Zanetor calls for national sex offenders register to protect children

Klottey Korle MP and Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings has urged Parliament and state institutions to consider establishing a national sex offenders register as part of efforts to prevent sexual abuse of children and strengthen accountability.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, she called for a comprehensive legal framework for the register, with particular attention to people convicted of sexual offences against children. She said the system should support appropriate monitoring and help prevent repeat offences, while operating with due-process, data-protection and other safeguards.

Dr Agyeman-Rawlings also called for mandatory background checks for people seeking to teach, supervise, care for or work closely with children. She warned against transferring teachers to other schools when credible allegations of sexual abuse emerge, saying the practice could expose other children to danger. She said such allegations should be promptly reported, independently investigated and addressed through appropriate disciplinary and criminal justice processes.

The MP appealed to religious and traditional leaders, as well as 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 treated as a matter that can 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 in her statement indicating that Ghana registered 1,132 defilement cases, 297 rape cases, 10 attempted defilement cases and 16 attempted rape cases in 2025. She also cited 1,296 defilement cases and 316 rape cases in 2024.

She cautioned that the figures represented cases officially reported and registered, and said fear, intimidation, stigma and pressure from families and communities could keep other victims silent. She also described a culture of silence and interference as a serious concern following reports of abuse, including cases within educational institutions.

The MP called for stronger survivor support, including improved access to medical and psychological care, timely investigations and prosecutions, and accountability for people who deliberately obstruct justice. She said families, communities, schools, religious institutions, medical professionals and the justice system all had a role to play.

Ghana’s reported 2024 figures of 1,296 defilement cases and 316 rape cases are also listed in the National Development Planning Commission’s 2025 Voluntary National Review, which attributes them to Ghana Police crime statistics.