Ghanaian social advocate Afua Asantewaa Aduonum has stated that the stories she receives privately each day paint a far darker picture of women’s experiences than what the public usually sees.
During a recent discussion on Joy Prime, she explained that her inbox alone shows how widespread the problem is. According to her, the messages come in steadily and expose the range of violations many women face but rarely speak about.
“Generally, I want to begin with my inbox. I usually have at least five cases come through regarding abuse,” she said, stressing that the issue cannot be reduced to physical violence alone.
Afua Asantewaa pointed out that financial control, sexual exploitation and other less discussed forms of harm are taking a heavy toll on women, even though most of these cases never reach the public conversation. “Abuse is not just physical. We have financial abuse, sexual abuse, it’s a broad topic. Women are really going through it,” she observed.
Afua added that society tends to react only when an incident spreads widely online, but the quieter stories reveal a far more distressing reality. “Either way, this went viral and that’s why we are having this conversation, but behind closed doors, it’s terrible,” she stated.
