Regional News of Friday, 1 August 2014

Source: GNA

Minister of Gender condemns Tamale sex photos

Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has directed the Northern Regional Directorate of the Social Welfare to immediately provide psychological support for the Tamale Sex tape ladies.

She said: “The Ministry condemns in no uncertain terms, such exploitative acts, especially when it involves minors. These web postings without the consent of the persons involved violate their privacy right, which is guaranteed under Article 18 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.”

Inaugurating the Domestic Violence Management Board in Accra on Thursday, Nana Oye Lithur appealed to the Regional Police command to dispassionately investigate the issue and if necessary prosecute the cases to serve as a disincentive to others.

Scores of ladies in the Tamale Metropolis have falling victims to phonographic cyber exploitations as their sexually explicit pictures and video has been circulated through the internet and other means of communication including whatsApp platforms.

Nana Oye Lithur said: “It is particularly important to pay attention to the emerging trend of cyber based violence including the exposure of minors to pornography.”

Mr John Ankrah, Regional Director of the Department of Social Welfare told the GNA in Tamale that his outfit is liaising with the Regional Police command to see how best they could locate the affected ladies to give them the needed protection and psychological support.

The offensive sex videos and pictures of locally known ladies living in the Tamale Metropolis started streaming within the city about a week ago especially on social media sparking spontaneous condemnations from religious and opinion leaders. The situation has created a negative picture about ladies in Tamale.

The pictures depicted nude ladies numbering about 30 engaging in explicit unprotected sexual intercourse with a Ghanaian young man based in Canada identified as a son of one of the principals of the teacher training colleges.

Many of the ladies who included nurses and students have fled Tamale to avoid public ridicule.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Ebenezer Tetteh, Regional Police Public Relations Officer confirmed to the GNA that parents of the young man in the centre of the sex pictures had lodged a complaint of theft of their son’s digital disc part of which contained the nude pictures circulating on social media.