Oye Lithur Orders Demolition Of Brothels

Two brothel homes at Tema Newtown which have become the habitation of prostitutes and children under age should be demolished by the police immediately, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, has directed. They are the Three Monkey and Africa Mama. During a visit to Tema today, Nana Oye Lithur said the establishment and operation of the brothel homes were illegal since they infringed on the Criminal Offence Act and the Children Act. Nana Oye Lithur said the homes created avenues for children prostitution, therefore, they should be demolished to prevent children from such social devices. She also interacted with women at the Ashiaman Market to learn of their challenges and how they could be resolved. Nana Lithur said the as ministry was going to collaborate with the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service to ensure that all brothel homes which proned children to social vices were demolished. �It is not in the interest of the children to fall victim to prostitution and social vices due to poverty. Therefore as mandated to protect children, we would ensure that they were safe� the minister said. Nana Oye Lithur said after the brothels had been demolished, the inmates, especially, the children would be taken to the Social Welfare Department for rehabilitation. The Manste of Tema, Nii Adjei Kraku also added his voice to calls by the minister on the police to demolish the homes which have become the habitation of prostitutes, saying �the areas were threat to the welfare of the children in this community� he said. He, therefore, appealed to the minister to do all she could to ensure that the homes were demolished. However, the Crime Officer at Tema Newtown, Mr Hebert Sosu, said there had been a court order already to demolish the brothel homes. Therefore, he said, the police would ensure that the order was enforced to demolish the homes.