Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection has pledged support for the compilation of sex offenders’ data for the country.
The Ministry, she said, is in full support of drawing up such records but stressed the law enforcement agencies should be the right agencies to have this data.
She added, however, that the Ministry is prepared to supply all the evidence-based information as it has some on its files.
Mrs. Cecelia Abena Dapaah made the promise in Parliament during question time when she was quizzed about teenage pregnancies in the Upper East, which recorded 6,533 cases in 2020 and what the Ministry is doing to curb the situation.
She indicated that the Gender Ministry is fully aware of the situation in the Upper East Region and is implementing a Five-Year Strategic Plan to address Adolescent Pregnancy in Ghana (2018-2022) to remedy the situation.
The Ministry, she said, together with stakeholders has also undertaken a number of initiatives to reduce the phenomenon including the formation of Parent Advocacy Groups and training parents as advocates to support the sensitization drive on preventing adolescent pregnancies.
She said, “The Ministry has also formed a Regional Child Protection Committee that meets quarterly to deliberate on interventions by various stakeholders in preventing Adolescent Pregnancies; Engaged traditional leaders in the districts on how to create awareness on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence including abstinence among adolescents to curb adolescent pregnancies.”
“We have also trained Queen Mothers in mentoring adolescent girls on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, Sex education and abstinence who serve as mentors to the adolescent girls; engaged the public through radio discussions on issues around Adolescent Pregnancy; embarked on school outreach programmes to educate pupils and students on their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.”
Mrs. Cecelia Dapaah stated that sex offences and teenage pregnancies are not restricted to only the Upper East region but a prevalent problem all over the country and the world.
She assured the Ministry will support all efforts, including compiling sex offenders data, to specifically tackle the situation in Ghana.
Source: MyPublisher24.com