An NGO advocates for registry on sex offenders

Mr Yakubu Abdul-Razak, Programme Director of Enslavement Prevention West Africa, a non-governmental organization has stressed the need for Ghana to establish a sex offenders’ registry to fight sex exploitation of women and children.

“A registry will make sure that sex offenders are not re-integrated into the society unnoticed, ensure that concerned families will know when sex offenders have moved into their communities to keep their homes, schools, institutions and workplace safe,” he said.

Mr Abdul-Razak told the GNA in an interview that the registry would take personal data of sex offenders such as name, age, photograph, location, workplace, physical description, current residential address and records of past conviction.

"This would make communities across the country aware of the dangers posed by such sex offenders and deter them from repeating such crimes."

On the modalities, Mr Abdul-Razak said it should be an online website made available to district and national security agencies and accessible to all and sundry.

He stressed the need for personnel of Ghana Immigration Service and foreign missions to consider the registry as a requirement to protect the country from foreign sex offenders such as paedophiles and sex tourists, and collaborate with other countries that had established sex registries.

“In the event where any of such country does not have the registry, the country should require properly and certified criminal records of applicants before allowed into the country,” he added.

Mr Abdul-Razak said this measure would not only protect the people from sex offenders but also protect internal security.

He said child sex tourists and human traffickers took advantage of developing countries like Ghana, determined to boost their national income through tourism, relaxed immigration laws to allow such people to slip into the countries undetected.

“Other sex offenders will disguise themselves as aid workers and volunteers to gain access to children in orphanages, schools and other social places where they can easily prey on their targets,” he said.**