Keep location of abused children secret - Mrs Adu

Dodowa (GAR), Nov. 17, GNA - Mrs Jane Irina Adu, Founder of Women's Refuge and Child Survival Africa (WORCSA), a Shelter for Abused Women and Children, on Wednesday stressed the need to keep the location of abused women and children secret to maintain their protection. She said this would ensure their safety from perpetrators who would want to locate them.

"Some perpetrators of the abuse feel it is an attack on their integrity when their victims; mostly wives, children and sometimes husbands, are taken away from them and cannot get access and continue with the abuse", she added.

Mrs Adu made the call in reaction to an incident at the shelter at Dodowa in the Dangme West District when the father of an inmate who had been brought to the shelter about two years ago, decided to take his child back. The child was taken to the shelter by a relative because her parents were unable to care for her. Mother of the child (a girl) was a physically and mentally challenged while her father was old and also mentally ill, they lived at Akpafu in the Volta Region.

Mrs Adu said during the afternoon of November 16, this year, the father, Francis Katakpu, showed up at the shelter and demanded the release of the girl to him because her mother was seriously sick and wanted to see her. Management of the shelter refused to release the girl to him, with the explanation that they did not know him and could only release her to the relative who brought her to the shelter after the necessary documentation for her release.

Katakpu did not take kindly to it as he complained that they were preventing him from taking his own child and threatened those who were trying to explain matters to him in his mother tongue. The management of the shelter therefore, went to the Dangme West District Police Headquarters to report the incident and Katakpu was arrested.

He admitted to the policeman on duty, Corporal John Akugah that he had acted wrongly.

"I acted in that manner because, I did not understand the issues being discussed and apologised to management of the shelter", he said. Katakpu was reprimanded and advised not to repeat the incident. Mrs Adu pointed out that most of the people were not conversant with activities at the shelter homes for abused people and their importance in society. In addition, they did not know the procedures in protecting the inmates and this had caused many problems for the management with respect to visitation and removal of inmates. Mrs Adu called on the Police, Department of Social Welfare, the Courts and other stakeholders to make conscious efforts to liaise with managements of the shelters to protect the inmates. 17 Nov. 10