'Rape is not a chief's palace matter'

The Executive Director for Divine Torch Foundation Madam Louisa Atta Akpoto has asked parents to report rape related issues to the Police instead of treating it as a chief's palace or family matter.

"Chiefs and pastors are not the appropriate people or means of settling rape and violence related cases because these are criminal issues which must be handled by the Police," she said.

Madam Akpoto was addressing a durbar as part of 16 days of activism against violence against women and girls at Akplabanya, a suburb of Sege.

She said her organization aimed at helping to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, to empower women, girls and youth through career guidance and counseling, skills training for a bright future.

"Keep close relationships with your children especially the girls and be their best friends.

When you are bathing for your child, and he or she does not allow you to touch the genitals, be smart enough to detect a problem, talk to your child calmly to find out if she or he had been touched in an inappropriate way.

After charging the parents to educate their wards about sexual reproductive health as early as 6years of age, she told the children that as they transit into adolescents, having sexual desires is very normal but they must exercise abstinence till properly married or come of age.

She urged them to keep their hobbies as a means of controlling themselves when their sexual libido arose and asked them to avoid bad company.

Mr. Micheal Boamah, a representative of the Ada West Community development and Social Welfare department, asked the girls to avoid seeking financial assistance from boys and men

He said if they can also avoid going to isolated places, watching movies in men's room, attending programmes meant for adults and also avoiding indecent dressing, they would not be easy targets of abusers.