The Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service has indicated that defilement cases in the Volta region has risen by 20 percent. According to statistics, most of the victims were between 10 and 15 years.
The statistics also showed that between January and June this year 93 cases were recorded. In 2011 the division recorded 61 cases in the first and second quarters combined whilst 88 cases were recorded in the two quarters of this year.
In an interview with the Weekend Globe, the regional DOVVSU coordinator ASP Augustine Dogbegah, who bemoaned the increment in the number said people�s ignorance of the law against defilement seems to be the reason for the increment.
�The young ones think so far as the girl agrees to the act, it is not an offence. They don�t know that if the girl is below 16 and she agrees or not, it is still an offence,� ASP Dogbegah said.
He expressed fear that the number may get out of hand because people are a bit careless during festivities although many sensitization and educational programmes are being held in schools and communities. According to him, last year, 138 cases were recorded with most of the numbers coming from the last quarter of the year.
�The cases may increase by the end of the year because festivities are fast approaching and those are the times when some of these girls get careless.�
ASP Dogbegah said due to lack of education, most parents of such victims report to their quarters only after the suspect has refused to take responsibility of the girl�s upkeep when she gets pregnant. He added that suspects are processed for court when they are however found out.
�When they get pregnant the parents keep them. The problem is that parents come and report the suspects when they refuse to pay for the upkeep of the girl. So when we see the age of the girl then we notice that it is a case of defilement,� he added.
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