The Upper East Regional Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DoVVSU) has urged the public to treat defilement cases with every seriousness and urged families not to shield perpetrators of such crimes.
The Bolgatanga DoVVSU Station Officer, Chief Inspector Linda Mary Asooh, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, Upper East Region.
She said victims of such heinous acts were vulnerable and the effect on them could lead to long term social and psychological problems and urged parents, who had knowledge about perpetrators, to quickly report such cases to the police.
According to her, so far, seven cases of defilement had been reported at the station this year while in 2022, 19 cases were recorded.
She insisted that it was important for families to help in pursuance of such cases to a logical conclusion at the law courts.
She cited cases where perpetrators and their families went into hiding, leaving complainants to their fate and indicated that such cases only lingered on at the courts and kept the prosecutors longer on the cases.
She encouraged families not to hasten in cleaning up exhibits and evidences that would help in the investigation of such cases.
She enumerated challenges her office faced, as transportation of perpetrators to the courts and the care and support of victims brought to the station.
C/Inspector Asooh acknowledged the support and partnership received from the Department of Gender and Social Welfare, at moments where victims needed to be accommodated while investigations were carried on, not only for victims but other cases such as child abandonment, and child loss.
She said some of DoVVSU’s partners had instituted some funds to support victims of defilement to speed up medical needs among others.
Act 39 of the children agreement indicate that “children who have been abused should receive special help to restore their self –respect”, however due to case handling challenges by stakeholders there are undesired consequences on the victims.