Transparency International Ghana strengthens anti-corruption efforts with gendered corruption workshop for CSOs, media, and public institutions

Transparency International (TI) Ghana has stepped up its fight against corruption by organising a capacity-building workshop for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), public sector institutions, and the media aimed at enhancing collaborative efforts in detecting, reporting, and combating corruption.

Held in Wa, the workshop also focused on understanding gendered corruption, including sextortion, and equipping participants with the tools to advocate against all forms of corruption.

The initiative was organised in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) under the “Participation, Accountability and Integrity for a Resilient Democracy (PAIReD)” project. According to TI Ghana, the workshop was informed by the 2016 Afrobarometer survey, which highlighted strong public support for collective involvement in fighting corruption.

Mrs Mary Awelana Addah, Executive Director of TI Ghana, described sextortion, or sexual extortion, as a “silent but pervasive” violation that undermines victims’ rights and dignity.

She explained that corruption has direct human rights implications, with bribery, abuse of power, and institutional failures denying citizens access to justice and opportunities. She emphasised that while both men and women experience sextortion, women and girls are disproportionately affected, often silenced by cultural norms.

“Empowering citizens to speak out and report corruption is essential to creating a society of fairness and justice,” Mrs Addah said.

Mr Prosper Kuorsoh, Upper West Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), noted that the workshop provided media practitioners with a deeper understanding of gendered corruption, enabling more accurate reporting.

Chief Investigator Sebastian Ziem of the Upper West Regional Office of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) commended TI Ghana for engaging the media, highlighting that sexual extortion particularly affects widows, young girls, and job seekers but often goes unreported due to fear and cultural silence.

The PAIReD project, under which the workshop was held, is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union (EU) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The programme seeks to strengthen social accountability mechanisms and empower CSOs and media actors to expose and challenge corruption in Ghana.