Chief Superintendent Mercy Wilson Brown, Volta Regional Coordinator, Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service has said a girl’s dressing is not an invitation for a boy or a man to sexually abuse her.

She said, “even if she walks naked, the highest you can go is to report her to the Police for indecent exposure but there is no justification to abuse her.”

Madam Brown was speaking at a sensitisation programme on ending sexual and gender-based violence and harmful cultural practices in communal and domestic environments at Mafi Kumasi Senior High School, Central Tongu.

She warned men to stay off young girls saying, persons found guilty for defilement sexual intercourse with a person below age 16 without his/her consent) would face harsher jail terms compared to that of rape

“Remember that sex with girls below the age of 16 is a no-go area. The consent of such girls is irrelevant to absolve perpetrators from culpability under defilement charges. In case you are not sure of the age of a girl, the best practice is for you to assume she is underage and therefore, zero tolerance to sexual intercourse with her.”

Madam Brown asked adolescent and girls to take care of themselves and not engage in sexual acts reserved for adults, which had consequences that might prevent them from attaining their full potentials in life.

The one day programme with funding support from United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) saw presentations on protection and welfare of the child, defilement, rape, child marriage, assault among others.

Mr Daniel Anani Nanewodo, Assistant Headmaster, Welfare, Mafi Kumasi SHS said the sensitisation programme was timely and an “eye opener” as it addressed a lot of adolescent-related issues, which were identifiable with students and asked that it be extended to other schools.

Master Abdul-Aziz Osman, a student was grateful for the programme and described it as an educative and empowering encounter, which among other things assured them of their protection in Ghana’s Constitution.