WAJU officials attend workshop on the rights of women and children

Takoradi, Nov. 6, GNA - Mr John Asiamah, Western Regional Police Commander has noted with concern that the absence of Women and Juvenile Units (WAJU) in other districts was hampering swift prevention of crimes such as defilement, rape, violence against women and children and the abuse of human rights.

Mr Asiamah was speaking at a day's training workshop for 16 personnel of the Western Regional WAJU, under the theme: "The rights of women and children" at Takoradi on Thursday.

It was organised by the WAJU, in collaboration with the National Commission on Children (NCC) and sponsored by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).

"Most people in the districts cannot travel to the Regional Police headquarters to lodge complaints and are thus deprived of the opportunity to tell their stories", he said.

Mr Asiamah said issues relating to women and children were very paramount to the service and therefore advised participants to treat such cases professionally.

Mr Asiamah noted that the ignorance of some personnel of law enforcement agencies made them gloss over the abuse of women and children's rights by offenders.

"Many people who have become deformed due to the abuses meted out to them, continually live in fear and are reluctant to report their plight," he added.

Mr Asiamah therefore, charged personnel of WAJU to prosecute offenders and ensure that victims of such abuses received the right counselling and "restored into the society".

Mrs Patience Diaba of the Women in Law and Development in Africa, called on the government to resource the Department of Social Welfare (DSS) to enable it to operate efficiently and effectively in the implementation of the children's Act.

She said though the DSS was mandated by the children's Act to ensure that children's rights and best interests were catered for, it lacked the basic logistics to operate more efficiently.

Mrs. Diaba alleged that even though laws that prevent children under 18 years from marriage exists, some Burkinabe and Beninois living in the country were still giving out their under-aged children in marriage.

She therefore, urged the Police and WAJU, to be vigilant and prosecute any person who wishes to profit from the marriage of his or her child.

Mrs Diaba stressed that education was very vital in the fight against domestic violence and therefore called on WAJU to intensify its educational campaign in churches, mosques and other public gatherings. Mr John Hackman, Regional Coordinator of the National Commission on Children, said many people were still ignorant about children's rights and laws protecting them from exploitative labour.

He said child trafficking was on the increase and appealed to the police and WAJU to be vigilant to check the tendency.