Jail men 10-15yrs for publishing spouses’ nudity

A Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and Founder of Gender Awareness Foundation, a women’s advocacy group, Dr. Diana Heyman-Adu, is advocating stiffer sentences for men in the habit of posting nude pictures or videos of their spouses on the internet when relationships turn sour.

She wants the legal system to begin handing such men sentences spanning between ten to fifteen years. This she says will serve as a deterrent to men who engage in such humiliating acts.

Her comments come in the wake of the six months incarceration of a 21-year-old student who displayed her ex-fiancée’s nude photos on Facebook. The victim had dated the convict for two years but ended the relationship three months ago.

The convict, Alibah, who did not take kindly to the breakup, called her on phone and gave her a 10-minute ultimatum to change her mind or risk having her nude pictures posted on facebook.

He carried out the threat after the ultimatum had elapsed and added the caption “Porn star”. He even added the lady’s contact to the photo. The court interpreted the action as a premeditated action and handed him a six month incarceration.

However, speaking to Ultimate Radio, Dr. Diana Heyman-Adu said the crime was too heinous to have attracted just a six month incarceration.

“Even though sentencing depends on the discretion of a judge, I think there should be heavier sentences, preferably ten to fifteen years, and then they will stop those things because it doesn’t help us at all,” she said.

She indicated victims of such practices suffer severe emotional and psychological abuse and cautioned women to desist from allowing their partners to take their nude photos or videos.

She expressed her disappointment with the way Ghanaian women were copying blindly from foreign cultures that accept some practices which are culturally repugnant in Ghana’s traditional virtues.

“There are things we can never do and we shouldn’t copy just like that because others are doing it. No! We also have to keep certain things for our heritage and for the future generation. At least they should be kept even if not wholly, the ones that will keep their sanctity and dignity sacred” she advocated.

She also called on the police Cyber Crime Unit to device ways to apprehend such persons. She said it was about time the law enforcement agencies got themselves abreast with modern technological trends to know how to quickly identify these threats and neutralize them.