Obaapa Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization , has admonished Parliament and other bodies to consider amending part of the law which allows a child the right to consent to sex at age 16.
Interacting with OnuaOnline on Early Child Marriage at Ayeduase in Kumasi, the Chief Executive of Obaapa Foundation, Nana Adjoa Awindor, noted, this would help address the high rate of defilement cases being recorded in the country and also help reduce teenage pregnancies.
Currently, the Ghana Criminal Offences Act, 1960 [Act 29], pegs the age of sexual consent at 16 years, the minimum age at which an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participate in any sexual activity.
However, a child is said to have been defiled when they have obtained 16 years and below.
Also, Ghana’s Childrens’ Act and the Criminal Procedure Code 1998 [Act 30], set the legal age for marriage at 18.
Speaking on the early child marriage and on the need to reduce teenage pregnancy in the Ashanti Region, the Chief Executive of Obaapa Foundation, Nana Ajoa Awindor, said many people were exploiting that gap in the law to abuse children.
She observed the development was contributing to the high number of defilement and teenage pregnancy cases being recorded across the country, especially in the Ashanti Region.
“There is a lacuna in our laws as you have rightly said, that consent for sex is 16 years old. Meanwhile, defilement is 16 and below.
“If you take a child and have sex with or without her consent, it is defilement, and then, the same law says that at 18 years, you are now an adult, and then, another one says at 16 years, you can marry with the consent of your parents,” she stated.
She underscored the need for Parliament and other bodies to take a critical look at the codes to fine tune them to ensure that there was uniformity to help fight against defilement and teenage pregnancy in the country.
“So, there is a whole confusion around that, and that is where there seems to be a weakness. So, it is the duty of Parliament to correct these gaps,” she stressed.
She appealed to parents to be more responsible to protect their children, particularly the girl child from predating men.
By Benjamin Aidoo|AkomaFM|Onuaonline.com
