Ghana LAWA Fellow 1998-1999 L.L.B., University of Ghana L.L.M., Ghana School of Law L.L.M., Georgetown University Law Center National Programme Coordinator Women in Law and Development in Africa P.O. Box CT 523 Cantonments, Accra Ghana Tel/Fax: 233 21 768 349 Mobile: 233 244 639 539 Email: wildaf@ucomgh.com, bernicesam2003@yahoo.com

Affiliations: African Women’s Lawyers Association

Profile:

Ms. Sam is currently the National Programme Coordinator of Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF), a position she has held since 2004. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and coordination for the planning of development programs and manages relationship with donors and partners to assure continued support for women’s rights.

LAWA Experience:

Ms. Sam’s graduate research culminated in her thesis entitled, “Discrimination in the Traditional Marriage and Divorce System in Ghana: Looking at the Problem from a Human Rights Perspective.” For her fellowship internship she worked at the International Human Rights Law Group on a project to improve inheritance legislation for women in Western Africa.

Additional Experience :

Prior to LAWA, Ms. Sam worked as the legal officer in charge of a legal rights awareness program run by the Ghana branch of the International Women in Law and Development NGO. She worked for the SNV/Netherlands Development Organization in Accra, Ghana as a development and legal officer, designing and implementing programs on legal literacy, violence against women, and other programs involving community leaders. In addition, she has hosted a radio discussion program on women’s issues and contributed articles to local newspapers.

Ms. Sam returned to Ghana following her fellowship and began working as Program Coordinator of the Africa Office of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in Accra. Additionally, she worked as a project officer for Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre where she carried out training for community leaders, police officers, and CSOs on violence issues.

She has been involved with the preparation of the Women’s Manifesto for Ghana and has collaborated with international organizations to organize the first ever Commonwealth Human Rights Forum (CHRN) in Abuja, Nigeria.

Recognition:

Certificate of Recognition in the 1999 Women’s Global Leadership Institute

Publications:

Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf and Bernice Sam, “Consensual Unions in the Western Region of Ghana: Their Relation to Violence against Women and Property Rights”, 2006.

“Election Observation: Gender and Illiteracy Boundaries,” Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Centre, Ghana (August 2004).

“People’s Democracy, Community Democracy: What Role for Civil Society?” Royal Commonwealth Society Int’l Conference, Ghana (July 2004).

International Women’s Day, Daily Graphic: Ghanaian Times (March 2004).

“Process of Lobbying between Civil Society and Government under the Responsibility to Protect,” Commissioned by Lui University, Canada. (February 2004).

“Civil Society Perspectives on Democracy and Development,” London, UK. (March 2004).

Bernice Sam and Margaret Insaidoo, “A Quick Guide to Violence against Women and Property Rights of Women,” 2003.

“The People’s Right to Know,” Ghanaian Chronicle (2001).

Manual for Training on Women’s Participation on Governance, modules a) State and its Functions, b) The Law Making Process c) Human Rights.