General News of Friday, 28 July 2006

Source: GNA

Child abuse is fast gaining notoriety - GMA

Bolgatanga, July 28, GNA - The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) on Friday expressed concern about the rate at which children were being abused and their rights trampled upon.

This, the doctors said, did not augur well for the future of the country, because a traumatized childhood could lead to maladjusted adulthood.

At a meeting in Bolga to deliberate on pertinent health matters, the GMA Executive Council said the issue of child abuse was gaining notoriety as a social canker in the country.

They said apart from cases reported at health institutions for medical care and those reported in the media, there were many others that remained unheard of by the public.

They classified the kinds of abuse suffered by the children as sexual, physical, emotional and child neglect.

The GMA said it would be holding its annual public lecture for this year on August 2, under the theme "Child Abuse in Ghana", as part of its sensitisation. GNA