Gender
Trapped in Limbo: Teenager girls caught between consent and marriage laws
A child according to Ghana’s Children’s Act, 1998, is any person below the age of 18 years and it clearly states that the best interest of the child shall be paramount in any matter concerning the child.
Again, it says the best interest of the child shall be the primary consideration by any court, person, institution or other body in any matter concerning the child.
According to Section 14 of the Act, ‘no person shall force a child to be betrothed, be a subject of a dowry transaction; or be married’.
The minimum age of marriage of whatever kind, it stated, shall be 18 years.
Ghana’s minimum age for sex
However, Ghana’s minimum age of consent to sex is ‘16’ years old. At this age, an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participate in a sexual activity.
Ghana’s statutory rape law is therefore violated when an individual has consensual sexual contact with a person under age 16.
At the age of 16 years, most children in the part of the sub-region depend on their parents or guardians for their wellbeing-education, physiological needs (food, shelter, clothing, other basic necessities), and health needs among others.
When such a child, especially a female is legally permitted to consent to a sexual activity, it then means the child ‘should’ be able to take responsibility for whatever may be the effect of the sexual activity.
Disregard for loopholes in age consent to sex
A position paper on harmonising the age of sexual consent and the age of marriage in Ghana by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and UNICEF Ghana, states that despite the concerns arising from the disparity in age of sexual consent and age of marriage, it is noted that there have been limited legal interventions.
So far, it said attention had been on the campaign to end child marriages and much consideration had not been given to the age of sexual consent in the country.
In Ghana, sex is not a topic that is easily discussed in the open. The socio-cultural dynamics between parents and their children make it difficult for children to discuss their sexuality freely with older members of their family.
Exacerbated by the ubiquity of social media, the result is that many young children and adolescents learn about sex from peers, internet sources and experimentation. If a child is too young to marry before the age of 18, is he/she old enough to have sex at 16 years?
In their consultations, they found out people were far more willing to accept boys’ interest in sex as natural, than teenaged girls’ interest, which was regarded as wayward, and symptomatic of some deficiency in a girl’s upbringing or in the girl herself.
Statistics
In Ghana, many adolescents aged 15 to 18, whether married or not, have had sexual intercourse, according to the United Nations Population Fund report in 2016.
Additionally, 12 per cent of girls and nine per cent of boys have had sex before the age of 15 and statistics further show that 10 per cent of teens under 15 years are having sex.
A survey conducted by the Ghana Demographic Health (GDHS) in 2008 revealed that 44 per cent of young people have sex before age 18 and most initiate it at age 15.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service, between 2008 and 2014, the percentage of men and women between the ages of 25 and 40 who reported having sexual intercourse at age 15 decreased only one point, from 12 to 11 per cent (GSS 2015).
Furthermore, it has been estimated that four in 10 Ghanaian women and two in 10 men aged 15–19 have had sex before. (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2004).
Experiences of survivors
In an engagement with Martha Asante, a 17-year old school dropout, she said: “I got pregnant at 16 and was forced to drop out of school. If the age of consent to sex was 18, I might have avoided this situation.
Since we were taught in school you can have sex at 16, I just gave in to a man who showed interest easily.”
Another, Naa Lamiokor Tagoe, a survivor of a child marriage, says: “I was married at 17 and had to endure physical and emotional abuse. If the legal age of marriage was enforced, I might have been spared this ordeal.”
Expert’s concerns
Mr Abdulai Jaladeen, the Upper East Regional Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), at the celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child in Bolgatanga, appealed to the Gender Ministry to lead the crusade for a memo to be sent to Parliament for the law to be amended.
The delay in reviewing the age of consent to sex, he said, allowed culprits of child sexual abuses to go scot free. “When an adult impregnates a child at the age of 16, the law can catch up on you, but some of these people go behind to influence parents and even the victim.
And once the girl appears before a judge, and says I consented, the judge and prosecutors cannot do anything,” he noted.
Mr Jaladeen explained that if the law was changed from 16 to 18, men who fell foul to the law against girls below the age of 18 years would be punished fairly no matter the culprit’s financial and social standing.
He also called for a review of the Children’s Act to give stiffer punishment to people who give their girls out for early marriages to serve as deterrent to others, adding that the fine of GH¢500 for convicting an offender of the law was too minimal and suggested that a provision that spelt out modalities be made to compel the culprit to ensure that her education was not halted.
Dr Ndonwie Peter, National Executive Secretary of Girls Not Brides-Ghana, a network of non-governmental organisations, said the results of early sex at 16 was pregnancy, which truncated the education of girls as they were in many instances forced to cohabitate or marry those responsible for impregnating them.
He explained that the harmonisation of such laws to peg the minimum age of girls consenting to sex at 18 years, would help to control the increasing rate of early and forced marriages.
Challenges
Problems associated with child sex before marriage is intimate partner violence, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancy, early childbirth including unsafe abortions and infringements on their sexual and reproductive health and rights. The sexual relation involving a child usually occurs between her and an adult.
Therefore the older persons often take advantage of the girls and give them little or no room to negotiate for safe sex.
The WHO states that at 16 years or lower, the biological constitute of the girl might pose as a threat to childbirth and girls who engage in sexual activities are more likely to get pregnant, a condition that puts them at risk of experiencing stillbirths, miscarriages, eclampsia, puerperal endometritis, and systemic infections.
