There are gender differences in the likelihood of requests for sexual favours when interacting with government officials in Ghana with 2.6% of females receiving such requests compared to 1.1% of males.
Meanwhile, there are also gender differences in engagement with bribery with male adults being more likely to pay or be asked to pay bribes and male officials being more likely to request bribes.
This was contained in a survey result on corruption in Ghana released by the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in collaboration with the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The survey dubbed, “2021 Ghana Integrity of Public Services Survey (GIPSS) – People’s Experiences and Views on Corruption Report” was launched by CHRAJ in collaboration with the GSS and the UNODC.
GIPSS is a nationally representative population-based survey that provides internationally comparable measures of corruption.
Some of the statistics that will be generated from GIPSS include prevalence, frequency and characterisation of bribery and corruption in both public and private services, awareness and effectiveness of anti-corruption agencies, feelings of security and access to justice.
Speaking at the launch, Mr Richard Quayson, Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ highlighted prior corruption data collection efforts and the importance and uniqueness of GIPSS as the first comprehensive, nationally representative population survey on corruption in Ghana.
He said the main purpose was to collect evidence-based information on forms of corruption affecting the population of Ghana to determine corruption prevalence and prevailing typologies for purposes of targeted policy interventions that can enhance the fight against corruption.
He noted that “In order to fight corruption more effectively, it is critical to improve society’s understanding of its different manifestations and to make regular, scientifically-based efforts to measure its occurrence.”
He also touched on how GIPSS would support the achievement of the goals of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP), SDG 16 and the United Nations Convention against Corruption Article 61.
His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi, a Justice of the Supreme Court representing the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana who chaired the occasion reflected on the importance and timeliness of the corruption survey which would provide scientific measures of corruption for the development of tailored anti-corruption interventions.
He noted that the aim to enhance professionalism, effectiveness, integrity, accountability and transparency in all sectors in Ghana via the NACAP would be impossible without such data.
He, therefore, called on Ghanaians to embrace the survey and accept the results from the survey since they were from reputable organisations.
The Government Statistician presented highlights from the report which covered the scope of bribery, who takes bribes, how bribery works, gender dimensions, nepotism, and vote-buying in Ghana.
The presentation concluded with the next steps in the implementation of the report which included stakeholder engagements, publication of analytical reports, the institutionalisation of the GIPSS and the anti-corruption implementation roadmap.
