‘Prosecute suspects who impregnate teen girls’
The Executive Director of Youth Alliance for Development, a youth oriented non-governmental Organisation, Mr Robert Tanti Ali, has made a passionate appeal to the security agencies, especially the Ghana Police Service (GPS), to ensure that people who impregnate teen girls are prosecuted.
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He said when perpetrators of such crimes were prosecuted and given stiffer punishment, it would serve as a deterrent to others so as to protect girls against teenage pregnancy and dropping out of school.
Mr Ali made the call at New Edubiase during the second Anti-Pregnancy Walk to educate the youth and public on the dangers of teenage pregnancy.
The walk also coincided with this year’s International Day of the Girl-Child which is celebrated on the theme: “The Power of the Adolescent girl: Vision for 2030.”
Mr Ali said the current situation where most of these cases were settled out of court with the payment of token to the victims’ family was rather encouraging the act.
Statistics
By the end of the first half of the year, the Adansi South District Health Directorate had recorded 308 teenage pregnancy cases.
The District Public Health Nurse, Miss Abigail Ababio, who gave the statistics, said her outfit had identified poverty and the low level of education as some of the causes of the high rate of teen pregnancies in the area.
The Adansi South District Director of Education, Mr Emmanuel Dormenya, admonished the students to eschew any negative influence from males that had the tendency of impeding their education.
He called on them to take advantage of the Secondary Education Improvement Programme (SEIP) Scholarship scheme currently being enrolled in the district and further their education.
