The failure to strictly enforce child abuse laws in Ghana is empowering perpetrators and perpetuating a cycle of violence, Bright Appiah, Executive Director of Child Rights International, has said.
His comments follow the horrific abuse of a three-year-old girl in Winneba, who was brutally assaulted by her stepmother.
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News on Friday, September 19, Mr Appiah stated that the legal system must move beyond treating child abuse as a private, domestic matter.
He called for a robust prosecution of offenders to serve as a deterrent.
“I think that we should not just look at the abuse of children as a domestic issue. When there is an arrest or identification of such a matter, the right procedure must be followed so that those who commit such offences are dealt with properly,” he said.
Mr Appiah criticized the systemic apathy that allows many cases to fall through the cracks. “In most cases, we don’t see any kind of action taken… so people think that they can just do anything against a child and go scot-free. That, for me, is what is also giving them that kind of empowerment,” he added.
The victim, a three-year-old girl, was spending the holidays with her father when her stepmother, a Liberian national identified as Akaima, allegedly poured boiling water on the child’s private parts as punishment for bedwetting.
The girl is in critical condition at the Trauma and Specialist Hospital in Winneba, where doctors report the severity of her injuries will require complex reconstructive surgery to restore her reproductive organs.
The Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service has arrested the girl’s father for his alleged role, but the stepmother, the primary suspect, remains at large.
This incident is not an isolated one. According to DOVVSU’s 2024 annual report for the Central Region, child abuse cases rose by 12% compared to the previous year, with an estimated 1,200 cases recorded.
The case has drawn the attention of other child protection advocates, including the Mother and Child Rescue Unit of Challenging Heights, an NGO that has pledged to cover the victim’s medical expenses. The group is demanding a full-scale investigation and justice for the child.
Appiah further called on national authorities to re-evaluate how children are placed in the care of others, particularly in situations involving blended families. He emphasized the need for stricter safeguards to protect vulnerable children.
“People feel they can do whatever they want to do with children. That is why, for me, as a country, we should carefully look at it and see how best we can place children in the care of other people,” he stated.
According to a 2022 UNICEF report, 37% of Ghanaian girls aged between 1 and 14 have experienced physical punishment at home.
Mr Appiah believes that a lack of stringent and consistent enforcement of Ghana’s domestic violence laws and child protection acts is a major contributing factor. The Ghana Child’s Rights Act of 1998 (Act 560) provides comprehensive protection for children but is often difficult to enforce due to a lack of resources and a societal culture that views corporal punishment as acceptable.