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The Ankwansu Anglican Child and Youth Development Centre has climaxed their Child Protection Awareness Campaign with a float through the streets of the Ankwansu Community in the Eastern Region.
 
The centre is a frontline church partner of the Akuapem Cluster under the supervision and funding of Compassion International - Ghana - an international Christian non-governmental organisation with the aim of releasing children from poverty.
 
The campaign which took place last Saturday (March 5) was aimed at sensitising and educating caregivers, community folks and beneficiaries on the need to protect children from abuse at all times, as well as, reporting abuse cases when they happen.
 
The float
 
The float began from Aboabo through to Ankwansu and Obosono community in the Akuapem South of the Eastern Region.
 
It attracted a lot of dignitaries such as traditional leaders, religious leaders as well as other youth leaders in the community.
 
They held placards with inscriptions such as “Childhood is not motherhood”, “Children are too small to earn,” “If a child says I’m scared adults should believe it, “ Give children a voice to be that voice,” among many others.
 
During the processing, some of the members also moved into homes to educate parents and guardians on the adverse impact of child abuse.
 
Rise in abuses cases
 
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the exercise, the CPC Chairperson, Mr. Daniel Adu Gyedu, highlighted how successful the campaign has been.
 
As a result of the campaign, he said caregivers and community folks would now understand that issues of early marriages and child labour were all abuse cases and would begin to desist from such acts.
 
 Mr. Gyedu further expressed discontent on how abuse cases had been on the rise across the country and how it was impeding child progress.
 
He, therefore, called on government and other related agencies to enforce laws affecting child protection, indicating that that was the only solution to slow down the rushing cases of abuse.
 
The Project Director, Barbara Osei-Bonsu also highlighted how impactful the campaign had been.
She indicated that the campaign was timely as figures in abuses cases continue to rise, particularly during the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
UNICEF statistics
 
Rapid assessments conducted by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and partners in 2020 indicated that violence and abuse at home may be on the rise in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
32 per cent of adolescents and young people reported having observed increased abusive behaviour within their families including financial abuse (34 per cent), emotional abuse (32 per cent), physical abuse (17 per cent), sexual abuse (10 per cent) and mental/psychological abuse (7 per cent).
 
Evidence also shows that there is a strong increase in child abuse cases and a decline in violence prevention programming (77 per cent decline) in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions.
 
 
@ a glance
The Ankwansu Anglican Child and Youth Development Centre has embarked Child Protection Awareness Campaign to help reduce abuse against children.