Pastors discuss how to combat child abuse

The Compassion international Ghana has gathered Pastors from various churches in Ghana to strategize ways to combat child abuse in Ghana.

The programme brought together 220 Pastors of some of the biggest churches in Ghana to hold a three day conference to discuss creeping dangers of child abuse, child neglect, abandonment and family welfare in Ghana.

The pastors would be briefed on strategies the child development organization had put in place to help them identify report and follow up child abuse cases.

The Country Director of Compassion International Ghana, Padmore Baffour Agyapong, said this at the programme dubbed Pastor Conference 2014, under the them: “Child Protection: A call to action”.

In an interview with The Chronicle, Mr. Agyapong said there was the need to bring the Pastors on board because they have a wider audience and credibility. He said the Pastors have a strong force and when they give a message the mileage is huge.

He said: “If a Pastor tells his congregation not to maltreat a child, it would go down well with them and even within the community as a whole”.

Mr. Agyapong said the Compassion International Ghana does not only work with churches but all religion and believe if a Pastor in a community announces in the church that there should be no child abuse, not only would the congregation listen, but the message would travel far. He added that, the project of Compassion International Ghana was targeted at the whole community and not only at the church members.

He lamented that, although the institutions are putting much effort in combating child abuse, yet the severity was still high, so there is the need to do it better.

In a presentation made by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Christine Aku Srofenyo of the Madina Division of Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) said every child has a right and that it was the responsibility of all parent to protect their rights, since children are one of the most vulnerable in every society.

According to her, since children are vulnerable and cannot protect themselves, they must be protected by parents and adults.

ASP Srofenyo, said according to the 1992 Constitition, a child is somebody who is under 18 years, adding that they are protected by the law. She commended the Compassion International Ghana for a good work done in combating child abuse.