Kadjebi records drop in child protection cases

The Kadjebi District directorate of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development has recorded a drop in child protection cases in the year 2021.

It recorded 23 cases involving nine custody, 10 maintenance, three reconciliation, one defilement with no paternity, and assault cases.

Twenty-one of these cases were successfully resolved with two pending.

The directorate recorded 33 cases including; fifteen custody, eight maintenance, two paternity, two reconciliation, one assault, five others, and no defilement cases in 2020.

It, however, successfully resolved 25 cases with five pending, one withdrawn, and two referrals during the period.

Mr. Isaac Robson Klu, the Kadjebi District Director of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Kadjebi in the Oti Region.

He attributed this drop to an intensive community sensitisation on child protection and parental responsibility carried out by his outfit.

He advised parents to give adequate treatment and provide children with their basic needs as it was their responsibility.

The District Director said they needed to protect the child against violent acts including; all forms of physical, sexual, and mental violence, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, harm or abuse, including; commercial sexual exploitation, which tended to prevent the child from living in a safe environment.

He said they ought to adopt the five Key Principles of the Children’s Order, 1995 known as the 5P’s; Prevention, Paramountcy, Partnership, Protection and Parental Responsibility in all matters involving children.

He said they also needed to allow children to share their views on issues relating to them and not impose issues on them to compound the problem.

Mr. Klu lauded the effort of ActionAid Ghana and World Vision Ghana for their tremendous support in child protection issues in the District.