The babies might also suffer preterm birth, low birth weight due to young maternal age at birth, and severe neonatal condition. Many teenagers at age 16 engage in sexual intercourse not for procreation, but out of curiosity or for the fun of it and aside its consequences, the teenage mother may not be prepared for marriage or be legally permitted to marry.
To avoid shame, the parents of the female children may force their daughters to marry the man who impregnated them.
The situation is more common in the coastal communities and the Northern part of the country, where the pregnant girl is forced to live with the man responsible and/or his family, reports have stated.
Ghana as a country that is hungry for growth with all parties involved such as government, civil society organisation, development partners and donor agencies, parents, students, religious and traditional leaders, the media as well as legal practitioners, need to analyse carefully if an addition to the population through unwanted pregnancies by children is positive and should be encouraged.
If a child born of a child is not well taken care of due to inadequate finances, that child becomes a burden on society and the government at large. They gradually join the large population to depend on the fewer resources, and thereby harden the lives of the citizenry much more. -GNA
Gender
Parents urged to provide moral guidance to help children transition to adulthood
North Hill International School (NIS), a basic school situated at North Legon in Accra has held its 6th Speech and Prize-Giving Day with a call on parents and guardians to provide the needed moral guidance and support for children to become responsible and disciplined adults in society.
The Guest Speaker for the occasion, Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Minister of State and Government Communication who made the call in a speech read on his behalf, said this stage was crucial for children to learn values that enable them become responsible members of the family unit, their immediate environment and the country at large.
Themed: “Discipline- The bridge between dreams and reality” the event saw 36 learners in total graduating comprising primary and lower secondary.
Master Vielung Kwadwo Bagbin, son of Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, emerged overall best student.
Mr Ofosu said their formative stage was an age where good habits, behaviours and characters were built which lay a solid foundation for their lives.
In an address, the Principal of the School, Mrs Emma Coleman Opoku, said the school reaffirms its commitment to academic excellence as demonstrated by the outstanding performance of pupils in the 2025 Cambridge Checkpoint Examinations.
She described the outcome as result of tireless efforts from passionate teachers, the determination and diligence of pupils and the support of parents.
Over the years, she said, NIS has made remarkable strides in the Basic Education Certificate Examinations, consistently raising academic standards and producing outstanding results.
According to her, last year, the school recorded exceptional achievements including ten grade ones with two pupils attaining eight grade ones and another achieving six grade ones.
“Despite these successes, we have observed a decline in interest and enrollment in the GES curriculum,” she said.
The Principal indicated that, after careful examination and in light of current enrollment figures, the school has decided to suspend the GES curriculum temporarily.
On her part, the General Manager of the school, Mrs Bernice Adu Boateng, expressed gratitude to teachers for their dedication and professionalism and the invaluable role of parents which has brought the school thus far.
Come September, she said the school would roll out digital boards to complement the use of projectors and desktops in every classroom to infuse the use of technology to enhance facilitator-learner activities.
In a Global Perspective Project titled, “ Acting on Poverty and Inequality “, Year 7 pupils of the school raised an amount of GH₵17,530 to support the cause and donated used personal effects to Potter’s Village.
The Administrator and Human Resources Manager of the school, Mrs. Bertha Boamah Benin, expressed profound appreciation to companies and individuals that supported the event.
By Francis Cofie
Gender
Take control of your financial future …female students urged
Mrs. Janet Acheampong Otoo, Treasurer of the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), has urged young women to take control of their financial future by embracing literacy, confidence, and purposeful planning.
Speaking at the university’s Financial Literacy Summit over the weekend, she emphasized that “money is power” and that women must be empowered with the knowledge and skills to make informed financial decisions.
The summit, organised by the Student Representative Council, was held under the theme “Financial Fitness: Building wealth and securing your future.”
Mrs Acheampong Otoo explained that financial literacy was more than budgeting—”it encompasses saving, investing, and managing debt”.
However, she noted that many women still struggle due to a confidence gap that hinders their ability to create and follow effective financial plans.
“Financial independence is about freedom, confidence, and the ability to pursue your dreams,” she said. “As women, we have the power to shape our own futures and contribute meaningfully to society and family life.”
She encouraged female students to attend workshops, read widely, and avoid impulsive spending on beauty and lifestyle. “Every financial decision should align with your long-term vision,” she added. “Believe in yourself. Lead the charge.”
Joining the conversation, the Municipal Chief Executive of Sekyere South, Mr Evans Amo Twumasi, called financial literacy one of the most overlooked foundations in nation-building.
“In today’s world, the line between economic survival and financial freedom is drawn not by luck but by knowledge and discipline,” Mr Amo said. “Money may be finite, but knowledge is infinite—and financial discipline is the bridge between them.”
He stressed that financial fitness was not just about saving or spending, but understanding the value of a cedi, the cost of each decision, and the power of forward planning. With the right mindset and habits, he said, anyone can achieve economic resilience and long-term success.
Mr Amo urged students to embrace financial education as a tool for personal transformation and national progress. “The future does not belong to those who merely wish for wealth—it belongs to those who plan it, save it, and work for it,” he said.
He also called for policies that strengthen entrepreneurship and youth empowerment and encouraged students to respect money and use it with purpose.
Other speakers included Dr Evans Duah, Dr Prince Gyimah and Prof. Joseph Mbawuni, all lecturers at the University.
From Kingsley E. Hope
