“One morning, I woke up feeling very sick. I told my guardian about how I was feeling and she offered to take me to the health centre for a quick check- up. At the health centre, the nurses who attended to me asked if I was sexually active. I responded in the affirmative and this led to a pregnancy test. I was stunned to know that a baby was growing inside me.” This is the curious case of Kafui (not real name of victim), a pregnant girl who resides at Avetile Peki in the South Dayi District in the Volta Region.
Kafui, whose needy parents hail from Havi Akatsi, is in the care of a ‘good Samaritan’ - Anna Akortia – a kitchen hand at the E.P. Church Seminary at Peki Avetile. Despite her good intentions, Madam Akortia is reeling under the financial pressure of caring for a child pregnant with another child. In fact, she could only guarantee Kafui proper shelter until she gives birth.
The Avetile Peki community is a beneficiary of the MamaYe Campaign that seeks, in part, to strengthen the partnership between health providers and community members by providing support for patients’ rights. The plight of Kafui came to light during one of such community engagements when the attention of a project officer of the Volta Educational Renaissance Foundation (VEREF), Eric Amenyaglo, was drawn to her condition. VEREF has been supporting in the upkeep of Kafui.
Kafui had just returned from a three-day stay in the hospital when a project team visited her to obtain first-hand information about her circumstance. Her hair looked frowzy. Her legs were distended with darkened scars and spots on her hands and legs. She grabbed a plastic chair and wearily sat next to her guardian; her pale cheeks instantly betrayed the vague smile that followed.
Kafui, a Class Five pupil of the E.P. Primary School in the community was born on January 21, 2001. She is the second of three female siblings and second to get pregnant as a child after her sister. Kafui confirmed to the team that she became sexually active when she turned 13 and was impregnated by a 19-year-old commercial vehicle driver who works in Accra.
But her plight is as surprising as it is bizarre. According to Kafui, her older sister who similarly got impregnated in her early teens was pampered by her mother until she (Kafui) got jealous enough to crave for her own bulging stomach just so she could be showered with the same motherly attention. Her dream, however, backfired as her mother refused to look after her after she got pregnant eight months ago.
Defilement, community bond & the law Defilement is beginning to gain grounds in Ghana as community members entrusted with the care of young girls, and in some cases boys, tend to sexually molest them, sometimes using death threats. In many cases, community leaders and family members opt to address the matter outside the remit of Ghana’s laws. This unfortunate situation seems to have emboldened predators, many of whom are family members.
On March 3, 2015, a septuagenarian - Nana Ahenkofi – was sentenced to 10 years, imprisonment by the Takoradi Circuit Court for engaging in unnatural canal affairs with a five-year-old girl. His alleged accomplice, Kofi Esuon, 60, denied involvement in the criminal act and is currently awaiting trial.
Section 101 Sub-section (1) of the Criminal Code (Act 29 of 1960), as amended by section 11 of Act 554 of 1998, defines defilement as: “…the natural or unnatural carnal knowledge of any child under 16 years of age.” Subsection (2) of the same Act 29 states that: “Whoever naturally or unnaturally carnally knows any child under 16 years of age whether with or without his or her consent, commits an offence...”
Pursuant to this, defilement can be said to have occurred if sexual intercourse takes place between two individuals, of which one person is less than 16 years of age, while the other party is above 16 years of age. The key element in defilement is the age of the victim, not his/her consent. Thus, Kafui was defiled whether or not she consented to it.
Statistics from the District Health Management Information System (DHIMS) indicate that health facilities across the country recorded 2,402 deliveries by children aged 10 to 14 years in 2012. Despite a sharp decline in the figure to 1,674 in 2013, many children continue to suffer the scarring ordeal of such sexual assaults.
Dangers of Child Pregnancy The World Health Organisation (WHO) has noted that adolescent births account for 23 per cent of the overall burden of disease due to pregnancy and childbirth. The risk of maternal death is many times higher among adolescents such as Kafui, who are younger than 16 years than among women in their 20s.
The WHO further indicates that stillbirths and newborn deaths in the first week of life are 50 per cent higher among babies born to mothers younger than 20 years than among babies born to mothers aged 20–29; and rates of preterm birth is higher among children of adolescents.
In most developed countries, special support systems, including consultation with a child and adolescent psychiatrist, are available to help a child like Kafui throughout the pregnancy, the birth, and the decision about whether to keep the infant or give it up for adoption. But Kafui is not in a fortunate position to obtain that kind of support.
Abuse of family ties and community bonds, poverty and death threats are but a few of the reasons adduced for the growing spate of child sexual molestation and assault cases. It is time for the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection and the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service to increase their collaborative efforts to punish persons found to be culpable.
While community bonds and family ties constitute the bedrock of socialisation, without strong sanctions and the willingness of citizens to allow the law to work, many more sexual offenders will get away with it to the detriment of the society. Ghana’s children and adolescents need stronger protection from all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation.
Kafui, the future nurse Kafui wants to be a nurse, and rightly so because her interactions with nurses in the health facilities have been pleasant so far. She is certain that if the needed support comes her way, she will rise to become an asset to the state and community despite the current challenges.
“I am trying to get out of this situation and hopefully God will help me become a nurse to help other people. I am always sad and I regret what I am going through,” she said in the vernacular.
Before Kafui can go on to become an asset to the nation, she needs to scale the hurdle of a caesarian section recommended by her doctor because her body is not fully mature to handle the rigours of childbirth.
Kafui desperately needs support: “I need help. I really need your help. If I can get some clothing and food for myself and my unborn child, I would be grateful. I know it is the responsibility of the man who impregnated me but he is not around and I don’t know if he will help, so please come to my aid,” she pleaded.
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