Stacy M. Amewoyi in collaboration with Michaeline UNA presents The Save The Girl Child 2020 campaign

The Girl Child 2020 campaign is a written Article that is used to tackle the hardship treatment our child goes through in the hand of their supposed helpers. This is not limited to only the girl child but they are in the center of this article. It is also to encourage each and every child out that, there is still hope for them and they should not kowtow to the hardship of their so-called God sent Angels

INTRODUCTION: Child abuse is something which is really affecting us globally; over the decades we have heard stories of child abuse in our everyday life as far the word abuse is concern. Most of these kids are abused over the years by their Uncles, Aunts, Boss, Fathers, Step-Fathers etc. Most of the times we see a lot of people on the street, then we wonder why such a pretty girl or boy is doing on the street? Truest me all these kids are as a result of abuse from one way or the other. These kids sometimes think they are going to avenger the very people that hurt them when they were kids but at the end, they found themselves in the situation they are in now.

I had the opportunity to talk to some people some time ago and the answer they give out is overwhelming. Most of these children think per what they have gone through, the best life that is left with them is nothing to write home about. Child sexual abuse is a major cause for concern for many. The dark experience children face while growing up in the form of sexual abuse is daunting and scars their memories for the rest of their lives. Quite a few of people have spoken up about the issue and also revealed about their haunting memories while going through the same during their childhood.

Sexual assault can be verbal, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. Examples of this are voyeurism (when someone watches private sexual acts), exhibitionism (when someone exposes him/herself in public), incest (sexual contact between family members), and sexual harassment. It can help happen in different situations, by a stranger in an isolated place, on a date, or in the home by someone you know.

Rape is common form of sexual assault. It is committed in many situations-on a date, by a friend or an acquaintance, or when you think you are alone. Educate yourself on “date rape drugs”. They can be slipped into a drink when a victim is not looking. Never leave your drink unattended-no matter where you are. Try to always be aware of your surroundings. Date rape drugs make a person unable to resist assault and have a type of memory loss so the victim doesn’t know what happen.

WHAT IS CHILD ABUSE? Child abuse is the physical maltreatment or sexual molestation of the child, and or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse is doing something or failing to do something that results in harm to a child or puts a child at risk of harm. Child abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional. Neglect, or not providing for a child’s needs, is also a form of abuse. Sometimes we allow the children to do more than they can in order to meet our demands. Us in the contents of the parents, caregiver or anyone that allow the children to undergo such treatment. However, in the Africa continent especially Ghana, as in many other countries, there has been no understanding of the extent, magnitude and trends of the problem. The growing complexities of life and the dramatic changes brought about by socio-economic transitions in Ghana have played a major role in increasing the vulnerability of children to various and newer forms of abuse.

According to WHO: “Child abuse or mistreatment constitutes all forms of physical and/ or emotional cruelty, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other manipulation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.’’

Child abuse has serious physical and psychological significances which unfavorably affect the health and overall well-being of a child. Most abused children suffer greater emotional than physical damage. An abused child may become depressed. He or she may withdraw, think of suicide or become violent. An older child may use drugs or alcohol, try to run away or abuse others.

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE BEHIND MASK? This is a very tough thing to talk about. Most often it is very difficult to unmask the very individuals that hide behind the masked for such a barbaric atrocity in the country. Most of these people are living in the same community, society, churches, mosques with us but yet still have such behavior in them but would pretend as if there is nothing going on.

In a discussion with some of these victims, they made a shocking revelation about the people behind this and you bet to defer if the said people can do this? About 70% of them point out that, they suffer such a behavior from the hands of their own people, that is their Parents, Uncle, Aunts and what have you. Some even goes to the extent of mentioned that most of the very people we look at to as our role models and, God -Fathers and co are also responsible for the pains they are going through.

Some of these kids are solid by their parents to others for them to be able to meet the financial demands of the family in order for them to provide for the young ones in the family. While other are also of the view that, the situation they found themselves is a result of happening in their various homes by either the family or the society.

WHY THE GIRL CHILD? The girl child because they are in the center of the discussion now. The class of children that goes through these barbaric acts are girls. If you do a thoroughly case study of the antecedent you will relegalized that most the girls on the street hawking, doing slave Queen as they call it now or those engaged in the commercial sex working are victims of an act by the negligence of either their parents, uncle, aunt or boss somewhere. Some of these children also go through rape case and they have now become victim.

