Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, has made a passionate plea on the floor of Parliament for the immediate creation of a national sex offenders register, warning that the continuous rise in child sexual abuse across Ghana should deeply trouble the conscience of the nation.
Her call comes on the back of alarming official police statistics she presented to the House, highlighting a disturbing surge in sexual crimes against vulnerable persons. Official data reveals that in 2025 alone, the country recorded 1,132 cases of defilement, 297 cases of rape, 10 cases of attempted defilement, and 16 cases of attempted rape. This follows a equally grim picture in 2024, which saw 1,296 defilement cases and 316 rape cases, alongside seven cases of carnal knowledge involving females with mental incapacity.
Emphasising that these shocking numbers—totaling 1,462 registered cases in a single year—only reflect incidents officially reported to law enforcement, the lawmaker questioned how Ghanaian society reached a point where children are routinely defiled by individuals entrusted with their care, while the public often rallies around perpetrators instead of protecting victims.
Dr Agyeman-Rawlings stressed that Ghana’s pledge to protect vulnerable citizens must translate into concrete action rather than remaining mere words on paper. She noted that as the first nation to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990—which mandates state protection from sexual exploitation and violence under Articles 19 and 34—alongside obligations under Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the country must strengthen its enforcement, laws, and institutions.
The Klottey Korle MP further condemned the systemic practice of quietly transferring teachers accused of sexual misconduct to new stations, warning that institutional reputation should never take priority over the safety of young learners.
“We cannot simply transfer a teacher from one school to another when credible allegations of sexual abuse emerge, thereby potentially exposing other groups of children to danger,” she said.
She demanded prompt reporting, independent investigations, and full legal accountability for all offenders, insisting that status or influence must never serve as a shield against justice.
“The safety of children must take precedence over institutional convenience or reputation,” she stressed.
Wrapping up her submission, Dr Agyeman-Rawlings reminded Parliament of its duty to act decisively to safeguard the nation’s future generation.
“Not a teacher, not a pastor, not a traditional ruler, not a politician and certainly not anyone who believes their position in society enables and entitles them to escape accountability.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
