Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) The Collection and Analysis Stories from Regions, Municipalities, Metropolitans, Districts, Communities in Ghana
(The Synthesis Report which is based on the Phase I and II MSC Assessment Reports is available on the website of UNICEF Ghana)
Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
The Collection and Analysis Stories from Regions, Municipalities, Metropolitans, Districts, Communities in Ghana
May 2018
(The Synthesis Report which is based on the Phase I and II MSC Assessment Reports is available on the website of UNICEF Ghana) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
@2018 May 2018
All rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced, as a whole or in part, provided that acknowledgement of the sources in made. Notification of such would be appreciated. Published by: UNICEF Ghana
Pictures by: UNICEF Ghana
For further information, contact: UNICEF Ghana P.O. Box AN 5051, Accra-North, Ghana. Telephone: +233302772524; www.unicef.org/ghana
UNICEF Ghana P.O. Box AN 5051, Accra-North, Ghana. Telephone: +233302772524; www.unicef.org/ghana
This document was put together by Associates for Change on behalf of UNICEF Ghana with financial support from the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of research team. The contents don’t necessarily reflect the views and positions of UNICEF Ghana and Global Affairs Canada.
About Associates for Change (AfC): AfC is a research and consulting firm based in Ghana focused on social development, child protection, education, health, gender equality, agriculture, project management and evaluation in Africa. AfC’s mission is to generate policy relevant research and high-quality consulting services in the socio- economic governance and development sectors in order to influence social change, equity and policy reform in Africa. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
iii Contents
Acknowledgements vii List of Abbreviations ix Executive Summary xi
1.0 MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE PROCESS ACROSS UNICEF’S CHILD PROTECTION PROGRAMMES (PHASE II) 1 1.1 UNICEF Child Protection Implementation in Ghana 3 1.2 Most Significant Change (MSC) Approach 4
2.0 THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE (MSC) ASSESSMENT APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY 7 2.1 Key Assessment Objectives 7 2.2 Sampling Framework and Sample Size 7 2.3 Training and Capacity Building 8 2.4 Selection of MSC Stories through the District Child Protection Committee 9 2.5 Team Composition and training 10 2.6 Limitation and Challenges in the Field 10
3.0 IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAINING ON THE MSC STORY COLLECTION AND SELECTION 11 Table 2: Number of MSC Training Participants by Districts 11
4.0 LIGHT TOUCH QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF MSC STORIES 13 4.1 Light Touch Analysis of MSC Stories Collected 13 4.2 Demographic Analysis 14 4.3 Light Touch Analysis of Final Selected MSC Stories 19
5.0 SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND PROGRAMME CONTEXT OF THE CHILD PROTECTION STORIES OF CHANGE 23 5.1 Key Child Protection Issues Based on Stakeholder Interviews at District and Community Levels 23 5.2 Community Interventions to Address Child Protection 27 5.3 UNICEF and Other Partner Programme Interventions on Child Protection across the Districts 27 5.3.1 UNICEF GOG Partners 28 5.3.2 UNICEF NGO Partners 29 5.3.3 Other (Non-UNICEF) Partners 29 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) iv
6.0 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF KEY FINDINGS BASED ON THE CHILD PROTECTION DOMAINS 31 6.1 Child Migration and Trafficking 31 6.2 Child Labour and Child Work 47 6.3 Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights 61 6.4 Child Marriage 71 6.5 Children in Conflict with the Law and Child Delinquency 73 6.6 Child Abuse and Neglect 81 6.7 Automated Birth Registration 89 6.8 Right to Education 90 6.9 Empowerment, Livelihood and Voice 100 6.10 Alternative Care for Children 104 6.10 Multiple Domain Category of Child Protection Issues 109
7.0 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSION OF SELECTED MSC STORIES 117
8.0 KEY FINDINGS AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM PHASE 2 OF THE MSC ASSESSMENT 121 8.1 Lessons Learned 121 8.2 MSC II Recommendations across key Domains 123
REFERENCES 127
ANNEXES 128 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
v List of Tables and Figures
Table 1: MSC Assessment Sampling Framework 8 Table 2: Number of MSC Training Participants by Districts 11 Table 3: Summary of MSC Stories Collected by Child Protection Domains 17 Table 4: Selected MSC Stories in Southern Ghana 19 Table 5: Regional and District Distribution of Selected MSC Stories 19 Table 6: Distribution of Selected MSC Stories Based on Child Protection Domains 20 Table 7: Child Protection Domains of Selected MSC Stories Grouped by Districts 21 Table 8: Multiple Domain MSC Stories 22 Table 9: UNICEF Partners and other organisations Implementing Child Interventions in Assessment Communities Visited for MSC Story-collection by District 28 Table 10: Interventions on child labour across the six MSC target districts 56 Table 11: Interventions on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights based on MSC Stories 67 Table 12: Intervention grid based on Stories on Children in Conflict with the Law and Child Delinquency 79 Table 13: Intervention grid based on Alternative care stories 107 Table 14: Depth of Change Due to Interventions from Selected MSC Stories 117 Table 15: Frequency of Mention of Intervening Organizations in Stories that have Depth of Change Reaching the Rest of the Community (n=103) by District 118 Table 16: Number of Stories Reflecting Types of Changes Due to Child 119 Table 17: Selected MSC Stories that Include Social and Cultural Change 120
Figure 1: Regional Distribution of MSC Stories Collected 13 Figure 2: Distribution of MSC Stories Collected by Districts 14 Figure 3: Gender Distribution of Participants 14 Figure 4: Occupational Distribution of Participants 15 Figure 5: Age Distribution of Participants 16 Figure 6: Sources of MSC Stories 16
Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
vii Acknowledgements
UNICEF is grateful to Associates for Change and its core team who collected the Most Significant Change Stories related to child protection in Ghana during the Phase I and Phase II. This team included: Dr. Leslie Casely-Hayford, Marian Tadefa-Kubabon,Imranah Adams Mahamah, Enock Dery Pufaa, Mohammed Awal Iddrisu and Mona Darko. A full listing of the field researchers and other consultants is included in Annex 6 of this synthesis report. The MSC Child Protection Phase 1 and Phase 2 full analytical reports are available on UNICEF Ghana website (www.unicef.org/ghana)
Ongoing support was provided to Associates for Change by Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Khan, Ms. Emelia Allan, and Veronica Avati along with the entire UNICEF Child Protection team for phase 1 and 2 MSC assessments on child protection in Ghana.
UNICEF is also grateful to Mr. Paul Avorkah, the Director of the Department of Community Development (DCD) for providing the direction and support required to ensure the success of this project. We want to also acknowledge the efforts of Ms. Rose Assan (Greater Accra Regional Director DCD) and Mr. Emmanuel Amoaba (Programme Officer, DCD National Secretariat) who helped coordinate/support the field work, story collection and selection process during the two phases of the study in Northern and Southern Ghana.
The success of the MSC Phase I and II assessments is also attributed to the assistance provided by various government agencies at the district and regional levels including: The Department of Community Development regional and district offices, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE); the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ); Ghana Health Service (GHS); the Births and Deaths Registry (BDR); and the Ghana Education Service (GES).
We acknowledge the contributions of several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) whose hard work is very evident across the communities visited, and we especially acknowledge the staff who participated in the training and joined our research teams to assist with story collection, and community entry. These institutions include: AfriKids, NORSAAC, Youth Harvest Foundation, Brave Aurora, the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC), International Needs Ghana, Challenging Heights, Chance for Children, Kinders’ Paradise, Seek to Save Foundation, International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Justice Mission and Plan Ghana. We also acknowledge, all the children, adults and community opinion leaders who volunteered to share their stories of change in order for us to learn about what works to protect and make positive change in the lives of Ghana’s children.
Finally, we would like to thank the Government of Canada for providing the financial support to through Global Affairs Canada to first implement the community led initiatives at the local level to address child protection, and sexual and gender based violence related issues and then to collect the most significant stories.
Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
ix List of Abbreviations
AfC Associates for Change BDR Birth and Death Registry CAMFED Campaign for Female Education CCPC Community Child Protection Committees CDD Community Development Department CFC Chance for Children CHRAJ Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice CLS Community Level Structure CSO Civil Society Organization DCD Department of Community Development DCDSW Department of Community Development and Social Welfare DCPC District Child Protection Committees DOVVSU Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit DSW Department of Social Welfare FGD Focus Group Discussion FGM Female Genital Mutilation GES Ghana Education Service GHS Ghana Health Service GoG Government of Ghana ILO International Labour Organisation IOM International Organisation for Migration MSC Most Significant Change NCCE National Commission for Civic Education NGO Non-Governmental Organisation PTA Parent Teacher Association SRHR Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights STIs Sexually Transmitted Infections SW Social Welfare UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development WFCL Worst Forms of Child Labour Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) x EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
UNICEF is one of the leading organizations that has implemented child protection interventions through partnerships with the Department of Community Development, Non-Governmental organisations (NGO’s) and Community Based Organisations (CBO’s) in an effort to improve the lives of children in Ghana. Associates for Change was contracted by UNICEF to provide technical support leading to the collection and analysis of over 500 Most Significant Change (MSC) stories based on the work of its partners in child protection in Ghana. This enabled both government and UNICEF to build the capacity of its district and regional offices in conducting Most Significant Change processes as part of its larger monitoring, evaluation and learning work; it also has the potential to support the Social Drive processes which UNICEF and the Government of Ghana have launched to make the public more aware of the Rights of Children in Ghana.
