Challenging Heights petitions minister over torture of three-year-old girl in Winneba
Human rights organisation Challenging Heights has petitioned the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, demanding urgent intervention in the case of a three-year-old girl who suffered horrific torture in Winneba.
The toddler is currently battling for her life at the Trauma and Specialist Hospital after her stepmother, identified as Madam Akaina, allegedly poured boiling water into her vagina as punishment for bedwetting. The assault has sparked national outrage and renewed calls for stronger child protection measures.
According to Challenging Heights, while the child’s father has been arrested by the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), the primary suspect, a suspected Liberian national, is believed to have fled the country. “To allow a person who commits such a heinous crime against an innocent child to simply walk free across a border would be an unforgivable failure of our duty to protect,” the organisation’s founder, James Kofi Annan, stated.
The group, which has assumed full responsibility for the child’s medical care and is providing support to her biological mother, has urged the government to ensure justice is served. It is calling for the case to be elevated within the Ghana Police Service, for collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and INTERPOL to facilitate cross-border investigations and extradition, and for the state to publicly condemn the act as part of a wider strategy to combat child abuse.
“This is not just about one child; it is a test of our nation’s soul,” Mr Annan stressed. “We are calling on the honourable Minister to use the full weight of her office to ensure this woman faces the consequences of her alleged actions.”
The organisation said the attack violates several provisions of Ghana’s laws, including the Children’s Act of 1998 (Act 560), which guarantees protection against torture and degrading treatment, and the Domestic Violence Act of 2007 (Act 732), which classifies such conduct as a serious crime within the domestic setting.
Challenging Heights argued that the pursuit of justice in this case is not only a moral obligation but a constitutional duty of the state. It has also called on the government to use the incident as a turning point to strengthen resources for agencies such as DOVVSU and the Department of Social Welfare.
For the past 20 years, the organisation has provided recovery and rehabilitation support for victims of trafficking and abuse, and said it stands ready to work with the Ministry and other state agencies to secure justice for the child.
