The Paramount Chief of Nima, Nii Futah, has called on Ghana's Parliament to amend sections of the law that allow girls to give Sexual Consent at the age of 16.
According to him, this discrepancy in the law between the age of sexual consent and the legal age for marriage creates a problematic two-year period.
Nii Futah made this call during a Capacity Building Engagement on Gender-Based Violence and HIV, organised by the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV/AIDS (INERELA+ Ghana).
The engagement aimed to increase knowledge and awareness of gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS with traditional leaders and community members at Nima in Accra.
Currently, Ghana's Criminal Offences Act sets the age of sexual consent at 16 years old, while the Children's Act and Criminal Procedure Code set the legal age for marriage at 18. Nii Futah argued that allowing girls to consent to sexual relationships at 16 without the ability to marry creates a problem for society.
He stated, “If a girl can go into a relationship at 16, and she can sleep with a man at 16 without any responsibility and that is allowed by law and that law prevents that girl from getting married so that the man can take responsibility over that girl, there is something wrong with that.”
Nii Futah further emphasized that education and maturity are critical for girls to look after a home, and he believes that getting married at 18 or older should be their choice.
Nana Yamfoah Amua Sekyi, Director of Public Education for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), supported Nii Futah's call for the elimination of child marriages.
She warned parents against encouraging child marriages, as children who get married become a burden not only to their families but also to society.
Chief Superintendent Eric Asiedu of the Nima Division Police Command emphasized the need for community leaders not to protect perpetrators of defilement crimes. He also urged parents not to shirk their responsibilities in protecting their children from falling into the hands of sexual predators.
Mrs Paulina Louisa Essel, a Certified Counselling Psychologist at CHRAJ, expressed concern about the continuous stigmatization of persons living with HIV. She explained that stigmatization remains a significant challenge to the fight against HIV in the country, including getting affected persons to go for anti-retroviral drugs.
Mrs Mercy Acquah-Hayford, National Coordinator for INERELA+ Ghana, entreated pregnant women living with HIV to disclose their statuses on time for early treatment to protect their unborn babies from contracting the virus.
Overall, the engagement aimed to raise awareness and knowledge of gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS and encourage more responsibility towards protecting children from harm.
