Bolgatanga, May 5, GNA - Dr Peter Baffoe, a gynaecologist at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital, on Tuesday, expressed concern at the spate of rape and defilement cases in the country and said if pragmatic measures were not taken to deal with the problem immediately it would become worse.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), in an interview, at the Regional Hospital, he explained that there were several and serious health implications for victims of rape and defilement. He mentioned HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted diseases that could be transmitted to the victims of rape and noted that some girls who were raped or defiled sometimes refused to take male partners for marriage due the trauma they underwent as a victims in their earlier life.

Dr Baffoe said rape and defilement in some instances could lead to infertility in women and called for the enforcement of the law to deal drastically with anybody who indulged in rape, to serve as a deterrent. He indicated that there were a lot of instances where rape and defilement cases were not given serious attention by the courts and said this often discouraged people from reporting their cases to the police.

He indicated that some family members of victims also felt that their family heads or clans would be disgraced and urged such families to consider the hazards the victims were likely to undergo in the future. He stressed the need for the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Police and the Courts to speedily facilitate the processes in dealing with rape and defilement cases.