*MP Demands National Sex Offenders Register, Warns Religious and Other Leaders Against Shielding Abusers*
Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle Dr Zanetor Agyemang Rawlings has called for the urgent establishment of a National Sex Offenders Register to protect children and vulnerable persons from repeat sexual offenders.
Making a statement on the floor of Parliament, the MP said Ghana's commitment to protecting the vulnerable must go beyond the conventions it ratifies and the laws it enacts, and must be reflected in actions that prevent abuse, protect victims and ensure perpetrators face the full rigours of the law.
She cited official figures showing that in 2025 alone, 1,132 cases of defilement and 297 cases of rape were reported and registered in Ghana. In the same year, 10 cases of attempted defilement and 16 cases of attempted rape were recorded.
In 2024, there were 1,296 cases of defilement and 316 cases of rape.
"How many more victims remain silent because of fear, intimidation, stigma or pressure from their families and communities?" she asked.
"Behind every statistic is a human being. A child, a vulnerable person whose innocence has been violated, a woman whose dignity has been assaulted, a vulnerable person whose trust has been betrayed."
"Mr. Speaker, these are not just numbers, these are lives. They are families. They are the painful evidence of a problem that we can no longer choose to ignore."
The MP made a particular appeal to religious leaders, traditional leaders and all persons of influence in communities to stop intervening at police stations to seek the discontinuation of cases involving sexual offences against children.
"We must not behave as though sexual crimes are akin to petty theft, where an apology, a family meeting or some form of compensation can simply take the matter away," she said.
"The physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual consequences of sexual abuse cannot be quantified. The trauma can remain with a survivor for a lifetime. It must never be belittled by those who seek to normalise such heinous crimes under the guise of forgiveness, reconciliation or protecting the reputation of a family or institution."
"Forgiveness is a personal and spiritual matter. Accountability is a matter of law and one must never be used to undermine the other."
She said the Ghana Police Service, particularly the Criminal Investigations Department, is ready to confront the scourge, but cannot do so in isolation.
The Police require the cooperation of families, communities, religious institutions, schools, medical professionals and the justice system, she said.
"When witnesses are intimidated, complaints withdrawn under pressure or evidence concealed, we undermine the very institutions mandated to protect us. We must stop protecting perpetrators at the expense of innocent children and the vulnerable."
The MP therefore called for the urgent establishment of a National Sex Offenders Register, supported by a comprehensive legal framework, with particular attention to individuals convicted of sexual offences against children.
Such a register, she said, must serve as a mechanism for accountability, appropriate monitoring and prevention of repeat offences.
"It must enable authorised institutions to conduct proper background checks and prevent convicted sexual offenders from quietly moving between communities or institutions where they maintain access to other vulnerable persons," she said.
"Before anyone is permitted to teach, supervise, care for or work closely with children, thorough background checks must be mandatory, particularly concerning previous convictions for sexual offences."
She charged the Ghana Education Service to take the responsibility seriously.
"We cannot simply transfer a teacher from one school to another when credible allegations of sexual abuse emerge, thereby potentially exposing other groups of children to danger," she said.
"Such allegations must be promptly reported, independently investigated and addressed through the appropriate disciplinary and criminal justice processes."
Report filed by PKB
