Gendered mourning: A perspective of Akan death culture in Ghana.

Death is the commonest, incomprehensible, and inescapable reality confronting humanity in all nations and cultures. However, cultures vary in their conceptions of death, grieving and mourning rituals. Among the Akan of Ghana, mourning and funeral obsequies are essential cultural and spiritual practices. In this article, we draw insights from our reflective lived experiences and critical literature review to explore mourning and death rituals among the Akan as a stratified cultural system that reflects and reproduces broader gender patterns of masculinity and femininity in Ghana. We discuss the concept and cultural significance of mourning and bereavement practices, and further examine how socio-cultural notions of gender shape mourning and death rituals in Ghana. We argue that, as in many social and economic spaces in Ghana, funeral obsequies and bereavement practices represent sites for enacting and reproducing masculinity and femininity. The deleterious health and psychological consequences for men and women are further discussed.

"We Will All Go, But What We All Seek Is Good Death": Cultural Notions of Good Death And Related Mortuary Rituals Among the Akan of Ghana.

Thanatologists who have researched mortuary beliefs and practices from around the world posit that many societies differentiate between good and bad deaths. The current study utilized in-depth interviews with 30 Akan culture experts to investigate what the Akan ethnic group of Ghana considers to be good death. The results show that Akan good death is natural harmonious death that occurs at advanced age. The deceased would also have experienced a meaningful life devoid of immorality or turpitude. While the bodies of decedents of Akan bad deaths are interred without much ceremony, good deaths are associated with elaborate burial rites and funerary obsequies that serve to honor the decedent. Findings show that Akans generally aspire to achieve a good death, be granted solemn burial rites, and to receive a fitting funerary celebration that would launch them on a journey to join ancestral kin in the hereafter.

"If you die a bad death, we give you a bad burial:" Mortuary practices and "bad death" among the Akan in Ghana.

This article describes features of bad deaths and their associated mortuary rituals among the Akan of Ghana. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 30 Akan cultural experts. In Akan culture, bad deaths are associated with brief, perfunctory mortuary rituals. There is no washing, keeping of wake over the body, nor any presentation of grave goods, and no bidding of farewell to the decedent. Every effort is made to expunge the decedent from the memories of the lineage. Contravening prescribed customary rites for bad deaths is believed to cause disasters for the lineage, including recurrent bad deaths.

When a Wife Says "No": Wife Sexual Refusal as a Factor in Husband-Wife Homicides in Ghana.

In Ghana, wife sexual refusal is a key factor in uxoricides or husband-to-wife murders. Despite this, there is a dearth of systematic research that examines sexual strife as a precipitant of domestic violence and spousal murder. The present article addresses the current lack of research by systematically examining 25 cases of homicides and attempted homicides where wives were lethally and nonlethally assaulted by their husbands following the former's refusal to engage in husband-initiated sexual intercourse. A content analysis was conducted of all print and electronic media news items where a wife's refusal of sexual intercourse with a husband triggered lethal or aggravated violence. The results showed that the victims were aged 23 to 55 years old and were generally of low socioeconomic status. The assailants were aged 28 to 60 years old. Assailants used machetes, knives, and personal weapons to perpetrate the crimes, and extreme violence was a frequent feature of both lethal and nonlethal acts.

Grannicides in Ghana: a study of lethal violence by grandchildren against grandmothers.

The current article presents the results of an exploratory research that examined 16 homicides perpetrated by grandchildren against their own grandmothers in Ghana, West Africa. The term grannicide was coined by the present author and employed in the current analysis to denote the slaying of a grandmother by her grandchildren. Data for the present study were extracted from various Ghanaian print and electronic media. Results from the analysis of data show that grannicide is gendered, with all 16 identified grannicides perpetrated by grandsons against grandmothers. Offenders typically were young and of low socioeconomic background. Victims were of advanced age, poor, and at least partially dependent on their children and grandchildren for economic, physical and social support. All the homicides occurred in the rural areas of the country, and the victims commonly shared a residence with the assailant. Witchcraft accusations were the predominant motive in grandchild-to-grandmother slayings. The killings were overwhelmingly brutal, exhibiting characteristics that criminologists call overkill. Recommendations for reducing this type of crime are offered.

