Chiefs, religious and other opinion leaders, attending a seminar on child rights have called for rigid enforcement of laws enacted to give protection to children.
They said violence against children, their neglect, exploitation, and trafficking, must be severely punished to serve as deterrent.
The seminar was organized by the civil society organization, Defense for Children International (DCI-Ghana), under the Dutch Government-funded five-year Girl Power Project.
More than 40 chiefs, reverend ministers, Imams, assembly and unit committee members from selected parts of the Kumasi Metropolis benefiting from the Project, participated.
The goal was to assist build their capacity to support the empowerment of girls and young women.
They expressed disgust at the situation where minors were either encouraged or forced into prostitution, and said this needed to be tackled head-on.
Their other concern had to do with young people being allowed to stay out deep into the night during funerals and at entertainment centres, pointing out that, this tended to expose them to all kinds of danger.
They, therefore, demanded that parents lived up to their responsibility to their children.
Dr George Oppong Ampong, Director of DCI-Ghana, said all stakeholders should focus their efforts on empowering women to prevent their abuse.
Nana Boakye Ntiri-Kusi the third, Atwima-Gyekyehene, warned against the trading of traditional values for foreign culture.
He blamed the rising indiscipline among the youth on foreign cultural influence.
Mr Martin Opoku Sekyere, a labour officer, appealed to Islamic leaders to assist stop the practice of forcing under-aged girls into early marriages.
The Rev Dapaah Dwamena of the Jachie Presbyterian Church, invited his colleague pastors to use the pulpit to highlight issues affecting child rights and development.
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