Tufts-in-Ghana resumes after suspension

Three students are currently studying at the University of Ghana in Accra as part of the newly reinstated Tufts-in-Ghana study abroad program. The program resumed operation this fall after a year and a half-long suspension following repeated incidents of sexual assault against participating Tufts students _ including violent rape.

Program coordinator Janna Behrens said she believes that insufficient understanding of the local culture and community could have been a factor in the incidents, and that educational procedures for participants will help ensure that such events do not happen again.

Although Ghana is the most popular location for students studying abroad in Western Africa, Behrens said that to the best of her knowledge, no other US university has had to cancel a Ghana program. The trend of violence that Tufts students have experienced does not appear to be a universal problem for US students studying in the country.

To increase participants' understanding of the vast cultural differences between the US and Ghana and the associated risks, all prospective students must now fulfill two requirements before traveling to the country, Behrens said. A one-on-one interview and an extensive three-session pre-departure orientation are aimed at educating students on these differences and risks.

The interview is also intended to "let students decide if the program is right for them," Behrens said.

As an added safety precaution, a staff member will now accompany students traveling to Ghana. Once students are situated on campus, they are encouraged to seek assistance from resident director Dr. Kweku Bilson.

Upon their arrival, participants are immersed in a ten-day orientation program, which includes lectures by natives on the history and culture of Ghana. Throughout the semester, students are continually informed about issues of transportation, culture, and safety, Behrens said.

Past incidents have been attributed to cultural differences in the signals and expectations that precede consensual sex. The new educational measures attempt to make students aware of such differences.

Alumna Laura Sheppard-Brick, who studied in Ghana in the fall of 1999, told the Daily in 2000 that Ghanaians often perceive American women as being more sexually promiscuous than local residents. Different clothing styles may be partly responsible for this perception. "Ghanaian women always cover their legs, and American women don't," Sheppard-Brick said.

The issue of rape is one that must be addressed thoroughly with students traveling to African countries, where women may submit to undesired sexual advances and refrain from reporting sexual assaults for cultural reasons. Sub-Saharan Africa's HIV rates, higher than in any other region in the world, also make rape prevention an issue of utmost importance.

The Tufts-in-Ghana program began in 1996, but was cancelled in the spring of 2000 after numerous instances of acquaintance rape and sexual assault against Tufts students studying in Ghana.

Three on-campus incidents were reported to University police in 1998 alone. After a fourth off-campus occurrence was reported to the Dean's Office in 2000, all Tufts students studying in Ghana returned to the US and the program was brought to a temporary halt.

Behrens was commissioned as program adviser after the program was discontinued. She headed a review of the situation at the University of Ghana, with particular attention to the incidents of sexual violence. Behrens discussed the matter with Tufts' affiliates, both in Ghana and on the Medford campus. After an extensive evaluation, she submitted a proposal in January 2002 recommending that the program be reinstated. The proposal was adopted last March.

Tufts students join a student body of roughly 15,000 at the University of Ghana; approximately 200 of which are foreign.

Three students spent a semester in Ghana when the program was initiated in 1996, and by 2000, nine students traveled to the country.

Concerns about safety and the program's permanence, however, dissuaded some Tufts students from applying to Tufts-in-Ghana when it was reinstated in March. Some students may have also been discouraged by the initial February application deadline, which passed before the program's existence was assured, Behrens said

Since the first year of the program, students have had the option of studying in Ghana for either the fall or the spring semester. Unlike many other Tufts study abroad programs, Tufts-in-Ghana only lasts for one semester. During the 2003-2004 school year the program will only offer fall semester study