Mr. Price Clothing Store Must Face Justice For Publicly Degrading Female Students
On Monday, February 24, videos began surfacing online of three girls being forced to crawl on their knees through the Accra Mall after allegedly shoplifting undergarments from the Mr. Price Clothing Store earlier that day. An eyewitness to the scene indicated to CitifmOnline the staff was responsible for this degradation, saying: “The girls were asked to pay for what they had stolen. They were also asked to fall on their knees and crawl to the entrance of the mall.”
The video, which became popularized by social media sites and blogs shortly after the incident, shows a horrifying scene of the three suspects slowly crawling while a crowd of people follows, heckling the girls, calling them thieves, and documenting the scene on numerous camera-phones. Some videos uploaded to YouTube have since been removed, replaced with a notice saying: “This video has been removed as a violation of YouTube's policy prohibiting content designed to harass, bully or threaten.”
The three girls, who are said to be students of the University of Ghana - Legon, have been the victims of a humiliating and unlawful attempt at retribution. The actions on behalf of the Mr. Price staff are not only indefensible, but are also in direct violation of Ghana's Constitution, specifically the 15th right established in Chapter 5: Fundamental Human Rights and
Freedoms, which states:
“(1) The dignity of all persons shall be inviolable.
(2) No person shall, whether or not he is arrested, restricted or retained, be subjected to –
(a) torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
(b) any other condition that detracts or is likely to detract from his dignity and worth as a human being.
(3) A person who has not been convicted of a criminal offence shall not be treated as a convicted person and shall be kept separately from convicted persons.”
Due to the clear violation of Ghanaian law, as well as international standards for human rights, the Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC) calls for the immediate investigation and punishment of all responsible for orchestrating the event in discussion. Regardless of the innocence or guilt of the three students, the actions taken on by the staff of the Mr. Price are vindictive and absolutely inexcusable.
This includes any manager, salesperson, security guard, etc. who was involved in the humiliation of these three girls. As an agency dedicated to the protection of the human rights of all persons living in Ghana, the HRAC hereby demands the Mr. Price staff announce a public apology and punish the staff members responsible for this intolerable violation of basic human rights.
Unless those responsible are held accountable, there will be no retribution for the three young girls, victims of this disgusting crime.
The HRAC will follow through to ensure that these three girls get justice for the inhumane and degrading way they were treated.
Human Rights Advocacy Centre
Robert Akoto Amoafo
+246628054
Executive Director