Research conducted on access to sexual and reproductive health services in Cape Coast and Elmina has revealed that rape and defilement are the highest sexual health violations in that part of the country. Interviews with a total of 1,031 female respondents between 15–45 years revealed that “defilement and rape resulting in unwanted pregnancies tended to be treated as “family matters” and remained unreported through compromises.”
Therefore, the Curious Minds sponsored-research recommends that “the Department of Social Welfare and the Ghana Police Service using community contacts and teams can properly address issues concerning violations and abuse of sexual and reproductive rights, especially rape, defilement and denial of essential services to people.”
“Additionally, unsafe abortions and practices thus remained very high alongside a high rate of contraceptive use prompting the need for community education and sensitization to be “inter-sectoral, involving all stakeholders and players to yield the maximum result and produce the desired impacts.”
The authors of the research Dr. Deborah Atobrah, Dr. Abena Kyere and Dr. Alexander Nii Adjei Sowah outdoors the study titled “A Situational Analysis of Young Women’s Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Including Abortion in Cape Coast and Elmina in the Central Region” on August 30, in Accra.
The Coordinator for Curios Minds, Kingsley Obeng-Kyere reacting to the research bemoaned the slow work being done toward achieving the SDGs. He therefore called for the need for collaborative efforts.
“Anytime we talk about Agenda 2030, it will not begin in the year 2030,” therefore “What is important is that even as we live now, we contribute to SDGs so the little steps we take are what will cumulate the success we want to see.”
Commenting on sexual health rights, he stated, “Young people are getting pregnant too early…Why are they getting pregnant? Are they all giving birth? Some are trying to terminate the pregnancy, and they are trying to do it in a very crude way.” He added that “we need to act based on data that is available” as this will help create long-lasting and impactful solutions to community problems.
A youth advocate at Curious Minds, Miss Mavis Aryee applauded the research stating that “this serves as an important platform because it helps stakeholders to identify the loopholes that are in the interventions we roll out. This gives us evidence of the realities that are happening to people.”