The Study has two parts based on the two episodes of field work under the MSC project. The first report was based on the collection of 200 MSC stories from four districts in the two northern regions. This current report is part of the Phase 2 of the MSC project assessment and is based analysis of over 300 Most Significant Change (MSC) stories collected from six districts in the southern zone of Ghana across three regions: Greater Accra (Ga West and Ningo-Prampram), Central (Gomoa West and Awutu- Senya) and Volta regions (South Tongu and North Tongu). The stories were collected by Associates for Change (AfC) in collaboration with the Department of Community Development during the Phase II of the MSC project assessment. The selection of the MSC assessment regions and districts was based on the following criteria: participation in the 2014 MSC training; district participation in the roll- out of child protection toolkit; length of work engagement by DCD/SW in the district; area of UNICEF/ GoG project collaboration; presence of UNICEF supported NGO partners; and the piloting of social workforce strengthening.
Training and Capacity Building at the Field Level One of the objectives of the Most Significant Change Child Protection Assessment was to build capacities on MSC among key child protection government agencies and NGOs in Ghana, with specific focus on UNICEF partners. The capacity-building process was primarily targeted at DCD staff who had earlier received MSC training in the past, although additional district level personnel from the key agencies and NGOs were also included. The focus of the capacity- building was to train and engage staff who had the potential interest and commitment to use MSC in their work on board the MSC research process. The MSC training and capacity-building workshops were carried out at the regional and districts levels and included participants working at the community level with the AFC researchers. The general objective of the training was to equip the partners with MSC skills to aid in the collection, selection, documentation and analysis of MSC stories. This was to enable them assess the impact of UNICEF’s implemented interventions on child protection in beneficiary communities.
Associates for Change (AfC) developed an MSC training manual, building on previous MSC manuals, integrating the local context and institutional structures as part of the MSC project assessment. The manual provided the detailed analytical tools including the key domains and thematic areas for the analysis and reporting process. Aside from the MSC training at the regional and district levels, the MSC Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) xii
trainees were encouraged to participate in the story-collection at the district and community levels. This allowed them to test the MSC tools and to obtain coaching/feedback from AfC senior research/ assessment staff.
Selection of MSC Stories through the District Child Protection Committee The District Child Protection Committees served as the sieving point for all the stories collected. After the field teams had gathered enough stories of change, these were subsequently put in a reader friendly format over a two-week period in preparation for the story selection phase when the child protection committees would review and select stories. The hand-written stories were screened, and stories which did not meet the MSC benchmark were discarded. Only stories that passed the criteria as MSC stories were presented to the child protection selection committee across the six districts. The stories were then taken through two levels of story selection: i) story rating by the District Child Protection Committees (DCPC); and ii) ranking of the rated stories using an excel computer model. After the story-collection process was completed across the 6 districts, the AfC team, with the support of the respective DCD/SW, organised and facilitated a two-day MSC story selection process. In each district, a selection team of four to eight members of the District Child Protection Committee (DCPC) gathered for two days to review each story collected from their respective districts. They deliberated on the reasons for these ratings with the aim of influencing each other’s assessment until they came to a consensus.
A score of 1 to 5 was attached to each story, based on the set of criteria developed by AFC in consultation with the child protection committees. Each member stated his/her reasoning and wrote this behind the assigned scores. The criteria used for assessing the stories was based on a series of consultations during the MSC training workshops at regional and district levels. The selection criteria included the following:
a.) Relevance of story content in relation to child protection issues; b.) Magnitude and depth of change as shown in the comparative situation before and after the intervention; c.) Sustainability of the change; d.) Scope of the change (individual, family or community level); e.) Explanation of activities that initiated the change process; f.) The gaps bridged and challenges addressed by the intervention; and g.) Impact of the change (positive or negative) on the child, family or community and the change agents. Following the successful ratings of the stories of the District Child Protection Committee (DCPC) members, Associates for Change proceeded to develop a district-specific template in MS-Excel for the compilation of the scores of the MSC stories for each district. The template was designed to automatically tally the scores for each story which was assigned by the District Child Protection Committees (DCPCs) during the story selection process. The software used the total scores to rank the stories in descending order (highest score was assigned first). The first forty-five to sixty-five ranked stories were then selected as the top-ranked stories from each district. The differences in the number of selected stories is based on the total number of stories collected from each district. Thus, more stories were selected from a district with a higher number of stories. An average of 93% of stories were selected at the end of the process. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
xiii Light Touch Quantitative Analysis of MCS Stories A total of 348 stories were collected during the MSC Phase II study in Ghana’s southern zone. However, 325 (93%) of the collected stories were eventually selected by the district level child protection stakeholders. In all, 105 (32.4%) of the selected stories were from districts in the Central Region (Gomoa West and Awutu-Senya), while the Greater Accra (Ga West and Ning-Prampram) and Volta (South Tongu and North Tongu) each produced 110 (33.8%) of the stories selected.
The MSC stories collected cut across the following child protection domains: ¡¡ Child abuse and neglect; ¡¡ Children in conflict with the law and child ¡¡ Child labour; delinquency; ¡¡ Child marriage; ¡¡ Child migration and trafficking; ¡¡ Alternative care for children; ¡¡ Sexual reproductive health rights; ¡¡ Automated birth registration; ¡¡ Empowerment, livelihood and voice; ¡¡ Rights to education; ¡¡ Exposure to negative media; ¡¡ Multiple domains. The light touch analysis of the stories collected showed that the most dominant child protection domains were: the Right to Education (19.1%), showing a sharp contrast from the dominant domain recorded in the Northern part of the country (i.e. Sexual and Reproduction Health), though this domain also featured quite prominently in the south. The other significant child protection domains where stories emerged were in the following areas: Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (15.7%), Child Trafficking (14.8%), Child Labour (13.8%) and Child Neglect (11.1%). Other significant domains of child protection which the stories focussed on were Alternative Care for Children (7.7%), Children in Conflict with the Law and Child Delinquency (6.8%) as well as Empowerment, Livelihood and Voice (6.8%).
Some stories were found to have cross-cutting child protection content and were classified under the term “Multiple Domains”. Ten of such stories (3.1%) were found to cut across multiple areas of child protection. The majority (61%) of the stories were collected from children and young people aged 12-17 years. From a gender perspective, a slightly higher (51%) number of stories were from female interviewees compared to male interviewees.
Finally, it should be noted that Associates for Change decided not to treat “Exposure to Negative Media” as a separate domain because no specific stories surfaced on this topic. Rather, negative media influence was a cross cutting issue which emerged across several of the other domains.
Analysis of Key Findings based on the Child Protection Domains Domain 1: Child Migration and Child Trafficking The stories under this domain for the Phase II MSC assessment all centred on child trafficking, and no stories emerged related to child migration. Trafficked children from the study areas were mostly taken to Yeji (Brong Ahafo Region) and Akosombo (Eastern Region); both of which are fishing communities where they engaged children in fishing activities, while other children were sometimes used for herding cattle. Children trafficked for fishing described their work to include diving deep into water bodies to disentangle nets, mending fishing nets, paddling boats, and going on fishing expeditions at dawn and late into the night. Almost all the children interviewed did not swim and were not provided with Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) xiv
lifejackets when on the fishing boats. The stories also reveal deplorable conditions and abusive and sometimes violent behaviour by the adults who “owned them.” These conditions were classified as hazardous labour based on the ILO’s definition1 of child work. In all cases of child trafficking the direct exploitation of children’s labour by the adult (s) in charge and in control of the child was evident. The analysis further showed that child trafficking apart from the physical harm and psychological trauma experienced by children also prevented children from attending school and sometimes led to dropping out if they were enrolled. Female victims of child trafficking reported high levels of pregnancy often non-consensual and restrictions from attending school
Some of the key interventions being implemented by child protection agencies and identified in the mapping exercise and MSC stories included: ¡¡ Sensitization and awareness creation, ¡¡ rescuing and reintegration of trafficked children ¡¡ the formation of Community Child Protection Committees and Community Level Structures Some organizations used videos and multi-media presentations to showcase the risks of child trafficking in order to sensitize and create awareness within the communities; however, the main avenue of sensitization was engaging communities in consulting on the issues using open discussions. The NGO’s and Department of Community Development active in the target districts often formed groups like the Community Child Protection Committees, Community Level Structures and School-Based Clubs to facilitate the education and sensitization activities. This approach ensured the sustainability of the interventions in the absence of the implementing institutions.