Characteristics of Elderly Suicides in Ghana.

A major gap in the extant research literature on suicide in Ghana is lack of a systematic study of patterns and trends in elderly suicides. To address the lack of scholarship on the topic, this exploratory, descriptive study presents the results of an epidemiological analysis of 40 media-reported suicides involving persons aged 60 years and older during the 2005-2016 period. Key findings are that the vast bulk of elderly persons who died by suicide were male, aged 60 to 65 years old, and of low income. The most common suicide methods were hanging and shooting with a firearm. Reasons for dying by suicide included lack of financial wherewithal, indebtedness, cuckoldry, sexual dysfunction, grief after the death of a spouse, and marital breakdown. A secondary aim of the research was to sensitize the Ghanaian public, medical services, and government about the extent, nature, and patterns of suicidal behavior in the elderly population. At present, many people in Ghana are not aware of elderly suicides as a social problem. For stakeholders, the findings of this study can assist in the design and implementation of policies and programs to alleviate the problem.

Crash-landings of flying witches in Ghana: Grand mystical feats or diagnosable psychiatric illnesses?

Crash-landings are a recurrent theme in Ghanaian witchcraft discourse. In the society's witchcraft lore, these are inadvertently aborted flights of maleficent witches en route to secret nocturnal witches' assemblies or to carry out diabolical deeds. While those accused of being witches who have crash-landed invariably face severe mistreatment, no study has systematically explored this purported phenomenon. In this article, I describe the results of an analysis of 10 cases of alleged crash-landings of witches that were reported in the Ghanaian media over a 12-year period. In addition to identifying the common characteristics associated with the alleged crash-landings, I provide a summary description of each case. The results show that the alleged witches were overwhelmingly female, elderly, and poor, and suffered from grave psychopathological conditions. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Sororicides in Ghana: A Study of Homicidal Aggression Against Sisters.

Sororicide has received scarce attention in the homicide literature. This is particularly the case for sororicide incidents occurring in the nonindustrialized, non-Western world. To help address this gap in the literature and extend the study of sororicides, the current exploratory, descriptive study examined the major characteristics of 18 media-reported sororicides that occurred in Ghana from 1990 to 2017, including the sociodemographic characteristics of victims and offenders, victim-offender relationship, incident location, modus operandi, motive, and criminal justice outcomes. The results show that sororicide represents a minuscule proportion of all homicides that occur in the country annually. Brothers were overwhelmingly the perpetrators of sororicide, accounting for 17 of the 18 killings. The findings indicate that a substantial proportion of the sororicides occurred in the context of disputes over money, land, property, or inheritance. Two brothers killed sisters they suspected of maleficent witchcraft.

Commercial Transactions in Children: The Case of Ghana.

The current article represents an examination of commercial transactions involving the sale of children in contemporary Ghana. It presents the results of a criminological analysis of 20 cases of commercial transactions in children in Ghana. It describes the sociodemographic characteristics of offenders and victims, victim-offender relationships, offender motivations, public reactions to the phenomenon, as well as the criminal justice system's responses to the crime. The data were extracted from Ghanaian print and electronic presses. The data show that more boys than girls were sold and that the ages of the victims ranged from 1 month to 19 years, although younger, prepubescent children were more likely to be sold than adolescents and younger adults. The results further show that the relationship between the offender and the child victim was a primary one, with parent-child relationships being dominant, followed by uncle-nephew. Pecuniary reasons were the primary motive for the crime, with offenders invariably expressing the need for money to satisfy pressing financial needs or personal enrichment. The data show that offenders were subject to prompt arrest, prosecution, and incarceration. A summary is provided for each of the 20 cases analyzed in the study.

