By Dennis Peprah
Accra, Oct. 03, GNA-About 95 per cent of human trafficking survivors in the country’s Public Shelter Homes are Nigerians, Mrs. Sena Owusu-Gibson, the Deputy Director, Human Trafficking Secretariat of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has said.
She, therefore, advised Journalists in Africa to put a spotlight, and help identify and re-integrate survivors of human trafficking on the continent.
Mrs Owusu-Gibson gave the advice when she was speaking at the opening session of a four-day advanced capacity-building workshop for media professionals in Accra.
She, however, cautioned Journalists to be decorous and endeavour to hide the identity of survivors when reporting on human trafficking to protect them from victimisation and stigmatisation.
Expertise France, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) is organising the four-day workshop, attended by 20 selected Journalists, 10 each from Ghana and Nigeria and aimed at empowering them to pitch and produce compelling stories in both countries.
The workshop forms part of the NGO’s regional project to “support fighting human trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea countries”, including Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Guinea, Cote D’Ivoire and Togo being implemented by the organisation with funding from the European Union (EU).
Mrs Owusu-Gibson regretted human trafficking remained a canker in Africa, despite global efforts to root out the menace, worrying that survivors went through inhumane treatments and experiences that turned to traumatise them physically and psychologically.
She commended the organisers of the workshop which would enlighten and inspire the participants to use their platforms to sensitise the masses about human trafficking and help design and implement national policies and programmes on human trafficking.
Mr Serge Akpalou, Ghana’s Project Manager explained the participants were competitively selected, and asked them to take the workshop seriously, and go back to utilise the knowledge, sharpen narratives, and help bring cases of human trafficking under control.
Mr Charles Autheman, a media consultant and a facilitator explained the workshop would further introduce the participants to key terminologies and how to pitch and draft compelling stories on human trafficking.
GNA