The process of rescuing and reintegrating of children who had been trafficked required that the child protection agencies embark on complex rescue missions to identify trafficked children based on information gathered from the community and families through sensitization efforts. After rescuing the children, the organizations take them through a reintegration process which includes providing them with psycho-social support and counselling services to help deal with the trauma. The children are then reintegrated with their families and placed back into schools or vocational training programmes in line with the Best Interest of the Child Principle. Often NGO’s also support parents of rescued trafficked children, by placing them on income- generation activities to ensure that they have regular income to take care of the needs of their children. Very few communities or interviewees mentioned social protection safety net programmes such as Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) during the MSC data collection. This was surprising given that the parents and children being interviewed were often under the poverty line.
The recorded changes resulting from the interventions were mainly in the form attitudinal and behavioural change at both individual and community levels. This is mainly a result of the continuous community sensitization and awareness-creation on child trafficking by the institutions involved. The change processes described in the MSC stories also revealed that communities and members, parents and guardians were awakening to the hazardous risk of child trafficking, which is consistent with UNICEF’s concept of building “First Line of Defence2”. Changes in terms of rescuing and reintegration
1 ILO defines worst forms of child labour as any work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children 2 An idea which advocates that families and communities should form the “First Line of Defence” for the protection of children against all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
xv interventions was district focussed mainly implemented with the following approaches: children were reunited with their families; they were enrolled in school; and their provision of their educational needs.
The MSC stories suggest that enrolment in school and the schooling experience was a safeguard and haven for trafficked children, often giving them hope and encouragement to continue. In some cases they were also reunited with their parents. School enrolment was one of the most significant changes in the children’s lives by enabling them to regularly attend school and begin to have improved academic performance and learning outcomes. These were brought about by the educational support packages and encouragement by NGO’s and the Department of Community Development and prove to be the most significant changes to them. The provision of income-generating activities to parents was also seen as a source of change as it resulted in empowering and guaranteeing a livelihood to the parents, particularly the mothers of trafficked children. Community Awareness creation, school provisions for children particularly at the primary /JHS-level, along with income generating support to the family, were the most important interventions which emerged from MSC stories in relation to prevention and stoppage of child trafficking.
Domain 2: Child Labour3 Child labour stood out as a major child protection issue that was affecting children across all six MSC intervention districts. Children were engaged in different forms of child labour related to activities for both commercial and domestic purposes. The pre-intervention situation of child labour revealed that the male children are mainly engaged in fishing activities in communities. The pre-intervention situation also suggested that the child’s close relatives were often the people who engaged them in fishing activities. Girls on the other hand, were engaged in the processing and selling of the fish and other commodities (petty trading) to support their families. Despite some awareness creation and community sensitization on gender equality for boys and girls over the years in relation to the impact of domestic chores and child work, the MSC stories revealed that not much has been achieved. Girls are still doing all the domestic chores with little or no help from the boys. MSC story analysis also revealed that a combination of preventing children from child labour and providing them with educational support was the key to change. Increased school enrolments and improved academic performance of children were demonstrated; while among parents and other adults, some attitudinal and behavioural changes were also noted by DCD, DSW and NCCE along with the civil society agencies working in the target areas.
Domain 3: Child Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Issues on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) were given prominence across the assessment communities, based on the fact that over 51 selected MSC stories collected from the study districts were focussed on this domain. In all six districts, teenage pregnancy (as well as abortion) was mentioned by children and adults in community focus group discussions (FDG) as being mainly attributable to poverty, lack of parental education/ignorance, lack of employment opportunities, family conflict, family break-up, parental neglect, lack of adult supervision and control, limited knowledge concerning SRHR, and peer pressure.
3 ILO defines the term “child labour” as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) xvi
Stories reveal that some parents were financially incapable of meeting their children’s basic needs and providing for their needs. Some parents even promoted transactional sex by advising their girl children to seek support from boyfriends and older men so they could get money for their upkeep, even if that meant “sleeping with them” in exchange for money. Some girl children were living with grandparents who could no longer control them or take good care of them because of lack of livelihoods and poverty, leaving the children to fend for themselves, which exposed them to sexual exploitation by older men and boys. Some communities view teenage pregnancy as a “shameful and disgraceful act” not only to the child but to the family and the community as a whole. They also view it as a bad example for other children in the community. As a result, some teenage mothers were thrown out of their homes. Knowledge about sexual and reproductive health (SRH)—for example, concerning menstruation, personal hygiene, safe sex and general issues around reproductive health—was generally lacking across the 40 communities visited during the phase 2 of MSC story-collection. Girls especially were not educated by their parents or any other adult about SRH issues, causing them to seek information from their peers. A common misconception for girls interviewed was that sex could stop menstrual pain. The target districts in the Central region had some of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse nation-wide. A number of interventions were being implemented across the MSC target districts by government agencies, NGOs and communities themselves as a way of combating SRH issues such as teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse. NGOs focused their actions mainly on mobilization, sensitization and awareness raising. The chiefs and elders enacted by-laws aimed at reducing the incidence of teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse and other child protection issues. Watch-dog committees had been formed in the MSC target districts to serve as a guard against these sexual and reproductive abuses, but interviews with chiefs and opinion leaders revealed that they were not always effective The Department of Community Development and Social Welfare (DCDSW), National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ghana Health Service (GHS) and NGO’s promoted the strengthening of these community-based structures in efforts to fight against teenage pregnancy. While DCD/SW, NCCE, GHS focused on sensitization of parents, NGOs and CSOs focused on the mentorship of girls, provision of information on child protection issues, confidence-building and self-esteem-building activities for girls, along with the provision of educational supplies. Some civil society agencies also provided financial assistance to single mothers.
The MSC story-collection process revealed that interventions by individuals, families, communities, government agencies and NGOs were yielding results and producing significant change in relation to the SRHR knowledge, attitudes and practices. The MSC stories revealed that the most significant change was felt by communities in the following manner: a reduction in teenage pregnancy in certain districts; increased confidence and improved self-esteem—particularly among girls; and the ability of girls to exercise their agency, voice and rights by standing their ground and saying “no” to sex and other high risk behaviour. Parents and young women interviewed revealed that the sensitization efforts were thought to have resulted in attitudinal and behavioural change, to have empowered young girls, raised the confidence levels among children, and reduced “ignorance”—thereby causing changes in the lives of individuals, families and communities. Importantly, the MSC research team found one community in the Central Region, where girls through the support of International Needs (IN) were trained in making their own sanitary pads which were reusable in nature. A few NGO’s also provided girls with menstrual pads as part of educational support package provided. Girls found this very important based on the MSC stories, since they often had to get boy’s financial help so that they could buy menstrual pads. When NGO’s provided pads, the girls found it easier to stay away from boys. This had empowered the girls to feel more confident in attending school and had made a significant change in their lives due to the fact they could stay in school during their menstrual period. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
xvii Domain 4: Child Marriage Very little was found in the MSC stories gathered in relation to child marriage. This was not reported as a child protection issue across the 40 MSC assessment communities even though in the northern region, by contrast, the MSC research team found teenage pregnancy to be fully intertwined with and often a precursor to child marriage. The lack of child marriage in the southern zone was a sharp departure from the high incidence of stories recorded in phase I across the northern sector, where issues of child marriage dominated. In the southern zone during phase 2 only three stories on child marriage were collected across all six districts the three southern regions.
The low incidence of child marriage cases can be attributed to several factors including the difference in socio-cultural patterns in the North, which ensure that youth who engage in sex which results in child birth are forced to either marry or risk having to leave the community. Another factor could also be the consistent sensitization and awareness creation in the south that took place in the various districts. The Department of Community Development and Social Welfare with support from NGOs including International Needs, World Vision, Action Aid, Plan Ghana, Seek to Save and other organizations have implemented a number of sensitization campaigns across the MSC target communities; these sensitization campaigns include community discussions on child marriage, child labour, child trafficking, etc. Some of these community consultation processes have resulted in changing practices among families whereby girls are married off as soon as they became pregnant. The provision of educational materials and psycho-social support to young teenage mothers has been crucial to the reduction in the cases of teenage pregnancy across the various communities. In some communities evidence was found of young girls who got pregnant while in school, delivered, and got back to school with the financial and material support of NGOs like International Needs, World Vision, Action Aid, Seek to Save and others.
Domain 5: Children in Conflict with the Law and Child Delinquency MSC stories in this domain indicate that children’s anti-social behaviour has occurred as a result of weak family structures due to poverty and poor parental care). State and non-state actors have initiated interventions to encourage more positive social behaviours, reduce child delinquency and prevent deviant behaviours. This is also intended to foster sustainable change in behaviours and attitudes. Most of the interventions recorded in the assessment communities and districts were initiated by the NCCE and the Community Development Department, and these sensitization programmes have yielded some results according to children and parents interviewed. Some of these results that can be easily attributable include the improvement in school attendance and performance of children.
