Sexual rights of female PWDs should not be trampled upon - DCE

Charles Ohene Andoh, the District Chief Executive for Assin North, has advocated for the prioritization of sexual rights and reproductive health of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), particularly females and children.

Vulnerable female PWDs, according to him, faced strong sexual discrimination and exclusion making them susceptible to sexual exploitation by largely unscrupulous men.

Mr Andoh said this when the Assembly presented items worth GH¢152,000.00 to 68 PWDs to enhance their livelihoods.

Items included refrigerators, sets of ice chests, bags of salt, Knapsack spraying machines, assorted groceries, and fertilizers, as well as cash for medical bills and school fees.

"There is a prevailing deep-seated myth in Ghana that women with disabilities are asexual and cannot experience a positive motherhood. That has made many become sex objects at night and abandoned in the daytime by their partners.

“Devious men take advantage of these helpless women, pretend to love them, and disappear after getting them pregnant," Mr Andoh bemoaned.

He acknowledged that the right of female PWDs to family life, participate in social, creative, or recreational activities and the prohibition of differential treatment for residential purposes was non-negotiable.

“They deserve the same living conditions as persons without disabilities in all aspects of their social lives. We should love them, respect them, and help them genuinely without expecting anything in return," the DCE encouraged.

Mr Emmanuel Dadzie, the Social Welfare and Community Development Director of the District, said the move was to make the PWDs self-sufficient and economically viable.

He advised the beneficiaries to use the items and cash received judiciously and avoid begging for alms.

Some beneficiaries who received the items expressed gratitude to the Assembly and the government for supporting them in these hard times and pledged to put the items to good use.