Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ)
The Techiman Municipal Director for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Anthony Kwame Agbemavi, has bemoaned the involvement of some community stakeholders in settling rape and defilement cases.
The practice, he warned, affects the fight against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) cases in Ghana. Mr Agbemavi made these remarks in an interview with JOYNEWS on 4th August 2022, at the end of a week-long stakeholder workshop on SGBV organized by the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA), in Techiman.
Mr Agbemavi cautioned that the practice of settling rape and defilement cases at home by some Chiefs and Queen Mothers “hinders the fight against SGBV in Ghana.”
He, therefore, urged members of Traditional Authorities to “allow the law to take its course because defilement and rape cases are purely criminal matters.”
He stressed that, in such matters, the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service has the legal mandate to determine if alleged perpetrators have to be sent to court to face the full rigour of the law or not.”