Matricide in Ghana: Victims, Offenders, and Offense Characteristics.

At present, scholarship on matricide across many regions of the non-Western world is lacking. For instance, in Ghana, despite the intermittent, yet recurrent, availability of media reports describing matricidal acts over the past quarter century, no existing study has systematically analyzed matricidal killings in the West African nation. To contribute to the literature and extend knowledge about matricide and other forms of lethal violence in Ghana, this article presents the results of an analysis of 21 matricidal acts that occurred in Ghana from 1990 to 2016. Issues studied include demographic characteristics of assailants and victims, modus operandi, temporal and spatial aspects, as well as the motives and circumstances surrounding the crime. The results show that sons were substantially more likely than daughters to kill their mothers, matricide offenders were more likely to suffer from serious psychiatric disorders, matricide offenses generally occurred in the victim's home, and all cases of matricide were characterized by massive physical force and extreme violence. Matricide offenses in Ghana differed from matricides in Western nations in four important respects: (a) none of the 21 matricides was perpetrated with a firearm, (b) in none of the cases did the offender act with a co-offender (accomplice or accessory),

To Reinstate or to Not Reinstate? An Exploratory Study of Student Perspectives on the Death Penalty in Michigan.

The U.S. state of Michigan abolished the death penalty in 1846. Since then, several abortive efforts have been made by state legislators to re-establish the death sentence to deal with convicted murderers. Concurrently, some support exists among Michigan residents for the restoration of capital punishment in the state. This article presents the results of the analysis of an attitudinal survey of 116 college students enrolled in three criminal justice courses in a Michigan public university concerning the reinstatement of the death sentence in the state. The data from this exploratory study show that a slight majority (52.6%) of respondents favored reinstatement whereas 45.7% opposed restoration. Advocates and opponents of re-establishment of the death penalty in Michigan provided similar religious, moral and economic arguments proffered by others in previous surveys on capital punishment available in the death penalty literature. The current study makes a contribution to the scant extant literature on attitudes toward the death penalty in abolitionist jurisdictions. As this body of literature grows, it can provide baseline data or information with which to compare attitudes in retentionist states.

Intimate partner femicide-suicides in Ghana: victims, offenders, and incident characteristics.

The present study investigated the scope, nature, and determinants of intimate partner femicide-suicides (IPFS) that occurred in Ghana during 1990 to 2009. All 35 reported cases of intimate partner homicide-suicides with female homicide victims that occurred during the study period were extracted from a major Ghanaian daily newspaper. Findings indicate that offenders were of lower socioeconomic background and tended to be older than their victims. The results further show that shooting with a firearm and hacking with a machete were the primary homicide methods, whereas self-inflicted gunshots and hanging were the dominant suicide methods. Results showed that suspicion of infidelity and sexual jealousy were core contributing factors in arguments, disputes, and altercations that preceded the femicide-suicides. Furthermore, estrangement and threatened divorce or separation by the female intimate partner was a major precipitant of femicide-suicides.

Homicide-suicide in Ghana: perpetrators, victims, and incidence characteristics.

Homicide-suicide in the industrialized West has been studied for many years. Yet, only limited scholarly research currently exists on the subject in Africa and other non-Western societies. The aim of the present descriptive study was to investigate homicide-suicides in contemporary Ghana. A content analysis of homicide-suicide reports in a major Ghanaian daily newspaper during 1990 to 2009 was conducted. The results overwhelmingly support findings in the literature, suggesting that homicide-suicides are extremely rare events in Ghana. The overwhelming majority of reported homicide-suicides were committed by males, with females substantially more likely to be the homicide victims. The offenders and victims were generally of low socioeconomic status. Most homicide-suicides involved victims and offenders who were intimately acquainted as family members. The majority of cases involved men who killed their wives on suspicion of infidelity; the next largest category involved men who murdered wives who threatened divorce or separation. The principal homicide and suicide methods were shooting with firearms, hacking with machetes, and stabbing with knives. The findings of the study are discussed in relation to Ghana's patriarchal family system and ideology and present socioeconomic issues in the country. This study recommends further research on this subject in Ghana and other African countries. This is necessary to further an understanding of homicide-suicide as a phenomenon, as well as a necessary prelude to the development and implementation of effective preventive programs.