Social vices including stealing, thuggery, premarital sex, smoking, and drugs and gambling have also substantially decreased across all 40 communities, with parents taking on more responsibility to care for their children and live up to their responsibilities. MSC stories also suggest that children’s experiences have affected their attitudes and behaviour in ways which seem likely to be sustained. Given that community apathy has exacerbated deviant and delinquent behaviours of children, at least one out of the three target MSC districts where stories emerged under this domain, Ningo-Prampram district has made an attempt to pass bylaws to deal with gambling and loitering by children at night. However, these laws are not being rigidly enforced by the DA or traditional leaders, which brings into question the level of commitment of the District Assembly has in resolving the issue of deviance. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) xviii Domain 6: Child Abuse and Neglect The current prevailing child protection issues in the sampled districts and communities suggest that child abuse and neglect resulted in children being deprived of their basic needs often leading to psychological and emotional trauma. Issues of child abuse and neglect were very dominant across both the northern and southern zones of the MSC study. Divorce and family breakdown accounted for many of the abuse and neglect issues. MSC stories revealed that children often suffered in the hands of alternative caregivers to their own biological parents. MSC stories also revealed that key interventions (e.g. sensitization and awareness creation, counselling of parents and abused, providing livelihood options for parents) were having a positive impact on adults who were often the perpetrators of child abuse and neglect. The sensitization activities by DCD and other NGO’s were bringing about a change in attitudes and creating awareness concerning responsible parenting. For instance, the MSC stories in the interventions of International Needs, DCD and NCCE showed changes in attitudes and behaviours of adults and some community leaders towards the wellbeing of children. These changes have resulted in improved school enrolment and performance of children.
Domain 7: Child Exposure to Negative Media There were no stories recorded related to the exposure of children to negative social media content in Phase 2 MSC southern zone. For this reason, Associates for Change has not treated it as a separate domain in this report; however, it is a cross cutting theme which emerged across several other domains. Particularly, the impact of negative social media was mentioned in some MSC stories related to sexual reproductive health and abuse. Exposure of children to negative media was mainly described in terms of children gaining access to explicit pornographic videos and pictures through mobile phones and internet sources. MSC interviews revealed that the exposition of children to negative social media and pornography often led to them experimenting with what they had seen, which resulted in teenage pregnancies and other forms of sexual exploitation and sexual violence such as rape and/or defilement.
Domain 8: Automated Birth Registration The MSC story-collection in Southern Ghana recorded only one story on automated birth registration in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region. Birth registration in general was treated as a peripheral issue that the community members had only heard about during community sensitization programmes on other child protection issues. The lack of direct interventions linked to birth registration seemed to be one of the driving factors for the low incidence of MSC stories on birth registration. The single story recorded during this phase of MSC story-collection was based on the intervention by the International Organization for Migration which has embarked on a series of sensitization programmes on the need to register children at birth. This is related to the fact that birth registration gives children an identity, which makes it easier for them to be traced in situations such as trafficking etc. However, the sensitization on birth registration was done in tandem with other anti-trafficking activities.
Domain 9: Children’s Rights to Education Analysis of the stories collected across both phases of the MSC project assessment brought to the forefront the issue of children’s right to education. This was seen as a by-product of all the other key domains. Though it was not selected among the main domains of change, the analysis revealed that most of the child protection issues that affected children deprived them of their right to education. The prevailing issues that affected children’s right to education were, poverty and the financial challenges of the family, lack of school facilities, social factors such as teenage pregnancy, and lack of parental care-- Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
xix which included child neglect and single parenting. Children who engaged in activities classified as child labour ended up dropping out of school since most of these children worked during school hours in the fishing sites, engaged in petty trading and selling, or were just out “roaming” within the community.
The MSC stories revealed the that following interventions were being implemented by state and non-state institutions: sensitization and awareness creation, formation of Community Child Protection Committees (CCPC) , building of educational facilities, and the provision of educational materials such as school books, uniforms, academic coaching and sometimes direct financial support. Most importantly some parents, especially women, were being given livelihood-empowerment support in order to provide for their children in school over the long term. Students who dropped out of school were given vocational training and/or enrolled back in school. The MSC analysis established that the sensitization has increased the awareness of parents and children to know children’s right to education, which had led to increased enrolment and regularity in school. Many children also won scholarships from NGOs, making it possible for brilliant but needy children to stay in school. The FGDs during the MSC field work revealed that, school clubs established by NCCE such as girls’ clubs, boys’ clubs and SARA clubs had a very positive effect on empowering children, especially girls, with leadership skills, assertiveness, personal hygiene and self-confidence. In some communities, school facilities had also increased attendance and retention in school by vulnerable and needy children. MSC findings suggest that school quality and support for vulnerable children to stay in school was one of the most important interventions related to child protection in the communities and families interviewed.
Domain 10: Empowerment, Livelihood and Voice The MSC stories collected in relation to empowerment, livelihood and voice covered a wide range of problems faced by the community members which included; lack of confidence and courage to speak up, loss of income and livelihood, a general lack of knowledge in relation to their rights and responsibilities, and lack of ability to make choices. This created a situation in most of the communities visited where parents, particularly mothers, were finding it difficult to provide for their children’s basic needs, leading to school dropout, child labour and weakened relationships between parents and children.
The intervention programmes implemented in the MSC target districts which had a significant impact on the lives of community members included the formation of school clubs; sensitization programmes on child protection and child rights; skills training/micro finance for women’s groups; and the provision of educational materials and financial support for education. For instance, in Ga West District, Action Aid and the Department of Community Development collaborated in forming clubs (Empowering Girls Clubs or Child Rights Clubs) in the schools, where the members were educated and engaged in activities which encouraged them to be more confident and vocal concerning their rights. Action Aid also organized skills-training projects for women to equip them and use the skills to generate income and take better care of their children. Compassion International was using the same approach in the Ningo Prampram District in Greater Accra.4
MSC stories collected from the field revealed that the programme interventions implemented by various governmental and non-governmental organizations were having positive effects on the lives of community members and the communities in general. Women were overcoming their sense of
4 Previous evaluative studies by CIDA under their Ghana Girls Education programme suggest that linking micro finance for women with their commitment to keep their girl children in primary and JHS has resulted in lower levels of risk behaviour and retained girls in school until JHS completion. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) xx
powerlessness and recognizing that they had the ability to change their situation by using their skills and resources. Mothers now had the capacity to provide for their children’s needs because they were economically empowered. On the other hand, children were becoming more aware of their rights and the risks around them. They were also becoming more confident and bold, thus enhancing their participation and perseverance in school, and consequently improving their academic performance. The depth of change was also found to be significant across the stories in this domain since changes that occurred were not only evident in the lives of the individuals who told their stories, but also in their families and communities.
Domain 11: Alternative Care for Children Stories on Alternative Care for Children were collected from children who have been given shelter by various organisations when they are abandoned, trafficked or at risk of abuse. The stories portrayed children who did not have supportive family environments. The children were often victims of other forms of child abuse and violations. Some children were engaged in streetism and other forms of child labour activities while others were victims of parental neglect and family divorce or separation, which often robbed them of the needed care and support of the parents. This often resulted in children resorting to other alternatives forms of care in order to provide for themselves.
MSC stories revealed that the interventions from the Department of Social Welfare, Chance for Children and Kinder Paradise, the Ghana Police Service and other organisations were having a positive effect on the lives and welfare of children in the Greater Accra Region. The MSC field teams discovered that the most significant change experienced across the districts was when children and families were given the provision of shelter, education and food. Most of the children interviewed had dropped out of school or had never had the opportunity to enrol in school, so they were extremely happy to be enrolled in school by the agencies intervening. “Now they could enjoy the luxury of three meals a day,” and had a renewed sense of purpose in life. Information collected from the MSC interviews confirms that the collaborative effort of the government agencies and services such as the Police and Social Welfare, and the non-governmental organisations had made a huge impact in many families in the Ga West District (GA region), Ningo Prampram (GA region) and North Tongu (Volta) districts. Across the other MSC districts, the teams were not able to gain access to some of the alternative care facilities.
Domain 12: Multiple Domains of Child Protection Issues The Most Significant Change stories in the “Multiple Domain” category depicts the often complex, inter-related child protection issues which need careful planning to address. Both state and non- state actors who were interviewed had mounted various programmes to address these high risk and intertwined areas of child protection. Analysis of the MSC story data suggests that there had been attitudinal and behavioural change in some communities among children and parents. However, as a result of various sensitization programmes in schools, children were much more enlightened on child protection issues than the adult population. Interventions had also attracted more drop-out children back to school. Children and parents now appreciated the importance and value of school education in order to escape poverty and ensure long term employment outcomes for their children. However, complementary community initiatives like effective community bye-laws, community Child Protection Committees, Community Level Structures and PTAs and SMCs were absent or minimal. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Key Lessons Learned from Phase II of the MSC Assessment The MSC Phase II Child Protection Assessment in Southern Ghana highlighted some key lessons, which are presented below:
1. Significant changes in the lives of children, families and communities were being supported through the interventions of the Government, UNICEF and its partners, as well as other partners. These interventions contributed to the positive changes in child protection in particular: i. Rights to Education ii. Sexual reproductive health rights iii. child trafficking iv. Child labour 2. Interventions put in place to address child protection issues across the 6 MSC target districts had yielded some results. For instance, MSC stories revealed that sensitization programmes by both state and non-state change actors, were having attitudinal and behavioural change shifts in some communities among children and parents. Children and parents were more enlightened about their present situation and the risks involved in not taking care of their children and exposing them to high risk activities. However, there are short-comings in relation to the reach and scale of the interventions and initiatives of several of the intervention agencies, mainly due to lack of funding.
