Stop circulating images of juvenile offenders, says child right activist
Barima Akwasi Amankwaah's advise comes on the back of reports that two 14-year-olds were stripped naked and paraded on the streets of Akuapem Adawso
The national coordinator for Ghana NGOs Coalition on the Rights of the Child, Barima Akwasi Amankwaah, has charged Ghanaians to desist from circulating footages of the two teenagers who were stripped naked in the Eastern Region on social media.
He said sharing such images of these boys on social media can have a long term effect on their mental health.
His comments come on the back of reports that two 14-year-olds were stripped naked and paraded on the streets of Akuapem Adawso for allegedly stealing GHC100 and a mobile phone.
Speaking to Asaase News on the development, Amankwaah called on the government to activate the juvenile act to protect children in such circumstances.
“The justice for children policy and the juvenile policy act explicitly spell out what you need to do when a child comes into conflict with the law. For instance, if it is arrest, police will not even go in a uniform, the police usually go in a mufti because we don’t want people in the neighbourhood to know that the child has come in conflict with the law,” he said.
Amankwaah added: “Secondly, the way and manner people share or circulate the images of children when they come into conflict with the law is not good because Ghana has signed on to the rights of the child and convention on the right of the child, as well as, optional protocol, communication which states that images of children are not supposed to be unlawfully shared with the media.
“So therefore we need to prevent all this thing to ensure that we don’t create any difficulty for the child when he or she is growing.”
Arrest
Meanwhile, the police have arrested two persons for forcibly stripping the two teenagers naked in the Eastern Region.
The police said the teenagers were allegedly assaulted and made to parade the streets naked, adding they are investigating the case.
A statement issued by the police said the victims are receiving medical treatment, adding “psychologists have been assigned to counsel the family of the victims.”
Below is the full statement:
Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
99.5 in Accra, 90.7 in Ho, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 89.5 in Tarkwa, and 106.9 in Walewale
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#AsaaseRadio