Criminal prosecution of suicide attempt survivors in Ghana.

Recently, there have been calls for the decriminalization (or depenalization) of nonfatal suicidal behavior (attempted suicide) in Ghana, India, Uganda, and other societies that currently criminalize nonfatal suicidal behavior. Despite this, there is a dearth of systematic studies that examine the extent, nature, and characteristics of attempted suicide prosecutions in countries that currently criminalize nonfatal suicidal behavior. The current study, therefore, explores the phenomenon of criminal prosecution and punishment for suicide attempters in Ghana, one among several countries where nonfatal suicidal behavior is a crime. Drawing from data extracted from local Ghanaian print and electronic news media articles, the study examines the sociodemographic characteristics of suicide attempt survivors, the patterns of nonfatal suicidal behavior, as well as the criminal justice outcomes of the criminal prosecutions. The findings indicate that the majority of defendants pled guilty to or were found guilty of the charge and sentenced to penalties ranging from monetary fines to incarceration. The results are discussed with regard to their implications for reducing nonfatal suicidal behavior in Ghana.

Better dead than dishonored: masculinity and male suicidal behavior in contemporary Ghana.

In Ghana reliable official data on suicidal behavior are not available. There is also limited empirical research on suicidal behavior in the country. At the same time, police-recorded suicide data, media reports, and communication from professionals in the field indicate that suicidal behavior is a growing problem. To identify current patterns and meanings of male suicidal behavior in Ghana, the study examined official police data spanning 2006-2008. This investigation revealed that reported cases of fatal and nonfatal suicidal behavior overwhelmingly involved males. Furthermore, the majority of males who engaged in suicidal acts did so to deal with feelings of shame and dishonor of variable sources. Findings suggest changing the rigid dichotomization associated with male-female gender roles and socialization that emphasize masculinity ideals in Ghana and the need for increased research and the promotion of counseling for males facing emotional stress.

Child witch hunts in contemporary Ghana.

OBJECTIVE: The persecution of children as witches has received widespread reportage in the international mass media. In recent years, hundreds of children have been killed, maimed and abandoned across Africa based on individual and village-level accusations of witchcraft. Despite the media focus, to date, very little systematic study has investigated the phenomenon. In this case study, the persecution of child witches in Ghana is studied to explore the nature and patterns of witch hunts against children in the West African nation. METHODS: There are no reliable national data on child abuse related to witchcraft accusations in Ghana. For this study, 13 cases of child witch hunts appearing in the local media during 1994-2009 were analyzed. Case summaries were constructed for each incident to help identify the socio-demographic characteristics of assailants and victims, victim-offender relationships, the methods of attacks, the spatial characteristics, as well as the motivations for the attacks. RESULTS: Children branded as witches ranged in age from 1-month-old to 17-years-old, were primarily from poor backgrounds, and lived in rural areas of the country. Accusations of witchcraft and witch assaults were lodged by close family members often through the encouragement of, or in concert with Christian clergymen and fetish priests. Accused witches were physically brutalized, tortured, neglected, and in two cases, murdered. For school-aged children, imputations of witchcraft contributed to stigmatization in both the community and at school, resulting in dropping out. The most frequently expressed reason for persecution of the child was suspicion that the child had used witchcraft to cause the death or illness of family relations or someone in the community. Another reason was suspicion that the child was responsible for the business failure or financial difficulties of a perceived victim. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this research are consistent with findings in the witchcraft literature suggesting that seemingly inexplicable illnesses, untimely deaths, and financial hardships tend to be the major causal forces generating witch hunts. Additional research is necessary to further shed light on child witch hunts in Ghana and other countries. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: To reduce the incidence of such abuse, there is a need for increased advocacy and protections for children in the society. The government must also increase the penalties for child abuse. This will serve as a deterrent to potential offenders. Additionally, through public service campaigns, educating citizens about the causes and trajectories of diseases, will lead to a significant diminution of witchcraft accusations and the associated violence.

