Take responsibility for children - DOVVSU advises parents
The Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Joseph Kwame Apoya, has advised parents to take responsibility for their children.
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DSP Apoya was speaking to the Daily Graphic about some of the cases recorded by DOVVSU in the first quarter of this year in the region.
According to him, some parents deliberately refuse to take care of their children until they are brought to DOVVSU.
“It is the responsibility of parents to cater for their children; it is not as if we have to beg them before they do so,” he said, adding: “If you are brought to DOVVSU for non-maintenance and we advise you to follow some responsibility guidelines and you refuse, we can prosecute you.”
Domestic cases drop
He said he was happy that domestic violence cases had reduced in the region and said the unit would continue to work tirelessly to maintain the trend.
He said rape cases dropped from three in 2014 to zero in the first quarter of this year while the unit recorded two defilement cases compared it to four last year.
DSP Apoya said assault cases fell from 27 in 2014 to 17 in the same period this year, while the 201 non-maintenance cases recorded in 2014 reduced to 126.
Deprivation of property reduced slightly from eight in 2014 to seven this year. However, non-acceptance in pregnancy increased from seven in 2014 to eight within the first quarter of this year.
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The secret
DSP Apoya attributed the drop in the numbers to the many educational and sensitisation campaigns the unit had embarked on in the region.
Child’s rights
Touching on child’s rights, DSP Apoya noted that it was every child’s right to report cases of abuse to the police for action to be taken against the perpetrators.
“It is every child’s right to report to the police when they are abused either by their parents, relatives or any other person in the society,” he said, stressing: “Because children are not enlightened on their rights, they endure all forms of abuses from people.”
He expressed unhappiness about instances where children who reported cases of abuse to the police were branded in the society as bad people.
“Generally, people hate going to the police station so when their children report them, they think such children hate them,” DSP Apoya said.
According to him, “Many children are suffering all forms of abuses in their homes and are silent about them because they do not know their rights.”
“We should educate children about their rights; not only about abuse but their rights in other areas of life so that they will be enlightened,” he stated, indicating: “When that is done, we can’t abuse their rights or take them for granted.”
DOVVSU
DSP Apoya explained that DOVVSU had professionals who dealt with domestic violence issues reported to the unit, and that the unit was not interested in creating enmity between members of families or incarcerating people.
“We give advice to parties who are reported here so that the right thing could be done for peace to prevail,” he stated, adding that the unit only sent criminal cases to court.
He, however, admonished the general public to not settle rape and defilement cases at home.
Touching on assault cases, he said the victims had always been females and that the few males who reported cases of assault were the ones who had become fed up with beatings.
DSP Apoya, therefore, advised husbands to not feel shy to seek help from the police when they were beaten by their wives, saying: “Four out of the 17 assault victims are males.”
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Concerning deprivation of property, he said wives played vital roles in the areas of unpaid services to support their husbands in the acquisition of properties and that men should not treat women as though they did not play any role in the acquisition of their property.
Writer’s email: zadokgee89@yahoo.com