the development of curricula on Gender studies and provide a gender perspective on existing ones,
  • Organise gender capacity building and awareness for all UCC staff and students,
  • Carry out advocacy programmes to support the implementation of gender mainstreaming at UCC,
  • Develop networks and linkages within and across campuses, with other centres, organizations and   network of women and gender studies in Ghana and Africa and outside Africa,
  • Provide technical services and training programmes to employers, service providers, women groups, students and other people interested in gender issues,
  • Engage in any activity that will promote gender awareness and mainstreaming in the university and the society.

Outreach Activities undertaken by CEGRAD

  • Adult and Adolescent Symposiums for UNFPA Ghana communities on Sexual Harassment, Gender-Based Violence, Teenage Pregnancy and Child Marriage (2020 to Date)
  • Training Workshop for Ghana Education Service (Girls Education Unit) (2022 to Date)
  • Orientation for staff and students (2015 to Date)
  • Career Choice Guidance and Sexual Harassment Symposiums for Senior High and Junior High Schools (2019 to Date)
  • Co-development of Community Guidelines for Adolescents in the Central Region against teenage pregnancies, gender based violence and prostitution with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Central Region (2017-2018).
  • Seminar on Gender Responsive Practices for Gender Club Members, OLA  College of Education, Cape Coast ( 2018)
  • Needs assessment meeting with adolescents, parents and opinion leaders on gender based violence and child marriage (2018)
  • Symposium on Health Development and Sexuality for students from University Practice Senior High School (UPSHS), Cape Coast (2018 to date)
  • Symposium on Career Guidance & Sexual Reproductive Health for form 3 pupils of the Junior High Schools in the Yamoransa community, Yamoransa, (2018 to date)
  • Seminar on Effective use of Household Chemicals/Products for Market Women at Yamoransa 21st June 2017
  • Lunching of ICT & Science Club at Yamoransa 16th June, 2017
  • Seminar on Integrating ICT into other subjects to bridge the Digital Divide for ICT &Science Club, Yamoransa, 12th June 2017
  • Organized an excursion for the Yamoransa ICT & Science Club to the College Agriculture and Natural Sciences, UCC, 16th June 2017Workshop on Gender Sensitive Ethical Practice in the workplace for senior staff of Twifo Praso Oil Palm Plantation (TOPP) Limited (2017)
  • Workshop on Gender sensitive ethical practice in healthcare delivery for Healthcare practitioners, (2017)
  • Sexual Harassment Awareness and Trainings workshop for students, sexual harassment committee and other representative groups in the university of Cape Coast and beyond (2013 to date)
  • Writers Workshop for Female Academic Senior Members, UCC (2016)
  • Writers workshops on Gender and Development textbook module (2015 & 2016)
  • Gender Audit of the University of Cape Coast students and staff (2013 to date)
  • Roundtable Conference of Gender Institutions in Public and Private Universities in Ghana (2015 and 12th -13th June2019)
  • Curriculum development on Leadership and Governance for Women in Ghana for School of Business (2015)
  • Engendering Curriculum for Academic departments in the University of Cape Coast
    • School of Business Curriculum (August, 2014)
    • Water and Sanitation Unit (February, 2016)