3. In spite of various initiatives by key child protection agencies and NGO’s, the review of Most Significant Change stories in the southern zone indicates that community apathy towards child protection issues was apparent in almost all the sampled districts. Some communities do not have functional community child protection committees (CCPC) and in the few places where they existed, they were dysfunctional.
4. Interviews with prominent leaders, including traditional leaders, indicated that the growing incidence of divorce and family breakdown was one of the main root causes of child neglect and high risk behaviour. These leaders complained of having difficulty addressing these challenges using traditional negotiation approaches. They also spoke of outmoded socio-cultural practices such as polygamy as also causing the high rates of divorce and family breakdown.
5. Communities are expected to play a complementary role to support the initiatives of child protection intervention since it is their responsibility to protect their own children. However, complementary initiatives by the communities such as effective community bye-laws, Community Child Protection Committees, and PTAs/SMCs, were either absent or minimal. The study also revealed that several communities were unable to protect their children and uphold basic bye laws which were designed to stop at risk behaviour.
6. Some of the districts have been able to pass by-laws to deal with deviant and delinquent behaviour of children such as gambling, loitering at night, pornographic video shows and dance jam sessions during funerals but they are not rigidly enforced by the communities or district authorities. Enactment and execution of laws are not given the necessary priority by key institutions at the local and district level in order to protect children; Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) xxii
7. Best Practices in Child Protection; ¡¡ Best Practices--Sexual Reproductive Health clubs, video show and discussions basic education packages, the sensitisation of SRH and around issues of child marriage; ¡¡ Income generating activities along with the sensitization was also a major factor in behavior (Village Saving and Loans) ¡¡ Reintegration and the support for continued schooling was the main strategy for protecting children and preventing them from engagement in at risk behavior. Educational packages were not of high cost (e.g. a uniform, menstrual pads etc) but demonstrated to families, single mothers and children that people cared; 8. Successful Interventions yielding MSC with children, family and community were apparent where government agencies and civil society have trusted, collaborative and synergistic relations with good communication. ¡¡ Best practices in relation to government and civil society collaboration were observed in North Tongu, Gomoa West and Awutu Senya in relation to Child Trafficking and Child labour interventions 9. As a result of school-based sensitization programmes and clubs, children have become more enlightened and assertive on child protection issues and their rights; Success was being seen in child protection where CSO’s, Government agencies and communities were working closely together to institute child protection strategies.
10. Analysis of the most significant change stories has shown immediate (short term) results because of the child and community sensitization, which revealed the hazards of pursuing at risk and deviant behaviour; The key areas where child protection measures were seen as important and yielding success were under the following areas:
11. School clubs which were established by NCCE and NGOs have proven to be very efficient in creating awareness among children on their rights and key child protection issues and were being replicated in several other communities. The SARA clubs, which were started by UNICEF over 10 years ago and focused on helping girls learn about their sexual reproductive health rights, were still running in some JHS schools across the Central region. This demonstrated the high demand for these clubs. Consultative groups with patrons were established in some communities in order to discuss their concerns with respect to child protection issues;
12. Although there was some evidence of collaboration between NGOs and the state actors, the MSC assessment revealed very weak working relationships with NGOs and CSOs often operating independently of each other. The MSC study suggests that there should be much stronger coordination to tackle the child protection problems in order to avoid duplication and to ensure effective and efficient resource utilization. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
xxiii Recommendations 1. The analysis across both phases of the MSC assessment revealed strong and verifiable results emanating from sustained community sensitization programmes. The MSC team therefore recommends that there should be continuous community sensitization programmes on child protection issues to prevent apathy in the communities; more consultative forums are needed particularly led by traditional leaders and assembly men/women in order to better raise the consciousness of community members on the need to protect their children and ways to do it; this will require that the DCD/DSW work more closely with GES in finding ways to ensure children stay in school. ¡¡ There is the need to sustain the sensitization and awareness creation activities of the organizations. UNICEF should therefore continue its support to NGOs and the State institutions working on child protection collaboratively. Key strategies which need more support include: ¡¡ Step up the SRHC clubs across all schools for boys and girls separately particularly in relation to linking the social drive content and more updated SRH and child rights content to these clubs; ¡¡ Stronger relationships to SMC’s, DEO’s GES/MOE need to be forged in order to create awareness, identify at risk children and handle cases ¡¡ Stronger linkages to LEAP and other social safety net programmes ¡¡ Stronger work in ensuring livelihoods particularly with mothers (MOFA, NBSSI, WWB, Micro credit schemes) ¡¡ Parent and family life workshops to strengthen family life and discuss cultural values ¡¡ Increase basic educational incentives and targeting to at risk families. 2. Community involvement has proven to be a key to ensuring child protection interventions are supported and sustained. It is recommended that community sensitization should involve key stakeholders including the House of Chiefs and Opinion leaders so they can share their thoughts and mount pressure on the District Assembly and Unit Committee members to enact and enforce laws to protect children. The NGOs and DCD/SW should assist communities to create and uphold by-laws which are child-centered. ¡¡ Stronger reporting mechanisms ¡¡ Stronger external enforcement ¡¡ Serious offenders/Punishments needs to be brought to attention of District Child protection committees. 3. Key Child Protection strategies of various interventions should continue to focus on behavioural and attitudinal change which will eventually result in lowering at risk behaviour in relation to the protection of children at all levels;
4. Financial and material support being given to children in distress and parents, particularly mothers, should be sustained if behaviour relapse is to be avoided particularly in poverty endemic districts and communities; Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) xxiv
5. Parents especially women should be supported with income generating activities to serve as a source of livelihood to support the upkeep of their children. This will help reduce the cases of child vulnerability to exploitation
6. There should be a well-structured and organized community-awareness drive to educate the citizenry about the effect and impact of anti-social behaviour and conduct. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
1 1.0 Most Significant Change Process across UNICEF’s Child Protection Programmes (Phase II)
Introduction Ghana is making some significant strides in terms of socio-economic development and being one of the fastest growing economies in Sub Saharan Africa. However, child protection remains one of the greatest challenges as families under the poverty line face serious challenges in protecting their children. The Child Protection Baseline Report (2014)5 indicates that some of the key issues include: child labour, abuse, child marriage, child neglect, sexual abuse, and child trafficking. These child protection issues are prevalent across Ghana’s ten regions in varied proportions and characteristics.
According to the Child Protection Baseline Report (ibid), poverty and limited employment opportunities, particularly for women, often resulted in the lack of basic human needs being met for food and basic medical care. The study also found high rates of child neglect across all the regions in Ghana. The number of children living with neither biological parent ranged from 9.2% to 25.9%, with the percentage in 5 regions exceeding 20%. The study also reported on various aspects of sexual exploitation and reproductive health rights involving children including transactional sex, commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking of children for sexual exploitation, sexual abuse of children through images and online sexual exploitation. The study also reported that more than 25% of women in 7 regions married before the age of 18 - suggesting high rates of child marriage and teenage pregnancy, while Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) remains a concern in the Upper East and Upper West Regions.
The following section reviews the context of child protection across the three target regions where the MSC study was conducted during the phase 2 roll out in November/Dec. 2017.
Regional Context of Child Protection Central Region The Child Protection Baseline Study (2014) and its Regional Summary for Central Region6 explored child protection concerns in the Central Region which was characterized by poverty and parental neglect which expose children to further abuses and violations including child labour, child trafficking, as well as sexual exploitation. These at risk behaviours also impacted negatively on the health, nutrition and education of children in the region. According to the Child Protection Baseline Study (2014), 25.9% of children in the Central Region live away from their biological parents, while a significant number of children are living with single parents (mostly mothers).
