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The Upper West Regional Supervising High Court Judge, Justice Kwasi Boakye, has advised parents not to discriminate against the girl-child but rather support their growth and development. He said a number of adolescent girls in the region were denied education due to what their parents attributed to poverty. They subjected them to exploitative labour or offer them for early marriages. Justice Boakye, who was the guest of honour at a symposium to mark this year�s International Day of the Girl-Child in Wa in the Upper West Region, held on the theme: "Because I Am A Girl", said in the region, one out of three girls was either raped or physically abused on a daily basis, leading to physical and emotional trauma. Activities marking the day Organised by Plan Ghana, an NGO, a series of activities, including football matches with nine female teams selected from first and second institutions in the Wa Municipality and Tumu District, were organised before a symposium to climax the celebrations. The campaign highlighted the message to the girls, especially the adolescents, to remain focused and pursue their education with determination to break the cycle of ignorance and poverty. In the final match, Wa Royal Babies beat Tumu Ladies 2-0 to lift the giant trophy and an undisclosed amount at stake. Justice Boakye noted that even though legislation which sought to protect vulnerable persons had been enacted, there was the need to step up efforts to enhance their enforcement and also encourage victims not to shy away from reporting their abusers and giving evidence in court for fear of stigmatisation and victimisation. He noted that education was the only way they could be liberated from such abuses since it would open their horizons to be abreast of current trends. Defilement cases The Regional Co-ordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Benjamin Mensah, expressed concern about the high spate of defilement and rape cases in the Wa Municipality. ASP Mensah said statistics indicated that most of these female victims were between the ages of 10 and 15 and at school, thereby forcing them to drop out of school. He lamented that between January and September alone this year, 28 cases of defilement cases had been recorded as against 21 cases registered for the whole of last year in the Wa Municipality. He appealed to parents to forward such cases to the nearest police station instead of sitting on it at home since they were infringing on the rights of the children. Due to this, the co-ordinator said, a lot of challenges occurred in the homes leading to children loitering around and thus becoming street children. He said some of the parents also did not know of the rights of the children so they trampled on them to the displeasure of their children. He gave the assurance that serious attempts were being made to prosecute perpetrators of such acts against the girl-child, women and children as a whole. According to Mr Mensah, the case in which three police personnel were prosecuted and sentenced for defiling a 15-year-old girl pointed to the fact that they would not shield or protect anybody who was found culpable. He said they had also rescued a number of girls from early marriages and abduction and returned them to school with the help of the Department of Social Welfare (DSW). He said parents who also shirked their responsibilities were made to sit up and advised that anyone who had information about child abuse or was in need of protection should not hesitate to report for action. Role of teachers The Regional Director of Education, Mr Iddrusu Mahama, asked teachers to assist to develop and nurture the adolescent girls to maturity in the region. He called on them to refrain from absenteeism and laziness and play an active role to groom the children for a bright future Mr Eric Ayaba, UWR Director of Plan Ghana, noted that they should work as a team if they were to succeed in life just as a successful football team. That was the reason why the football matches were organised, in which Wa Royal Babies emerged champions. Mr Ayaba said the celebration was to promote the potentials of the adolescent girl.