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31.08.2007 Human Rights

‘Treat Alleged Defilement As A Human Rights Volation’

31.08.2007 LISTEN
By Daily Graphic

The Northern Regional branch of the Ghana NGO Coalition on the Rights of the Child (GNCRC) has called on the Ghana Police Service to treat the case of an alleged defilement and impregnation of two pupils by a police Constable in Tamale as a serious human rights violation to ensure justice.

The GNCRC noted that “this alleged act is a serious abuse and violation of the fundamental human rights of the children; the safety and life of the victims are at risk as they could contract the HIV virus or other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as face complications during pregnancy and delivery in the future”.

A statement jointly signed by its Regional Co-ordinator, Ms Selina Iddi Abdulai, and Chairman, Sheik Yakubu Abdul-Karim, equally commended the media for exposing the matter to ensure social justice for the victims.

The August 25, 2007 edition of the Daily Graphic carried a story in which a Police Constable, Emmanuel Attivor, was reportedly interdicted by the Police Administration for allegedly defiling and impregnating two pupils of the Police Barracks Primary School in Tamale.

The victims, both aged 14, were staying with a woman in Tamale who was said to be their guardian, when the incident occurred.

Although a woman who claimed to be an aunt to the victims alleged that the suspect, with the help of a friend, aborted the pregnancies, the Regional Police Crime Officer, Mr Ebenezer Lartey, indicated that for now the police were not aware of that information.

The GNCRC, however, alleged that “although the two girls were found to be 20 weeks and 19 weeks pregnant respectively after initial examination, a thorough investigation into the matter by our outfit revealed that the father of the girls, who lives in Gingani, a fishing community in the Tolon-Kumbungu District, was convinced by the perpetrator to abort the pregnancies”.

The statement said the matter deserved an urgent action by the law enforcement agencies, gender activists and human rights institutions.

According to the statement, it was imperative for the government to intervene in the matter to ensure that justice prevailed, stressing that “the GNCRC with the mandate vested in it by the laws of the country and other international legislative instruments will not relent in its efforts towards ensuring social justice for all children in this country”.

It added that in an interaction with the father of the girls, he (the father) lamented, and called on the GNCRC and the public to intervene in the matter to ensure that justice prevailed in order to “safeguard the future of his daughters”.

It cautioned parents and guardians to take positive steps to protect their children to prevent them from getting into contact with people with questionable character”.

Story by Vincent Adedze, Tamale

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