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Minister for Gender Children and Social Protection, Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo has confirmed that her Ministry is liaising with key law enforcement agencies to curb child abduction in the country during a sitting in Parliament yesterday.

The Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya Constituency was in Parliament for the Finance Minister's delivery of the mid-year budget statement.

In the sitting prior to the Finance Minister's delivery, Adwoa Safo answered a question posed to the Ministry of Gender, Children as Social Protection by the Member of Parliament for Keta Consituency, Hon. Kwame Dzudorli Gakpey on what steps the Ministry is taking to minimize, if not eliminate, the growing concerns about child abduction in the country.

Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo in her response stated that the Ministry is collaborating with law enforcement agencies as well as carrying out sensitization on child abduction to help curb the menace in the country.

"We have through Regional and National Child Protection Committees carried out community sensitization programmes on child protection, including abduction at the community level in partnership with the Local Government Service and Non-Governmental Organizations. So far, 34000 people have been sensitized through our face-to-face interactions on child protection issues and 2.4 million people have been reached on our social media platforms" she stressed.

She continued, "We are also collaborating with key Law enforcement Agencies and have organized trainings to improve prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators. We have also launched a software called the Social Welfare Information Management Systems (SWIMS) to facilitate and enhance collaboration among relevant stakeholders at the National and Decentralized levels in the management of Social Welfare cases which also include child protection. The implementation of it will facilitate the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators. We are again in the process of amending the Children’s Act and the Juvenile Justice Act to provide for more stringent measures."

Hon Kwame Dzudorli Gakpey also enquired as to what plans the ministry has to address increasing domestic violence among women and girls in the country.

She responded that the Ministry has set up two toll free hotlines for reporting of all social protection issues including domestic violence cases.

"We are carrying out community sensitizations at the community level against domestic violence. This is being done in partnership with our Partners including the traditional and opinion leaders. We have importantly set up two toll free hotlines of hope for reporting of all social protection issues including domestic violence cases. The hotlines are: 0800800800 and 0800900900. We also set up the BOAME APP which is called the Orange Centre specifically for domestic violence cases. The number is 0800111222. The lines are fully active to receive calls to support victims and the vulnerable groups. We have also renovated the domestic violence shelter where we provide accommodation, care and support to victims. Our ministry also works closely with DOVVSU for the prosecution of the perpetrators."