Betrayal of trust: Understanding effects of abuse and assault on children

Mostly sexually abused victims are often abused by people they trust which can include family members, friends, acquain­tances, or authority figures.

This makes it difficult for victims and the guardians to report the abuse or seek help as they may feel a sense of loyalty or obligation to the perpetrator.

Due to this sense of loyalty, many of such cases are either not report­ed to the police and are sometimes either settled at home with a little token as compensation or without it at all.

A typical case currently is that of Ransford, a 16-year-old footballer who is said to have been allegedly sodomised by the coach of his club, Siano Soccer Academy.

Unfortunately, Ransford died at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hos­pital, after battling with severe illness which was as a result of the sexual abuse he had endured for the past three years.

Many of such cases occur and often remain hidden because of the person who committed the crime and also because victims do not believe the justice system.

Abuse of trust can have profound impact on victims, making them feel vulnerable, betrayed and pow­erless.

The Domestic Violence and Vic­tims Support Unit (DOVVSU) exist to provide free services to members of the public; protect the rights of the vulnerable against all forms of abuse be it physical, sexual, emo­tional and psychological, socio-eco­nomic, or harmful cultural practic­es; establish an effective database for crime detection, prevention and prosecution.

The Unit also refer victims for medical services and specialised help to clinical psychologists; social workers from the Department of Social Welfare and counsellors at­tached to the Unit.

In February 2015, the government of Ghana approved its new Child and Family Welfare Policy which aims at preventing and protecting children from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The effects of sexual assault on children can have devastating, long-lasting and profound effects on the lives of victims and their loved ones.

These people abuse the trust to sexually exploit or assault minors. They groom, coerce, and deceive children and teens into committing sexual acts in person or online.

A report by the Ghana Statisti­cal Service 2011 states that over 90 per cent of children report having experienced physical violence, both at home and in the school environment.

A paper on culture and nondisclo­sure of child sexual abuse in Gha­na on behalf of the American Bar Foundation and authored by Kofi E. Boakye said the concept of patri­archy and its relation to rape and violence against women in general was given greater prominence.

It said further to the concept of patriarchy, and its excesses are false beliefs about (child) sexual abuse and its victims, also likely to negatively influence the disclosure of child abuse.

According to the paper, culture remains a crucial site for the con­struction and perpetuation of these misconceptions or false beliefs.

United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF)

According to the UNICEF the financial burden of child abuse in Ghana was estimated at more than USD 200 million per year or one per cent of Ghana’s GDP.

The estimated total number of children who have been physically or emotionally abused was noted at 3.4 million in Ghana.

According to UNICEF, issues that impede the prevention of violence against children include social norms, accepting and promoting the use of violence in schools, homes and other institutions as an effec­tive way to manage the behaviour of children, laws permitting the use of “reasonable” punishment by parents against children.

Also insufficient allocation of re­sources to prevention and response programmes in all spheres, inade­quate capacity of key government actors – including social workers, teachers, police, prosecution and courts – to prevent and respond

Other factors include lack of timely and continuous specialised management of child protection cases of violence, cultural practices inhibiting the ability of survivors of violence to come forward, and poor quality of care given to survivors of violence, which may put them to greater risk.

In 2015, UNICEF and its part­ners produced a Child Protection Community Facilitation Manual and toolkits containing games and activities that are designed to stim­ulate community reflection on child protection issues and encourage local action.

In November 2017, UNICEF with support from the Government of Ghana launched the ‘Ghanaians Against Child Abuse’ (GACA) cam­paign, which runs in line with the government’s Child and Family Wel­fare and Justice for Children poli­cies that are helping to strengthen the child protection system in Ghana.

The campaign is using various channels including social media, traditional media, mobile theatre to create awareness on child abuse issues whilst mobilising national support to provide a safe and pro­tective environment for children.

It is anticipated that this move­ment will help change the narrative of how Ghanaians protect their children.

Breaking the silence around sex­ual abuse and assault is crucial to preventing crimes and supporting victims.

Talking about assault has its advantages although it might be difficult for the victims to identify them.

Breaking the silence, victims talking about their experience, sharing their suffering, understand­ing what happened to them and the impacts on their lives and establish­ing relationships based on trust can contribute to giving them tools to regain their confidence.

Also education plays a crucial role in preventing any form of child sexual abuse when a child is educated on the effects of sex­ual abuse it arms then as well as their parents, trusted adults and educators with crucial information to keep kids safe either at home or online.

It empowers the children and their guardians with the knowledge and tools they need to protect themselves.

Also, the fight against child abuse or assault transcends borders and requires collaboration between law enforcement, non-governmental or­ganisations, parents and educators, and the public at large.

There is therefore the need for partnerships to amplify the impact of abuse and assault on children and need for a coordinated response to fight a crime of child sexual abuse.