Child sexual abuse is a major cause for concern for many. The dark experience children face while growing up in the form of sexual abuse is daunting and scars their memories for the rest of their lives. Quite a few of people have spoken up about the issue and also revealed about their haunting memories while going through the same during their childhood.

Sexual assault can be verbal, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. Examples of this are voyeurism (when someone watches private sexual acts), exhibitionism (when someone exposes him/herself in public), incest (sexual contact between family members), and sexual harassment. It can help happen in different situations, by a stranger in an isolated place, on a date, or in the home by someone you know.

Rape is common form of sexual assault. It is committed in many situations-on a date, by a friend or an acquaintance, or when you think you are alone. Educate yourself on “date rape drugs”. They can be slipped into a drink when a victim is not looking. Never leave your drink unattended-no matter where you are. Try to always be aware of your surroundings. Date rape drugs make a person unable to resist assault and have a type of memory loss so the victim doesn’t know what happen.

EFFECT ON THE GIRL CHILD: The girl child goes through a lot in this era. Most of the was solid for sex trade to other communities, societies, cities and countries at large. Just for the selfishness of somebody. But one thing they seems to have forgotten is the effect that such an act would have on the child when she grows up to become a woman that have to married and have her own family.

➢ VIOLENT: because of what these children have gone through, most of them have become violent by nature. They hate the life that they found themselves but yet still there is nothing they can do about it. Some of them goes to the extra mile of killing and doing any possible to get what they want in life.

➢ SCHOOL DROPOUT: Most of these children at their tender age have it at the back of their mind that they want to become of the great people in their society, country and in the world at large but at the end found themselves either being raped and solid to some strange they know from nowhere and they go through all the pains in life simply because they are victim of circumstances.

➢ TEENAGE PREGNANCY: Most these girls at that tender age have no idea about protection or what have you, but yet still the men would take advantage of their inability to defend themselves and do whatsoever that they want which in most case results in teenage pregnancy. Because of the irresponsible nature of these men, they either forced the girl to abort the pregnancy or leave their house. And before I might forget most of this barbaric act also happens to the so-called house help and some irresponsible husbands. After they have what they want, they would now put unnecessary pressure on the girls to either abort the pregnancy or leave the house. And seems these children have nowhere to go, they would rather do what the bosses would say that is aborting the pregnancy.

➢ GENERATE HATRED: Because the painful life in which they always recount in their life there is this hatred in their mind. They are also ready to pay back whatsoever they have suffered for. Due to this hatred most of they would hunt down the people responsible for the life they lived. Most of these girls hate to hear the name man in their ears. Some of them would go all out just to break the very marriage that have led to become who they are now.

➢ UNSTABLE MARRIEGE: About 80% of these girls are having unstable marriage everywhere they found themselves, they don’t even have the word love in their heart anymore. By so doing they can’t show the type of love that they are supposed to show to their husbands. Some of them even find it difficult to make love to their husbands even though they are married. They said, anytime the remember what befalls them when they were young, they find it difficult to make love to their partners. Which leads to break up in the marriage.

➢ DIFFICULT IN CHILD BARREING: Some of them also express their worries in terms of child barring in their matrimonial homes. They during the act of either been rape or aborting, they end up destroying their womb in the process. Some of them express the streets they go through when the men who are stronger than them put them through just to have their way through. The men end up beating them misally to the extend that they begin to bleed seriously which have led to the situation they are having now.

➢ PROSTITUTION: Prostitution has also become one of the most common disease of these children. Most of them think because of what they have been through, they have no options than go through the prostitutions in order to meet their needs. They also think that to payback the suffering they have been through is to sleep with as many men as the can just to satisfied their desire.

➢ REVENGE: Revenge is one thing the sound loud in their mind. There is a popular says that goes that “A man that seek for revenge should remember to digit two graves, one himself and the other for the victim” in this case because of the pain and the desire of avengers in the heart of these poor innocent girls, they would the last drop of their blood just to avenger the very people responsible for their life being what they have now.

In the cause of that they would with every man they see on the street. For them marriage is not something they have planned and they are also not ready for men to get it scot free because of what they have been through. Some of them would not rest until they see these men marriage been destroy as well. But one is that in the cause of seeking revenge, they forgotten that they have made themselves vulnerable to others things to take place too. Some of them got diseases due to that unprotected sex they were forced into and have vowed to infect everyone that comes their way by the disease.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THESE CHILDREN DURING THE PROCESS? Most of these children suffer bitterly in their lives. Most of these children have become things that they have never wish for. Some have become army robbers due to the fact that they were deny access to education and the right to become the type of citizen the wish to see themselves. Most of these children have also become street hawkers, commercial sex workers. Some these children get themselves in most house help activities but at the end become a victim in the hand of the boss.

