Kinderfoundation holds workshop on child sexual abuse
A christian child-centred non-governmental organisation, Kinderfoundation, has held a two-day workshop on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA).
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It was attended by 40 participants, including teachers, social workers, counsellors, psychologists, Sunday school teachers and chaplains.
The workshop was designed to equip participants with the understanding of the dynamics of CSA, increase their understanding of the impact of CSA on a victim’s emotional, cognitive, relational and behavioural levels.
Good counselling skills
It also sought to provide participants with good counselling skills for handling CSA victims and to facilitate their recovery process from the traumatic experiences, using a range of therapeutic tools and techniques.
Mr Ebenezer Kpalam, the President and Founder of Kinderfoundation, speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said recent reports from the Domestic Violence and Victims’ Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service showed that CSA abuse was on the increase.
He urged parents to report any incidence of CSA to the police for the necessary legal action to be taken against the perpetrators.
Mr Kpalam said when children dared to report cases of abuse, parents and guardians must ensure that they were appropriately supported and given the necessary assistance to bring the perpetrators to book.
He said CSA occurred when a child was used by an adult or an older or more knowledgeable child for sexual pleasure.
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Education
Mr Kpalam advised parents to educate their children on sex, build trust, friendly relationships with their own children and endeavour to know who the friends of their children were.
He cautioned that many a time the alleged perpetrators of CSA were close family members and other relations.
Mr Kpalam appealed to counsellors and social workers to help provide assistance to victims of CSA and avoid condemning them.
Ms Akorfa Buabasa, the Project Director of Full Gospel Child Development Centre, said the workshop was very important because it created awareness of the extent of emotional damage a victim of CSA went through.
Counsellors
She said sometimes, counsellors, out of inadequate knowledge, in their effort to provide healing, ended up opening old wounds and leaving the victim worse off.
Mr Sylvester Wellington, a tutor at the Tema International School, said he had been adequately equipped to provide proper counselling to victims of CSA.
Kinderfoundation is a Christian child-centred non-governmental organisation, which provides professional counselling services to help children go through life. —GNA