Sekondi, July 12, GNA- Ms. Setina Aboagye, an Officer of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Western Regional Police Command has hinted of periodic increase in defilement cases during festivities and stressed the need to guard against it.
She said children were to be protected by families and society in general and not to abuse their sexuality at a tender age which tend to hamper their development.
Ms. Aboagye speaking at the stakeholder’s engagement on Youth Oriented and Gender Sensitive Topics by the STMA under the Twin-city in Sustainable Partnership Project, noted how such practices had derailed the fortunes of the girls in terms of reproductive health and socio-economic well-being.
Statistics provided indicated that between January and May this year, 263 cases ranging from defilement, parental maintenance, spousal assault, threats of life, deaths and rape among others were recorded by the department.
Such abuses, she noted had both physical, psychological, emotional impacts on the victims who were mostly women and children.
The DOVVSU officer said, ” We need as a society to protect each other from harm and especially women and children”.
GNA