Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has voiced deep concern over the alarming rise in sexual assault cases among girls in Ghana, calling for a holistic societal response that goes beyond legal punishment.
Her remarks come in the wake of a 2023 UNICEF and Girls’ Excellence Movement report, which revealed that 51.9% of females in Senior High Schools were sexually assaulted between 2019 and 2021. The report, titled “Sheltered Yet Exposed,” found that most victims were aged between 17 and 22 (54.3%), while 45.7% were between 11 and 16 years old. Perpetrators were identified as friends (24%), family and friends (12%), schoolmates (12%), teachers (10%), and strangers (9%).
A Disturbing Reality
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, Justice Akuffo described the findings as “very disheartening.” She lamented that despite the existence of gender-based violence laws and special courts, the problem persists.
“It’s like there’s a certain adage that the more things change, the more they remain the same,” she said. “It’s almost as though we never moved. And it comes from a certain conception that when you’re a female, you’re fair game. It’s a shame that matters have not improved.”
Beyond Legal Measures
Justice Akuffo stressed that legal interventions alone cannot solve the issue of sexual abuse. She argued that moral upbringing, socialization, and a sense of decency must complement the law to effectively protect young people.
“The law functions as part of the toolkit where, when all else fails, it should not fail. But there’s also upbringing, morality, and common sense that must work together,” she explained.
She also noted that the popular advice of “stranger danger” is no longer adequate, as most perpetrators are known to their victims.
“We need to revise the advice we give our girls. It’s not ‘stranger danger,’ maybe it should be ‘male danger,’” she remarked pointedly.
Challenging Silence and Victim-Blaming
The former Chief Justice condemned the culture of silence and victim-blaming that discourages survivors from reporting abuse.
“We still have in our society this vestige of ‘don’t talk about it, it’s embarrassing, it’s shameful,’” she said. “And then people ask, ‘What did you do? Look at the dress you’re wearing.’ These justifications amount to enablement.”
Justice Akuffo further called for stronger ethical standards among adults, especially teachers, employers, and authority figures, to prevent the exploitation of minors. She highlighted that in other jurisdictions, “grooming”, manipulative behavior toward minors, is treated as a serious criminal offense.
A Call for Proactive Protection
Urging policymakers and stakeholders to take proactive measures, Justice Akuffo emphasized the need for early intervention and prevention strategies.
“In crime prevention, you don’t want to reach the edge of the cliff; you start putting barriers half a mile from the edge,” she cautioned. “We really need to take a second look at how we deal with offences against younger persons.”
Her comments have reignited national discussion on how Ghana can better safeguard its young girls from sexual violence, through not only the courts but also the collective conscience of society.
