The Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection has sensitized over 75 students from seven schools in the Ningo-Prampram District on Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Reproductive health Rights (SRHR).
The programme was organized in collaboration with the Ningo-Prampram District Assembly and sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Madam Matilda Bamfro, Greater Accra Regional Director, Department of Gender, said Ningo-Prampram was among the top four districts with high teenage pregnancy cases in the region, hence the focus to help eliminate the problem.
She said continuous engagement with the adolescent would help them gain knowledge to strive towards breaking boundaries in society.
She added that child empowerment enabled them to make informed decisions about their lives at this stage and cautioned them against abortions, saying it could lead to infertility and sometimes death.
Ms. Eunice Godisson from the Social Welfare Department, who did a presentation on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), defined SGBV as any harmful act that is perpetuated against a person’s will that is based on socially ascribed differences between males and females.
She mentioned that it was in various forms, including physical, emotional, economic, and sexual and it was inappropriate to perpetuate violence against both girls and boys and charged them to report any such incidents to the police.
Ms. Vivian A. Kpodjah, Principal Nursing Officer, Ningo-Prampram District Health Directorate, said adolescents constituted about 22 percent of Ghana’s total population and that they needed to be given maximum attention and guided in decision-making.
She said some challenges both male and female adolescents encounter make them sensitive to their physical appearance and encouraged them to abstain from sex.
Madam Felicity Mawuli Adobe, Girl-Child Education Officer, Ningo-Prampram District, who presented on “The Need for Girls to be in School,” said educating the girl-child meant they should be in school at the right time and stay through the academic ladder.
It also means providing a conducive environment for them to complete all levels of education.
She said educating the girl child empowered them to take on a greater economic role in the various communities as well as reduced the gender gap found in schools and workplaces at the national level.
She added that early sex, poverty, child marriage, truancy, and excessive house chores were barriers to girls’ education.
