Mrs Thywill Eyra Kpe, Volta Regional Director, Department of Gender, has called on pastors to use the pulpit to speak against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and teenage pregnancy.
She said it was important to use every avenue to tackle SGBV and teenage pregnancy because they had tendencies to retard individual and societal development, hence the call on ministers of God to use their platforms to address the issues.
Mrs Kpe, speaking at a day’s stakeholder meeting with community watch committees at Mafi-Adidome in the Central Tongu District of the Volta region, said issues of SGBV and teenage pregnancy required a concerted effort to curb them.
The Director appealed to traditional authorities to use their influence to help curtail the issues and also forestall other harmful traditional practices against women and girls, as such practices were negatively affecting their lives.
Mrs Kpe asked them to support the watch committees in their various communities and encouraged them to discharge their duties effectively for the betterment of the communities.
The Director charge parents to engage their adolescents in sex education, saying such education was important to empower adolescents to demand their reproductive health rights.
Mrs Kpe advised parents to report issues of defilement, rape, and others against their adolescents to the necessary bodies for redress, and avoid shielding such perpetrators.
She took the participants through the various forms of Gender-Based Violence and the appropriate channels through which they could report to the relevant authorities for quick action.
The Director commended the watch committees for their good works and urged them to continue so that SGBV, teenage pregnancy, and any other harmful practices that hampered the progress of the community would be brought to an end.
Mr Israel Akrobortu, Volta Regional Director, Department of Children, said government agencies needed to collaborate in ensuring that the rights of children were well protected.
He said District Assemblies had a major role in protecting the welfare and promoting the rights of children according to Section 16 of the Children Act, Act 560 of 1998, and therefore, urged various assemblies to put measures in place to ensure maximum protection of children and their holistic development.
Mr Akrobortu said community-based organisations and committees were paramount in protecting the rights of children to the fullest and urged the community watch committees not to relent in their efforts to carry out their mandate.
He asked parents to create a conducive environment for their children at home to feel comfortable and use a positive approach to correct them whenever they went wrong.
Togbe Akliku Ahorney II, Chief of Mafi-Dadoboe, emphasised the need for effective collaboration between parents and teachers to promote the welfare of children.
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Mr Cromwell Awadey, Executive Director, International Needs Ghana, said child protection is a shared responsibility between parents, and the community, through the community level structures including religious leaders and traditional authorities, families among others.
He called on all and sundry to ensure that children were protected against all forms of abuse and exploitation and any other acts that could setback their development.
Mr Awadey said social vices would be reduced to the barest minimum when children grew up being protected and being properly brought up, and their participation in issues concerning them would also increase.
Madam Agnes Nyarko, Acting Public Health Nurse, Central Tongu District, said society must be concerned about the reproductive health of adolescents.
She said teenage pregnancy was having a serious toll on the development and future of children, urging all stakeholders to come on board to address the issue to protect the future of children and the country at large.
The programme was sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
