Studies have indicated that in Ghana, one in three women is a victim of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Reports have shown that young women aged 15 to 19 years old, were four times more likely to experience violence than those above 19 years old. The problem of SGBV in Ghana is alarming and these statistics are not even reflective of the reality on the ground as some reports claim that only 5% of victims report incidences of abuse and violence.

Although, the issue of SGBV is grave, there are hardly enough support services for survivors/victims of SGBV. Women and girls, who are often the target of violence and abuse, are unable to leave their abusive situations and homes because there are a limited number of shelters for victims/survivors of SGBV in the country. Therefore, the Pearl Safe Haven- an emergency shelter that provides transitional housing and refuge for survivors/victims of SGBV is important to the fight against SGBV in Ghana.

The Pearl Safe Haven is a Ghanaian registered not-for-profit company that operates an emergency shelter for female survivors of gender-based violence, located on the outskirts of Accra. The shelter will provide women and their children a haven for up to 3 months as well as access to legal assistance, psychological help and practical skills training to empower them to exit the Haven.

The haven adopts an emergency shelter model that is sustainable and employs a strict exit strategy for the women and their children, to prepare them to integrate into their communities once their time at the Safe House comes to an end. However, based on circumstances there are allowances that will be allowed in extreme cases. The safe haven team employs a 6-month follow up programme to check on survivors that have gone back into the community and does this in collaboration with social workers from the social welfare department.

 In addition to running a shelter the organization also launched a mobile application that provides information on SGBV and provides opportunities for victims/survivors to seek support and assistance from an array of organizations. The mobile application, A Safe Place is available on google play store and will soon be on the App Store.