Child trafficking remains a major protection issue in the region, especially across the coastal towns and districts. Children from these areas are often victims of child trafficking who end up being used
5 Child Protect Baseline Report (2014): Ministry Gender, Children and Social Protection with support from UNICEF 6 Central Regional Profile, Child Protection Baseline Study (2014) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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for fishing in the inland Volta areas of Ghana. There are also a significant number of cases of sexual exploitation of children including cases of commercial sexual exploitation and sexual exploitation of adolescent girls by older men. Children in the Central region are also victims of violence both at home and school with about 57.8% and 35.6% of children reportedly beaten by adults at home and school respectively, according to the Central Regional Profile based on the Child Protection Baseline Study (2014) UNICEF’s baseline study (2014). Some children in the Central Region are engaged in child labour, including hazardous forms of labour such as galamsey (i.e. illegal mining), stone quarrying, construction and fishing. Children in the region also engage in farming (especially in the non-coastal towns and districts). An estimated 12.8% of children in the region are engaged in economic activities. Children who live away from their parents or with single parents were found engaged in some form of economic activity in order to provide for themselves. Teenage pregnancy in the region is one of the highest in the country, often a result of the sexual exploitation of adolescent girls due to transactional sex and poverty. In some cases, teenage pregnancy often ends with an agreement by the two families concerned “to marry off” the pregnant girl. According to UNICEF (2014) the region has the 4th highest rate of child marriage in Ghana, with an estimated 31.2% of women aged 20-49 years married before age 18, while 3.8% of females aged 15-19 are currently married. Higher incidence of birth registration of children under 5 is estimated at 67.4% for the region.
Greater Accra Region Children in the Greater Accra Region are at the receiving end of the rapid urbanization and its associated social and economic challenges. High parental migration in the region often results in children being left behind in rural areas, in the care of other persons not necessarily related to them, or grandparents who are often too weak to monitor or maintain the child. According to the Greater Accra Regional Profile7 based on the Child Protection Baseline Study (2014) child protection baseline, about 27.2% of children in the region reportedly live away from their biological parents. Child fostering is common in both rural and urban parts of the Greater Accra Region with children often engaged in excessive domestic work and “hawking” in dangerous areas of the city, often dropping out of school.
Violence against children in the Greater Accra region prevails both at home and at school. 42.7% of children were reportedly abused and humiliated verbally at home while 24.9% of children reported these same abuses at the school level. An estimated 61.6% of children aged 2-14 were reported beaten by an adult at home with another 32.1% reporting similar incidence by teachers or head teachers at the school. Sexual exploitation in the region is influenced by the negative exposure of children to explicit sexual content in the media. The high levels of commercial sexual exploitation of children is also due to economic hardship, family breakdown and poverty.
Child trafficking remains a serious child protection issue in the Greater Accra Region. Children continue to be trafficked in order to work mainly in the fishing sector for a negotiated fee often paid to the parent/ guardian of the child. Similarly, there is also a high incidence of child labour in the region, which is linked to the high prevalence of children living away from their parents. An estimated 6.9% of children aged 5-14 are engaged in economic activities. UNICEF (2014) citing the Ghana Living Standard Survey Report (2011) indicates that children in the Greater Accra Region start working at age 10. Teenage pregnancy in the region is linked to the sexual exploitation of adolescent girls, due to poverty and sometimes ignorance. However, the Greater Accra Region is rather reported to have lower rates of child marriage in Ghana, with an estimated 3.1% of women aged 20-49 years being married before the age 15 and
7 Greater Accra Regional Profile, Child Protection Baseline Study (2014) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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12.5% before their 18th birthday8. Birth registration of children under 5 is estimated at 76.7%. These estimates also corroborated by the Ghana Demographic Health Survey 2016.
Volta Region According to the Child Protection Baseline Study (2014) and its Volta Regional Profile9, , children in the Volta Region of Ghana are faced with harmful traditional cultural practices such as trokosi10, which increases their vulnerability to sexual abuse and other high risk behaviour from adults. The region is reported to have one of the highest incidence of violence against children at home. Estimates from the baseline study reveal that 48.9% of children reported being beaten between ages 2-14 by an adult at home, while 69.6% of adults in the region reported that they physically beat children at home. Physical abuse at school was, however, lower by about 50%, among schools in the Volta Region, where only 33.3% of children reported they were beaten by a teacher or head teacher at school. Sexual abuse and exploitation of children prevails in the region. Sexual exploitation of girls by rich mining workers and middle-aged men is reported to be a growing phenomenon.
The region also has one of the highest rates of transactional sex in the country, with an estimated 68.9% of children reporting the practice in the region. Child labour is also identified as a key child protection concern in the Volta Region. Though its existence is lower in the urban parts of the region, the practice is very pronounced in the rural towns and districts of the region. According to the Child Protection Baseline Study (2014) the region has the fifth highest number of children involved in child labour activities in the country with one out of every five children (26.9%) aged 5–17 involved in child labour while 22% are engaged in hazardous labour. The region is the major destination of trafficked children for fishing and herding activities. Children who are trafficked for labour are forced to engage in more dangerous work on rivers such as diving deep to free fishing nets that are stuck. Children are also engaged in other economic activities such as mining and “truck pushing” at markets.
Child marriage is reportedly a common practice in the Volta region especially among Muslim dominated settlements, where the Child Protection Baseline Study (2014) citing MICS Report (2011) indicated that the Volta Region has the third highest rate (8.8%) of women aged 20–49 marrying before the age of 15; with 29.3% of this cohort married before the age of 18. The Volta Region also has the highest rate of children (54.6%) not living with both parents. Child fostering out of the home is also very high and is often attributed to poverty limited parental ability to fully supporting the basic needs of their children. Fostered children often become victims of abuse and heavy domestic work, labour and sexual exploitation. Birth registration of children under 5 is estimated at 53.6%.
1.1 UNICEF Child Protection Implementation in Ghana UNICEF through its close collaboration with partners such as: the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), the Department of Community Development and Social Welfare (DCDSW), National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, and a host of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), UNICEF
8 Lower rates of reported child marriage could be attributable to more social acceptability of single motherhood, as well as complacency about the responsibility of men towards their unmarried women and children (Ame, Agbenyiga, and Apt, 2012) 9 Volta Regional Profile, Child Protection Baseline Study (2014) 10 A traditional practice where a girl is engaged in servitude and enslavement to atone for the sins of a family member. She plays the role of a domestic slave servant and a sexual slave for the period of atonement Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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has initiated and successfully implemented a number of child protection and related interventions across various parts of the country. UNICEF’s interventions on child protection encompass issues including child marriage, child labour, child trafficking, child abuse and neglect, and automated birth registration. Other UNICEF child protection interventions include: the child protection Community Facilitation Tool Kit, juvenile justice, and alternative care for children.
UNICEF in collaboration with its partners, both governmental and non-governmental, have been engaged in the implementation of different forms of child protection interventions with the overall objective of ensuring a “safe environment for the development of children”. These interventions are aimed at responding to the myriad of child abuse, exploitation and rights violations suffered by children in Ghana. However, the impact of these interventions are often left unexplored, nor measured by the implementing agencies losing the lessons learned in order to improve outcomes and identify best practices. In response, UNICEF has been promoting the application of the ‘Most Significant Change’ (MSC) technique in Ghana as a complementary participatory monitoring and evaluation tool. This allows for the collection of qualitative stories from the beneficiary perspective and subsequently converting this data into ‘light touch’ quantifications.
The objective of the Phase II Most Significant Change (MSC) stories assessment was therefore to contribute to the strengthening of monitoring and results measurement including evidence generation while also reporting on social behavioural change at national and sub-national levels. This study documents the child protection interventions, implementation processes and actors, results and associated changes generated on child protection. This is the Phase II of the UNICEF funded research on the use of Most Significant Change (MSC) techniques based on the collect stories of change across three regions in the south of Ghana by a team of researchers from Associates for Change (AfC) in collaboration with the Department of Community Development.
1.2 Most Significant Change (MSC) Approach The Most Significant Change (MSC) approach is a technique developed by Davies and Dart (2005). The essence of the MSC approach is that it ensures a participatory form of monitoring and evaluation in programme implementation by engaging implementers and beneficiary groups in their own self- analysis. The approach provides a way to measure often complex qualitative indicators like ‘child protection’ or ‘child empowerment’ through the systematic collection and analysis of life stories provided by programme participants, beneficiaries and other key stakeholders. The MSC technique is participatory in nature because several stakeholders are involved in collecting and analysing the data. The MSC approach is also a form of monitoring since it occurs throughout the programme cycle; it is also a form of programme evaluation because it provides data on the impact and outcomes that can be used to help assess the programme performance. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
5 The Guiding Steps to Conducting MSC Davies and Dart (2005) propose ten (10) key steps to implementing MSC by organisations and individuals. These steps were adapted by the assessment team at Associates for Change in order to conduct of the MSC story-collection process in the Northern and Southern regions of Ghana. The key MSC steps are: »» Step 1: Starting and raising interest »» Step 2: Defining domains of change »» Step 3: Defining the reporting period »» Step 4: Collecting significant change stories »» Step 5: Selecting the most significant change stories »» Step 6: Feeding back the results of the selection process »» Step 7: Verification of stories »» Step 8: Quantification of the stories »» Step 9: Conducting secondary analysis of the stories »» Step 10: Revising the methodology system Annex 3 describes in detail, the key steps in conducting MSC as listed above; the annex also presents its detailed application in the story-collection of the MSC Phase II stories in southern Ghana.
Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
7 2.0 The Most Significant Change (MSC) Assessment Approach and Methodology
The objective of the Most Significant Change (MSC) story assessment process was designed to contribute to the strengthening of monitoring and evaluative results measurement including evidence generation for the Ghana Government along with its partners including UNICEF; it was also designed to investigate the degree to which social behavioural change was apparent at sub- national levels in Ghana.
2.1 Key Assessment Objectives Associates for Change partnered with the Department for Community Development to carry out the MSC story-collection and selection process in order to achieve the MSC assessment objectives: ¡¡ Collect high quality MSC stories to feed into programme management and reporting; ¡¡ Lead the story selection and reflection process at the community, district and regional levels; ¡¡ Build capacity for MSC across five (5) regions in Ghana; and ¡¡ Test and refine the analysis and reporting structures and templates developed. 2.2 Sampling Framework and Sample Size The assessment employed a multi-stage sampling technique to select districts and community samples that were representative of characteristics such as the types of child protection interventions, regions, districts and communities. Consultations were initiated on a multi-level platform starting from the national level with UNICEF, the Department of Community Development and Social Welfare (DCDSW) who led the process. DCD and UNICEF organised several high level technical meetings with staff to discuss the process and appoint representatives to work with the MSC team.
In collaboration with the DCD, AfC organised regional consultative and orientation workshops in the three selected regions/districts in order to create awareness about the process and ensure maximum participation of regional and district stakeholders during the MSC story-collection and selection process. These orientation workshops were held on the 31st October, 8th November, and 9th November for Greater Accra, Volta and Central regions respectively. These consultative workshops provided the platform to build consensus regarding the selection criteria as well as the prospective communities where MSC stories would be collected.
The criteria for selecting the regions and districts for the Phase 2 MSC assessment was also agreed upon following extensive discussions between Associates for Change, DCD and UNICEF. The criteria for selection took into consideration the key lessons learned during the phase 1 story-collection process The MSC assessment included the following criteria: ¡¡ history of MSC training at regional and district levels, ¡¡ interest by regional and district leadership in pursuing MSC ¡¡ ensuring a diversity of child protection issues could be captured Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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¡¡ presence / experience in implementing child protection interventions ¡¡ presence of UNICEF/DCD NGO partners in child protection; The Greater Accra, Central and Volta Regions were selected for the Phase 2 based on the diverse implementation strategies available which included workforce strengthening, automated birth registration (M-Birth), family based care, and the UNICEF child protection toolkit. The prevalence of key children protection issues such as: child trafficking, child sexual exploitation and child marriage were also considered in selecting the districts.
The criteria for selecting MSC research districts and communities included the following: ¡¡ Participation in previous MSC training workshops where possible; ¡¡ Engagement in the roll-out of child protection toolkit; ¡¡ Length of child protection intervention implementation/ engagement by DCD/SW in the district; ¡¡ Implementation strategy by UNICEF/GoG project partners ¡¡ Presence of UNICEF supported NGO partners; Table 1 below highlights the key MSC target districts which were selected for the phase 2 story collection and selection activities along with the target stories to be collected. Table 1: MSC Assessment Sampling Framework
Number of MSC Target Target No. of Stories Region District Communities Per District Ga West 6 60 Greater Accra Ningo-Prampram 6 60 Gomoa West 6 60 Central Awutu-Senya 6 60 North Tongu 6 60 Volta South Tongu 6 60 Total 36 360
2.3 Training and Capacity Building One of the key objectives of the MSC process assessment was to build institutional capacity across agencies and NGOs directly involved in Child Protection in Ghana, with a specific focus on UNICEF partners who are implementing child protection interventions. The target groups for the capacity building were primarily officers of the Department of Community Development (DCD) and staff of other child protection agencies. Additional district level personnel from the key agencies and NGOs were included, particularly those who had interest and demonstrated commitment to use MSC in their work.
As part of the MSC capacity-building process, AfC with the assistance of District Directors of the Department of Community Development across the six selected districts organised MSC district training workshops for key personnel of government agencies and NGOs who were implementing UNICEF-funded child protection interventions in the three selected regions (Greater Accra, Central and Volta). The district training workshops were conducted using a MSC training manual developed by AFC for the project and used during the MSC Phase 1 training. The manual was based on existing Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
9 international MSC training manuals, integrating the local context and institutional structures that were part of the Ghana MSC assessment. The manual provides the detailed analytical tools defining the child protection domains and thematic areas for investigation and reporting. The general objective of the MSC training was to equip the partners who were engaged in the implementation of the UNICEF Child Protection programme with MSC skills to aid in the collection, selection, and analysis of MSC stories. This was to enable them to assess the impact of child protection interventions across beneficiary communities. To put into practice the knowledge the participants had gained on the MSC training, they were expected to take part in the MSC story-collection exercise for at least two days in each district at the community level. 2.4 Selection of MSC Stories through the District Child Protection Committee The experience of the MSC Phase 1 story selection exercise indicated that a longer period of time was needed to prepare for the MSC story selection; this key lesson was applied to the Phase 2 roll out. After the story-collection in November, a two-week period was used to prepare the stories in order to make them more reader-friendly and ensure that the selection committee was prepared. The hand- written stories were screened, and stories which did not meet the MSC benchmark were dropped. Only stories that passed the criteria of being an MSC story were presented to the selection committee. The selection process was conducted at two levels, namely: i) story rating by the District Child Protection Committees (DCPC); and ii) ranking of the rated stories using an analytical model developed by AFC.
The story selection process involved AfC, with the support of the DCDSW officers, organising a two-day MSC stories selection workshop. In each of the six districts, 6 to 10 members of the DCPC gathered for two days to assess each story collected from their respective districts by reading and rating every single MSC story presented and using a scoring system. Once each member of the district child protection team rated their individual stories, consultation was held on the ratings, and reasons for the ratings were discussed; each team member would provide the reasons for their ratings until a consensus was arrived at. The criteria used for the MSC story assessment was developed over a series of consultations including the MSC training workshops at regional and district levels. The story selection criteria included: ¡¡ Relevance of story content in relation to child protection issues; ¡¡ Magnitude of change as shown in the comparative situation before and after the intervention; ¡¡ Sustainability of the change; ¡¡ Scope of the change (individual, family or community level); ¡¡ Explanation of activities that initiated the change process; ¡¡ Gap bridged by the child protection intervention; and ¡¡ Impact of the change (positive or negative) by the change agents. ¡¡ Depth of the change in relation to social behaviour change and socio cultural change; The final process of selection was conducted at the national level by the AfC team. A district specific template was designed for the compilation of the MSC story scores across each district. This template automatically tallied the scores that were assigned by the District Child Protection Committee’s (DCPCs). The software used the total scores to rank the stories in descending order (highest score was assigned first). The first 45 – 65 stories depending on the total number of stories collected-- were then selected as top-ranked stories from each district and used in the qualitative/quantitative analysis process. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
10 2.5 Team Composition and training All the field researchers/data collectors deployed to the field had at least a first degree qualification with many holding a second degree and/or PhD. Data collectors were in groups of four accompanied by a supervisor who was an AfC senior researcher or consultant. On the whole, the quality of the data collected showed that the training provided to the MSC story collectors provided the necessary skills and competencies needed to conduct the MSC research. In a few cases more qualitative interview skills were needed to probe more deeply into the stories as told by the story tellers. Two one-day training sessions were held with the AFC staff and researchers in preparation for the field work. The first workshop was used to reflect on lessons learned and consult on ways to improve the roll out of MSC, and the second workshop focussed on the methodology and instrumentation to be used during the field work. Selected National DCDSW were invited to these workshops.
