Reported defilement cases goes up by 229 percent in the Volta Region

Reported defilement cases in the Volta Region increased from 64 in 2001 to 147 in 2002, representing 229 percent while rape cases dropped from 56 to 43 for the same period.

Mr Kofi Duku Arthur, Volta Regional Police Commander said this on Monday at a workshop organised by the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) of the Police Service for 30 police officers from the Volta Region.

He described the increase in defilement as 'incredible' and called for support for the traumatised victims.

Mr Arthur said the impact of such violent acts including psychological, emotional and economic abuse on women affected their reproductive health and should not be left to only medical practitioners to handle since it had an overall effect on society.

"When a woman dies at birth due to economic abuse from an irresponsible husband, she may leave behind children who end up in the streets as armed robbers and other social misfits," he said.

Mr Arthur cautioned against the tendency of playing down the psychological and emotional abuse on women because its effects were minimal and could also not be assessed physically.

The workshop, which was a collaborative effort of WAJU, the National Population Council (NPC) and the UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) was to equip the Police officers with skills to handle crimes under the purview of WAJU.

Mr Arthur said scheduled officers needed a high sense of professionalism in order to win the confidence and trust of the victims and the public at large.

He regretted that violence in general was becoming a normal way of doing things in society and called for concerted efforts to stop the trend.

Miss Esther Appiah, Commander of WAJU called for a research into the pattern and causes of crimes against women to help tackle the menace comprehensively.

She said the Ghanaian culture, which puts women in subservient positions and misplaced spiritual values pushed men into committing crimes against women.

Miss Appiah said she believed records of crimes against women in the region would have been higher if people had known the Unit was operational in the region.

Mr Joseph Clever Adokorbidzi, Regional Crime Officer, who is head of the WAJU in the region, said until the promulgation of Acts 554 and 560 of 1998, which sought to protect women against violence, "the rights of women and children were at times trampled upon with impunity".

He said WAJU as a specialised unit, had won the confidence of women as evidenced in their willingness to report crimes against them.