Vigilantism in Ghana: Trends, Victim Characteristics, and Reported Reasons

Abstract

Vigilantism is gaining popularity in Africa as a means of self‐defence, enacting justice, policing morality, and sanctioning (perceived) wrongdoings. Drawing on content analysis of 172 media reports from 2001 to 2018, this study examined the trends and patterns of vigilantism, characteristics of victims, and reported reasons for recourse to vigilantism within the Ghanaian context. Results showed a considerable increase in reported cases of vigilantism within the 18‐year period, with most of the cases reported in urban settings. Theft and robbery emerged as the most frequently suspected crimes for which victims were attacked and, in many cases, killed. The study underscores the implications of vigilantism in terms of disdaining human life and dignity. It calls for the need to revisit the justice administration systems and punishment procedures, as well as resourcing and empowering law enforcers to fight crime, including vigilantism.

Prevalence of self-harm among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adolescents: a comparison of personal and social adversity with a heterosexual sample in Ghana

“…Anecdotal reports from Ghana suggest that persons found to be engaged in sexual behaviours considered non-heterosexual have been arrested by the police for prosecution [28,29], some have been thrown out or disowned by their families [26,29], while students have been suspended or expelled by school authorities for 'coming out' as nonheterosexual [30,31]. A recent study on vigilantism in Ghana reports that some individuals have been labelled homosexual and assaulted by community members, because those individuals exhibited (sexual) behaviours that were considered stereotypically opposite to their sex [32]. This environment of criminality, social hostility, stigma, tension and strong heteronormativity, as found also in high-income countries [33,34], gives rise to increased vulnerability of persons identifying as sexual and gender minorities to negative health outcomes and risky health behaviours including alcohol and substance use and abuse, self-harm, and suicide [35][36][37][38].…”

The 2020 General Elections in Ghana: An Analysis of the Issues, Voting Pattern and Impact

“…Another area of concern to scholars recently is the influence of political party vigilante groups on elections in Ghana. Scholars who have written about this subject concord that vigilantism poses a threat to Ghana's electoral politics [27,15,28]. Others have extensively explored the winnertakes-all politics and how that led to the acrimonious atmosphere during Ghanaian elections [29][30].…”

A Study on Role of Narcissistic Personality Traits Towards Exposure to Security Risk in Social Media Networking Sites in India

“…Narcissism is the quest for delight from vanity or pompous profound respect of one's admired mental self view and qualities (Freud, 1971a;Adzimah-alade et al, 2020). The term began from Greek folklore, where the youthful Narcissus became hopelessly enamored with his own picture reflected in a pool of water.…”