On Tuesday, Klottey‑Korle Member of Parliament and Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Dr Zanetor Agyeman‑Rawlings urged Parliament and state institutions to establish a national sex offenders register. She said the move would help prevent sexual abuse of children and strengthen accountability.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the MP called for a comprehensive legal framework that focuses on people convicted of sexual offences against children. She added that the system should support appropriate monitoring, help stop repeat offences, and operate with due‑process, data‑protection and other safeguards.
Dr Agyeman‑Rawlings also demanded mandatory background checks for anyone teaching, supervising, caring for or working closely with children. She warned that transferring teachers to other schools when credible allegations of sexual abuse emerge could expose other children to danger, and that such allegations should be reported, independently investigated and dealt with through disciplinary and criminal justice processes.
The MP appealed to religious and traditional leaders, and other influential people, to stop intervening at police stations to seek the discontinuation of cases involving sexual offences against children. She said abuse should not be settled through an apology, a family meeting or compensation.
“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.
Dr Agyeman‑Rawlings cited figures showing Ghana registered 1,132 defilement cases, 297 rape cases, 10 attempted defilement cases and 16 attempted rape cases in 2025, and 1,296 defilement cases and 316 rape cases in 2024. She cautioned that fear, intimidation, stigma and family pressure could keep other victims silent, and highlighted a culture of silence and interference following reports of abuse, including cases within educational institutions.
She called for stronger survivor support, including improved access to medical and psychological care, timely investigations and prosecutions, and accountability for those who obstruct justice. She said families, communities, schools, religious institutions, medical professionals and the justice system all have a role to play.
Ghana’s 2024 figures are listed in the National Development Planning Commission’s 2025 Voluntary National Review, which attributes them to Ghana Police crime statistics.
