Specialist Paediatrician at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), Dr Sharron Makafui Aglobitse, has called for early and deliberate sex education for children, warning that silence around the subject leaves many vulnerable to abuse.

Speaking during a question-and-answer session at the Convergence of Mothers, Dr Aglobitse shared a deeply personal account of a case she encountered early in her medical career involving a two-year-old child who had been sexually abused.

"I think the first time I saw a sodomized child was a two-year-old," she recalled. "It was very traumatising. We never found who did it."

She described how the child had briefly stepped away from his mother while she was drying clothes outside and later returned injured, with visible bleeding.

"The mother was drying clothes on the line. The child moved away for a moment and came back injured," she said. "Even for me as a doctor, it was traumatising."

Dr Aglobitse said the incident underscored the urgent need for parents to begin age-appropriate sex education as early as possible, including teaching children about body safety and boundaries.

"Sex education is very necessary for both boys and girls," she stressed. "We must teach children very early—once they can speak—about what is appropriate and what is not."

According to her, children should be taught to recognise inappropriate touch and empowered to say "no" and report uncomfortable situations to trusted adults.

She also noted that these conversations should be reinforced consistently at home and in clinical settings.

In her own practice, she said she intentionally involves children during examinations to build awareness and confidence around consent and body autonomy.

"Even in the consulting room, when I am examining a child, I tell them what I am doing and why," she explained. "I say, 'I am doing this because your mummy is here; don’t let anybody do it when mummy isn’t there.' It helps them understand boundaries."

Dr Aglobitse encouraged parents and caregivers to continue such reinforcement at home so that children grow up understanding that their bodies belong to them.

She further warned that both boys and girls are vulnerable to sexual abuse, rejecting the assumption that only girls require protection or education in this area.

"Society tends to overlook these issues, especially when it comes to boys," she said. "But boys are also being abused."

According to her, many adolescents in clinical settings disclose that their first exposure to sexual activity was through familiar individuals rather than strangers, including relatives, caregivers or family friends.

"In many cases, the person who introduced them to sex was someone they knew," she noted. "That is why these conversations must happen early and openly."

Dr Aglobitse emphasised that sexual abuse can have long-term psychological and emotional consequences, particularly when it occurs in childhood without support or intervention.

She therefore urged parents to become more observant, approachable and willing to discuss sensitive topics with their children.

"We need to talk more to our children, especially boys," she said. "They are not only perpetrators; they are also victims."

She concluded by calling for a shift in how families approach sexual education, stressing that openness, trust and early communication are key to safeguarding children in an increasingly complex world.

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