Kumasi, March 26, GNA - The Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit of the police service in Ashanti has since its establishment recorded a total of 2,290 sexual abuse cases.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), George Appiah-Sakyi of the Unit, said on the average, 154 cases of defilement is reported to them annually.

The offenders usually ensnare the innocent young girls with gifts, threats and deception.

ASP Appiah-Sakyi was speaking at the launch of the "Preventive child sexual assault programme", an initiative by an NGO, Light for Children Ghana, to fight the problem of child sex. He raised concern about the situation where some of the victims either kept their ordeal to themselves or delayed in reporting to the police, leading to the lost of vital evidence to aid prosecution. He spoke of plans by the Unit to visit schools to educate pupils and students and help them to become more alert to protect them from being abused.

New DOVVSU offices are also to be opened at Tepa in the Ahafo-Ano North and Tafo-Pankrono in Kumasi, to make their services accessible to all. Dr. Awuzdi Yeboah, Kumasi Metro-Director of the Ghana Health Service, talked about the medical implication of child sexual assault and said victims become traumatized and suffer from headaches, nightmares and phobia. Other effects are abnormal growth and development, infections in the reproductive tract and injury in the vagina, which sometimes narrows the tube for delivery. He said 29 per cent of them also exhibited depression and sexual anxiety. 27 March 10