Epidemiologic characteristics of suicidal behavior in contemporary Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Suicidal behavior receives considerable coverage in African media. Yet, there has been limited empirical research that focuses explicitly on suicidal behavior in African societies, while comprehensive and reliable official data on the phenomenon are limited. AIMS: This article contributes to the empirical research on suicidal behavior in African societies by examining police-recorded data on suicidal behavior in Ghana, West Africa. METHODS: Official law enforcement data on suicidal behavior spanning 2006-2008 were analyzed to identify current patterns of suicidal behavior in the country. RESULTS: The results indicate that the persons most prone to suicidal behavior were male, young, and poor. The most frequent methods used were hanging, the ingestion of poisons, and shooting. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively low rate of recorded suicidal behavior in the society stems partly from the tabooed and criminal aspects of the phenomenon.

Criminalizing rape within marriage: perspectives of Ghanaian university students.

Forcing sexual intercourse on an unwilling marital partner, or marital rape, is not a crime in many societies around the world, because of a marital exemption rule that prohibits the prosecution of husbands who rape their wives. Concurrently, marital rape is one of the least studied phenomena in sexual violence research. This is particularly true for societies in the non-Western world. The current study examined the general attitudes of a sample of university students in Ghana, a West African country, toward marital rape. Respondents were also asked whether an ongoing legislative effort to criminalize marital rape in the country was warranted. The results indicated strong opposition toward criminalization. The results also indicated no marked differences between male and female respondents in attitudes toward marital rape and the need for a legislative response to the phenomenon. Patriarchal ideologies such as wifely submission to the husband and an implicit duty to provide sex in marriage provided some of the justifications furnished for why marital rape should remain noncriminalized. Advocates of criminalization mentioned the social, physical, and psychological effects of rape and how the enactment of marital rape legislation and the imposition of severe criminal sanctions would help prevent the incidence of marital rape and other forms of violence against women in the society.

Patterns of female suicidal behavior in Ghana.

The suicidal behavior of African females is a rarely explored topic. The present study is a descriptive analysis of fatal and nonfatal female suicidal behavior in Ghana. Patterns of both fatal and nonfatal female suicidal behavior recorded by the Ghana Police Service during 2006-2008 are examined and described in depth. The data show that during the 3-yr. period, there were 11 fatal and 4 nonfatal suicidal acts by females, out of the total 243 fatal and 44 nonfatal suicidal acts found in the official data. The author describes the ages and occupations of the women and girls who engaged in fatal and nonfatal suicidal behavior, as well as the suicide method, location, circumstances, and police-assigned motives for the suicidal acts. The author concludes that additional research on female suicidal behavior in Africa and other non-Western societies is warranted to develop a more precise understanding of suicidality.

Husbands who kill their wives: an analysis of uxoricides in contemporary Ghana.

This article addresses the current lack of research on uxoricides in non-Western societies by examining the phenomenon in Ghana, West Africa. Analysis of data from the 60 husband-wife killings reported in a national daily newspaper reveals that jealousy and suspicion of infidelity overwhelmingly provided the basis for wife murders. The findings also indicate that assailants and victims were of low socioeconomic background and the murders predominantly occurred in the rural areas of the country. Posthomicidal suicide by the assailant occurred in about one fourth of the cases. Overall, the results demonstrate that the patterns of uxoricide in Ghana are congruous in many significant ways with those noted in Western industrialized societies. It is concluded that additional research in non-Western societies is warranted to contribute to the development of sound conclusions about and remedies for uxoricide.