By Iddi Yire
Accra, Oct 20, GNA – The Network of Peace and Security Women in the ECOWAS Space (NOPSWECO-Ghana) and the Working Group on Women, Youth, Peace and Security (WGWYPS) have condemned allegations of sexual abuse and rape involving female students of Obuasi Senior High Technical School.
The scandal was exposed in the investigative documentary Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni.
A joint statement issued by Madam Euphemia Akos Dzathor (Mama Awanyo I), President, NOPSWECO-Ghana and Mrs Theodora Williams Anti, Convenor, WGWYPS, copied to the Ghana News Agency said the revelations were deeply disturbing, not only because of the alleged crimes but also because of the apparent failure of institutions entrusted with protecting these children.
“We are particularly appalled by the gross insensitivity our society continues to demonstrate towards victims of sexual violence,” it added.
It noted that too often, victims were silenced, intimidated, or blamed, while alleged perpetrators enjoyed protection and sympathy.
It noted that the Obuasi case must trigger a national reckoning with sexual violence and institutional failures in the nation’s schools.
It said as organisations committed to advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, NOPSWECO-Ghana and WGWYPS recognised that security went beyond the absence of armed conflict to include freedom from violence, fear, exploitation, and abuse.
The statement said the principles of prevention, protection, participation, accountability, relief and recovery must be reflected in the everyday lives of women and girls, including within the nation’s educational institutions.
It said prevention required that institutions identified risks, respond to early warnings, and act before further harm occurs.
It said when girls reported abuse and institutions fail to act, prevention had failed; declaring that when alleged perpetrators remained in positions of authority while victims lived in fear, protection had failed, adding that, when those who conceal or enable abuse face no consequences, accountability has failed.
“We cannot continue to celebrate progress on gender equality and Women, Peace and Security while failing to protect girls from sexual violence in our schools.”
It said the revelations from Obuasi raised serious concerns about failures in child protection, safeguarding, and institutional accountability, saying, the Ghana Education Service (GES) had a fundamental responsibility to ensure that schools were safe environments for learning and development.
It noted that while they acknowledge reports of the headmaster’s interdiction and referral of the allegations to the Criminal Investigations Department, these measures could not be substituted for a thorough investigation into the institutional failures that might have allowed the alleged abuse to continue.
“Interdiction is not justice. Suspension is not accountability. Transferring an alleged abuser from one school to another is not child protection,” the statement said.
“We reject any practice that merely transfers alleged perpetrators between schools or substitutes administrative sanctions for criminal investigation and prosecution.”
The statement noted that the GES must explain why complaints reportedly submitted months earlier did not trigger effective protective action and what mechanisms exist to hold officials accountable for failures to protect children.
It called on the Inspector-General of Police to ensure swift, thorough and independent investigations into the allegations.
The statement said the alleged perpetrator must be arrested without delay where lawful grounds exist and prosecuted where the evidence warrants; stating that no individual’s political affiliation, social status or institutional position should shield them from the law.
It said investigations must extend to every individual and institution who might have knowingly concealed complaints, intimidated victims, obstructed investigations or facilitated impunity.
The statement called on the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the GES, the Ghana Health Service and relevant child protection institutions to immediately provide comprehensive, survivor-centred support to all affected girls.
It noted that justice must include not only accountability for perpetrators but also the recovery, healing, and future well-being of survivors.
“We fully support calls for Parliament to summon the leadership of the Ghana Education Service to account for its handling of sexual abuse allegations in schools,” the statement said.
“We further demand an independent nationwide review of complaints involving teachers and school authorities, particularly cases that resulted only in transfers, suspensions or unexplained administrative outcomes and the findings must inform enforceable safeguarding reforms and stronger institutional accountability.
The statement demanded effective, confidential, and child-friendly reporting mechanisms in every school, with clear obligations to act promptly on complaints and refer suspected criminal conduct to law enforcement.
It said NOPSWECO-Ghana and WGWYPS expressed their firm support with the girls of Obuasi and every survivor of sexual violence whose suffering had been ignored or concealed.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei