Nana Yaa Abrafi-Bonsu, Executive Director of Redemption Care International, a NGO in Sunyani, has appealed to parents to take proper care of their children and avoid placing heavy burdens on them.

She said it was unfortunate that children who lived with other people as house helps were often abused and denied of education and other necessities of life.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani on child abuse, Nana Abrafi-Bonsu, said many of such children were made to stay at home as baby sitters and made to perform endless house hold chores.

She said such children also need to be educated to acquire knowledge and skills to be able to take decisions for themselves.

Nana Abrafi-Bonsu expressed regret about recent rise in cases of abuse of children as published in the media about step mothers maltreating children and deforming them; saying, the perpetrators of such acts be dealt with severely by the law to serve as deterrent to others.

Later in another interview Mr. George Ankama, Acting Regional Director of Department of Children, said children were subjected to several forms of abuse despite the fact that Ghana was a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) and the AU charter on the rights of a child.

“The socio-economic and cultural situation in Ghana has contributed immensely to the dehumanizing and degrading situation of exploitation, abuse of the child and also the use of children as slaves in various forms”, he said.

He stated that steps had been taken to fight and protect children and other young people against violence and abuse, saying Ghana had reformed its legislation extensively to cover areas related to violence, exploitation and abuse against children.

Mr. Ankama said it was time the public was educated about how violence against children was gaining root in the society and be made aware that children “are also human and must be allowed to enjoy their right”.**