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Review law on defilement …to ensure proper compensation for victims
Justice Gloria Mensah-Bonsu
A High Court Judge of the Gender Based Violence (GBV) Department has called for a second look at Section 101(1) of the Criminal Offences Act 29 to ensure proper compensation for defilement victims.
According to the Act, one who commits such a criminal offence was liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment of seven years minimum or 25 years maximum.
This is a strict liability law with no option of a fine, according to the Judge, Justice Gloria Mensah-Bonsu.
She has observed that many parents/ families of victims of sexual molestation have been using cases as commodities for money making, thus not allowing such cases to go to their logical conclusions because they would not be compensated.
But, “if the law is amended so that there is an option for a fine for victims, such cases can go to their logical conclusions, because the family will know that at the end, they will get something.”
“That would be in addition to a term of imprisonment, so that if the perpetrator can pay a certain amount and go in for just a year, that person may even opt for that instead of seven or 25 years,” she stated.
Justice Mensah-Bonsu said this in an interview with The Spectator at a training on sexual exploitation and abuse prevention and response action plan.
It was organised by the GAMA/GKMA Project of the World Bank under the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources.
The Judge noted that most of the cases were perpetrated against people of low income class, some of whom lacked access to water and toilet facilities and so found such cases a commodity to make money because of intimidation and stigmatisation.
However, what they forget, she indicated was not the physical effect on the child but the long term psychological and emotional effects which would come later to play in their lives.
She urged parents/families of such victims to allow cases end logically so the law will deal with perpetrators to serve as deterrent for others.
Justice Mensah-Bonsu recalled a case she dealt with which the victim became pregnant.
She said “the perpetrator had only an ‘Aboboya’ which I went ahead to confiscate and gave it to the Registrar to work with it to provide money for the upkeep of the girl, since there was the need to take care of her.”
“The law is not looking at all these, so I think it should be looked at again,” she said.
The immediate past Head of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of Ashanti Region, Chief Superintendent (Rtd) Susan Dery, mentioned challenges police went through in prosecuting cases such as lack of support from families/parents due to negotiations for money.
She also identified withdrawal of cases due to money they would pay to medical doctors for proof of defilement without which there could be no evidence.
Mrs. Charlotte Adjei Marfo, Capacity Building and Training Coordinator of the GAMA Project of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, urged households to have toilets to reduce the incidence of sexual abuse.
She said the Ministry was supportive in providing places of convenience in households to reduce such incidences of girls and even boys being abused in line of going to toilet or fetching water.
The training was part of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources November 19, 2021 launch of the GKMA-SWP project as part of government’s determination to find lasting solution to the water and sanitation problems in the country.
The World Bank funded project is expected to construct 30,000 household toilet facilities in the GKMA before the close of the project in December 2024, with the bio-digester toilet system being the main containment technology.
It is an extension of the Greater Accra Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA-SWP), which started from 2015.
In Kumasi, the project is being implemented in eight Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) – Asokwa, Oforikrom, Old Tafo, Suame, Kwadaso, Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly, Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and Ejisu Municipality.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi
The Dzidula Pink Foundation, a new organisation dedicated to cancer awareness, early detection, and patient support, has been officially launched in Accra, with a passionate call for national commitment to fighting the disease. The launch event, held last week Friday, carried the theme: “Beyond the diagnosis: A future of restoration, care and courage.”
Speaking at the event, Madam Abena Brigidi, founder and CEO of Nimed Capital Limited, emphasised that cancer remains one of the most devastating health challenges facing families across the country. “Cancer does not discriminate—it affects mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons. It drains families emotionally and financially, and behind every statistic is a human story and a future suddenly thrown into uncertainty,” she said.
Sharing her personal encounters with cancer, having lost both her husband and father to the disease, Madam Brigidi highlighted the emotional, financial, and physical scars left behind. “I stand here not just as a speaker, but as a witness to what cancer can take away,” she stated. “I have watched loved ones fight bravely, and I have felt the deep pain that loss leaves behind.”
She stressed that awareness and early detection are critical to reducing deaths, noting that many Ghanaians still lack access to proper screening, reliable information, and adequate treatment. She appealed to healthcare professionals, corporate institutions, policymakers, the media, and the general public to join hands in the fight. “Early detection saves lives. Your support today can lead to someone’s healing tomorrow,” she said.
Madam Brigidi further called for collective responsibility to sustain the foundation’s mission. “To our medical professionals, we need your expertise. To corporate partners, your resources. To the media, your voice. To policymakers, your support. And to the public, your compassion,” she urged. She also insisted that breast cancer awareness should not be limited to annual campaigns, saying, “Breast cancer awareness must not be seasonal.”
Mrs Diana Fafa Gozo, founder of the Dzidula Pink Foundation, shared her own cancer journey, describing the shock of diagnosis, the fear that followed, and the difficult path through treatment. Her experience transformed her pain into purpose and inspired her to create a foundation to ensure no cancer patient walks alone.
Mrs Gozo explained that many patients struggle not only with treatment costs but also with emotional resilience. She outlined the foundation’s initiatives, which include awareness and early detection campaigns, patient support funds, community outreach, and survival support circles. “This foundation is my offering of gratitude, courage, and compassion and a reminder that no one should walk the cancer journey alone,” she concluded.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) says it will deploy teams of Public Health Officers, members of its Sanitation Taskforce, and labourers, including sweepers and janitors, across all sub-metros to support the third National Sanitation Day exercise.
It explained that these teams will be equipped with waste collection trucks, tippers, and other tools to help with desilting, refuse collection, and transporting waste to approved disposal sites.
The AMA reminded residents that failing to comply with the sanitation directive or refusing to participate in communal labour is an offence.
It said offenders risk a fine of up to 100 penalty units, imprisonment between 30 days and six months, or both, with repeat offenders liable to additional daily penalties.
It urged all residents, traders, transport operators, market women, shop owners, landlords, tenants, and businesses to actively participate in the exercise.
The AMA said it counts on everyone’s collective responsibility to keep Accra clean, liveable, and resilient, especially as the city approaches Christmas and the New Year.
By: Jacob Aggrey