CAUSES OF CHILD ABUSE: There are many intermingling causes of child abuse and neglect. Physiognomies or situations of the abuser, the child, and the family may all subsidize. In many cases the abuser himself/herself was abused as a child. Substance abuse has been recognized as a key factor in a growing number of cases. In some cases, the perpetuators don’t not have any idea and skills needed to nature a child, thus increasing the possibility of abuse, and providing scarce parental role models for future generations. Children who are low birth weight, ill, disabled, or otherwise perceived as different are more likely to be the targets of abuse. In the family, matrimonial inharmoniousness, internal vehemence, unemployment and poverty, and social isolation are all factors that can precipitate abuse.

TYPES OF ABUSE: There several types of abuse that the children go through especially that of the girl child.

✓ Physical Abuse: is a nonaccidental physical injury to a child caused by a parent, caregiver, or other person responsible for a child and can include punching, beating, kicking, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, hitting (with a hand, stick, strap, or other object), burning, or otherwise causing physical harm.

✓ Neglect: This is the failure of a parent or other caregiver to provide for a child’s basic needs.

Neglect generally includes the following categories:

Physical: This is the process by which the parents, caregiver or other person responsible of the welfare of the failure to provide necessary food or shelter, lack of appropriate supervision.

Medical: When the person whose duty is to provide the necessary medical assistant to that child failure to provide the necessary medical or mental health treatment, withholding medically designated treatment from children with life-threatening conditions.

Educational: Most of these children have been deny education because the person responsible for their educational needs have not done so and therefore, they are left out.

Emotional: Sometimes it very prudent for as a parent or caregiver to take a look at psychological care to the children. Sometimes our children need us to help them overcome whatsoever that they are going through. Also, inattentiveness to a child’s emotional needs, failure to provide psychological care, authorizing a child to use alcohol or other drugs.

Sometimes culture value of some of people is what make it them vulnerable but not as if it is something that have been deliberately left the kids out. But one thing is that poverty or whatsoever the condition maybe it should take away the little we have to take care of our children. If as parents you can used what you have to take of your children then you leaving the child for abuse.

✓ Sexual Abuse: Sexual abuse is the act by which parents, caregivers and others to put the child into the act of sexual activities that take away the right of the child. It can either through rage, incest sodomy and penetration. Also, the use of the child for commercial sex workers for their selfish gain. Sexual abuse is defined by CAPTA as “the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct or simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct; or the rape, and in cases of caretaker or interfamilial relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children”

✓ Emotional Abuse: Or Psychological abuse is the act a which child is being denying the freedom developing the emotional growth by stopping unnecessary criticism that would hinder the confidence of the child in the home, society, community and in any place, they found themselves.

Also, the love child need should be given in order to avert any abuse in the society. Some parents mistakenly would show their affection for children leaving the others out because they are not their favorite children, so instead of the parents showing equal love for these children, the love of one become more than the other. Emotional abuse is often difficult to prove, and, therefore, child protective services may not be able to intervene without evidence of harm or mental injury to the child.

WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING ABOUT IT? Government over the past have put structures together to get these problems solve, but this problem cannot be solved when there have not being any formal complain from anyone. And the perpetrators of this act make sure they put fear in the children in order for them not to go out and there and report the whole issues to the police or any other agencies responsible for such an act.

Government have the following agencies that help to fight such issues they are as follows: The Department of Social Welfare and The Department of children were the

lead agencies in case management, they are working in hand with the other agencies

The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Domestic

Violence Unit of the Ghana Police Service, the National Commission for Civic

Education the Ghana Education Service (Girl Child Unit), Federation of International

Women Lawyers (FIDA), Prisons, and Judicial Service. These the agencies that have been set out to deal with such an issue facing the nation.

WHAT ORGANIZATIONS CAN BE OF HELP? There are organizations that most come to the aid of these poor victims. Such are NGO’s NPO’s these are organizations whose purpose is to see the vulnerable have a better place in life no matter their color or where they come from. The NGO’s are Non-Governmental Organizations who have the past put themselves to help the poor and needy in order to also have say in the society, internal and also external functions. Likewise the NPO’s, they are also Non-Profitable Organization who functions just like the NGO’s, their purpose is not to make money but rather help to reduction the pressure on the central government by trying to reach the need of some these children that the government at the end can’t reached all of them in terms of needs.