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The International Association of Women Judges, Ghana Chapter, (IAWJ-GH) has advised queenmothers to desist from settling rape cases out of court. According to the IAWJ-GH, every kind of sexual assault is criminal under the laws of Ghana and the only place to settle it is the court. The President of the IAWJ-GH, Ms Justice Barbara F. Ackah-Yensu, gave the advice in Accra last Saturday at a conference on the effects of rape and sexual assault on victims, which was organised for the queenmothers. Conference The one-day conference, which was a follow-up to a similar one held in March this year, brought together queenmothers and other women traditional leaders across the country to solicit their views on what they learnt and how much they had been able to impact their societies. The programme was sponsored by The Netherlands government through its fund for Global Leadership of Women (GLOW). Dangers of sexual assault Recounting some of the challenges the women who had been assaulted went through, Ms Justice Ackah-Yensu, who is also an Appeals Court Judge, said victims were usually demoralised and discouraged. She said women who were sexually assaulted could also be infected with sexually transmitted infections (STIs). �It is in view of this that we are advising queenmothers and other traditional leaders that under no circumstance should they countenance issues involving sexual assault and settle them out of court,� she said. The humiliating aspect, she said, was the fact that some of the cases largely involved the relatives of the victims, adding that it was illegal to spare the perpetrators by failing to report to the appropriate authorities. Ms Justice Ackah-Yensu urged the participants to encourage women to report cases of such nature to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service. A peculiar experience Sharing a peculiar experience, the General Secretary of the Council of Women Traditional Leaders, Hajia Kansawrche W.A. Bukari, said the previous workshop had been helpful. Hajia Bukari said the participants acquired enough knowledge about cases that could not be settled out of court, especially sexual assault. She said chiefs had also declared their unflinching support for the fight against sexual assault of women. Hajia Bukari indicated that there had been stiff opposition from some parents who always wanted to settle cases of such nature out of court. The way forward, according to her, was intensive education of parents for them to know that it was illegal for them to choose to settle cases of sexual assault out of court.