2.6 Limitation and Challenges in the Field The assessment was faced with some limitations. The key limitations in the MSC Phase II story collection include the following: 1. Some NGOs did not take part in the MSC training organised at the district level, hence their staff were not part of the MSC story collection process. 2. Low level of cooperation from district and community development officers during the story collection process despite the institutional agreements to participate; 3. Lack of access to some child protection programmes including a few alternative care hostels where children were being supported. This was due to the fact that some child protection agencies were not willing to be interviewed during the time frame provided by AFC. 4. Some heads of government departments sent representatives to the MSC story selection phase instead of participating themselves. This prolonged the story selection process in some districts because the representatives sent were not part of the district level training, and needed more explanation to understand the MSC process. 5. Access to some communities especially in the Volta region was difficult, as the team had to cross rivers to access the communities. This resulted in the replacement of some communities with more accessible ones. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
11 3.0 Implementation of Training on the MSC Story Collection and Selection
The district training sessions took place simultaneously in the six districts across the three MSC target regions on 20th November, 2017. A total of 83 participants took part in the district level training workshops, the majority of whom were from the DCD and SW, with approximately 20% of participants coming from the NGO sector. This included participants from International Organisation for Migration (IOM), International Needs, Challenging Heights, Seek to Save Foundation, Plan Ghana, World Vision, Kinder Paradise, Ghana Education Service (GES), Births and Deaths Registry, Department of Community Development and Social Welfare, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and the National Commission on Civic Education. The breakdown of the number of participants is presented in Table 2. Table 2: Number of MSC Training Participants by Districts
District Number of Participants South Tongu 17 North Tongu 16 Ningo-Prampram 13 Ga West 14 Gomoa West 10 Awutu-Senya 13 Total 83
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 The workshops included the following topics: ¡¡ overview of the MSC process, ¡¡ reflections on MSC institutional experiences, ¡¡ discussions on the MSC story-collection field instruments, ¡¡ guidelines on conducting gender sensitive interviews, ¡¡ MSC story selection process ¡¡ roll-out plan for the MSC story-collection. District level teams were constituted and roles and responsibilities for community entry and other strategies deliberated upon.11
11 Refer to MSC Training Reports for the detailed description of the training process across each district. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
12 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
13 4.0 Light Touch Quantitative Analysis of MSC Stories
4.1 Light Touch Analysis of MSC Stories Collected This section presents the light touch quantification and analysis of the Most Significant Change (MSC) stories collected during the second phase of the study across the six (6) MSC target districts in three southern regions of Ghana. The regions and districts in which the second phase MSC stories were collected included: Central (Gomoa West and Awutu-Senya), Greater Accra (Ga West and Ningo- Prampram) and Volta (South Tongu and North Tongu). The light touch analysis describes the distribution of the MSC stories collected based on gender and age of story tellers, as well as district and regional distribution. It also shows the source of the stories i.e. adult or children, and most importantly, the distribution of the stories based on the child protection domains.
A total of 348 stories were collected during the second phase of the study. The distribution of the stories collected from the various districts reveal that out of the overall total of 348 MSC stories collected, 114 (32%) of stories were collected from the Central Region, while 177 (34% from each) stories were from the Greater Accra and Volta Regions. The district level distribution of the stories collected indicates that 65 (19%) and 49 (14%) of stories were respectively collected from the Gomoa West and Awutu-Senya Districts in the Central Region. Ga West and Ningo-Prampram Districts in the Greater Accra Region recorded 49 (14%) and 68 (20%) collected stories respectively. Similarly, in the Volta Region, South Tongu and North Tongu respectively recorded 49 (14%) and 68 (20%) collected stories. Figure 1 and 2 gives an illustration of the regional and district distribution of the MSC stories collected in the second phase of the study in the southern part of Ghana. Figure 1: Regional Distribution of MSC Stories Collected
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Figure 2: Distribution of MSC Stories Collected by Districts
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 4.2 Demographic Analysis: Gender Distribution of Participants The gender distribution of the participants (story tellers) from whom the MSC stories were collected during the second phase of the study indicate that, out of the 348 stories collected, 177 (51%) participants were male while 171 (49%) were female -- as shown in Figure 3. This demonstrates a near parity in terms of the gender targeting of participants from whom the MSC stories were collected and further shows the level of gender consciousness across the assessment teams. Figure 3: Gender Distribution of Participants
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
15 Occupational Distribution of Participants The distribution of the participants who provided the MSC stories reveals that the majority of the participants were students. Specifically, 234 (67%) of the MSC participants were students, while 35 (10%) were farmers. In addition, 27 (8%) of the participants indicated they were traders; whereas those engaged in fishing/fish mongering were 10 (3%). In addition, 14 (4%) of participants were artisans (hairdressers, seamstresses, tailors, mechanics, machine operators, etc.) while 13 (4%) of the MSC participants indicated they were teachers, and 15 (4%) of participants were in other occupations. The dominance of students in the occupational distribution is as a result of the purposive targeting of more children in the story-collection process in order to ensure that the voices of children are well-reflected in the stories collected. Figure 4 shows the distribution of the participants by occupation. Figure 4: Occupational Distribution of Participants
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Age Distribution of Participants In analysing the age distribution of study participants, the assessment adopted the standard 5-year age grouping model to make this study comparable. The distribution of the stories collected from the various groups indicate that majority of the stories were collected from participants between aged between 12-17 years. Specifically, 213 (61%) of the participants were within the age bracket 12-17 years. Participants between 18-22 years accounted for 28 (8%) with those within the ages 23-28, 29-35 and 36 years and above, accounted for 6 (2%), 21 (6%) and 80 (23%) of the participants respectively. The clear dominance of participants within the 12-17 years group was in line with the purposive targeting of young children in that age cohort to ensure that their views and individual experiences were covered in the study. Figure 5 illustrates the age distribution of the participants. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Figure 5: Age Distribution of Participants
Source: Field Data, November, 2017
Sources of the MSC Stories Based on age categorization of the participants who provided MSC stories, further categorization was conducted in order to disaggregate, the number of stories provided by children and adults. All the MSC stories collected from participants below 18 years were categorized as “child” while participants aged 18 years and above were classified under the source “adult”. The analysis and distribution of the MSC stories collected in the second MSC phase in southern Ghana indicate that about two-thirds of the stories were collected from children. Specifically, 213 (61%) of stories were from “child” sources while 135 (39%) were collected from “adult” sources. Figure 6: Sources of MSC Stories
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Summary of MSC Stories Collected by Child Protection Domains The MSC stories were collected based on pre-determined child protection domains as well as domains that emerged in the story-collection process in the field or the post-field analysis. It is also important to note that during this classification, it was found that some stories revealed more than one domain of child protection issues. These stories were classified in the ‘multiple-domain category’ due to the cross- cutting nature of these stories in relation to child protection. In general, 11 (3.2%) of the ‘multiple domain’ stories were collected during the second phase of the study in southern Ghana.
The distribution of the MSC stories collected across child protection domains indicate that the majority of the MSC stories were collected in the following domains: Rights to Education --64 (18.4%), sexual and reproductive health rights --56 (16.1%), child labour --52 (14.9%), child trafficking --51(14.7%) and child abuse and neglect --38 (10.9%). These five domains of child protection cumulatively make up 75% of MSC stories collected in southern Ghana. The other child protection domains which recorded significant frequencies are: child abuse and neglect –38 (10.9%), alternative care for children (family-based-care) with 25 (7.2%), empowerment. livelihood and voice --24 (6.9%), and children in conflict with the law and child delinquency-- 23 (6.6%). However, two domains did not record significant numbers of collected stories and these are child marriage which recorded 3 (0.9%) and automated birth registration with 1 (0.3%) of stories collected. Table 3 provides a summary of the stories collected across the various child protection domains across the six (6) districts visited in southern Ghana. Table 3: Summary of MSC Stories Collected by Child Protection Domains
Child Protection Domain Frequency Percentage (%) Child Abuse and Neglect 38 10.9 Child Labour 52 14.9 Child Marriage 3 .9 Alternative Care for Children 25 7.2 Automated Birth Registration 1 .3 Rights to Education 64 18.4 Children in Conflict with the Law and Child Delinquency 23 6.6 Child Trafficking 51 14.7 Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights 56 16.1 Empowerment, Livelihood and Voice 24 6.9 Multiple Domains 11 3.2 Total 348 100.0
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 In order to explore the distribution of stories collected across the study districts by domain, a cross- tabulation was performed using the district and child protection domains as the variables. The results of the analysis show that out of the 38 stories collected on child abuse and neglect, the majority (about 57.9%) were from Ningo-Prampram (34.2%) (Greater Accra) and Gomoa West (23.7%) districts in the Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Central region. There were also significant numbers of stories collected in this domain in Awutu-Senya (18.4%) and Ga West (10.5%). Stories collected in the other two districts (South and North Tongu) were, however, not significant in number. One key observation here is the high frequency of the stories on child abuse and neglect in the Central and Greater Accra regions, which together contributed (86.8%) of the stories collected on Child Abuse and Neglect.
The distribution of stories collected in the Child Labour Domain show higher concentrations in the Central Region with the MSC target districts jointly contributing 50% of the stories collected in that domain. The North and South Tongu Districts in the Volta Region also had a significant number of stories collected on child labour with a cumulative share of 34.5%. However, the two Greater Accra districts recorded the least number of stories on child labour with a cumulative percentage of 12.6%.
The ‘Right to Education’ domain recorded the highest number of stories collected during the phase 2 exercise in Southern Ghana. The distribution of the stories under this domain indicate that North Tongu and Gomoa West respectively recorded the highest number of stories in this domain with a share of 31.2% and 28.1%. There were also an appreciable number of stories recorded in the Ningo-Prampram (15.6%) and Awutu-Senya (12.5%) districts.
The ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights’ domain had a total of 56 stories collected; the distribution across the districts reveal that the majority of the stories were collected from South Tongu (30.4%) and Ga West (26.8%). There were also significant number of stories collected from Gomoa West (19.6%) and Ningo-Prampram (14.3%).
Stories collected on Child trafficking were 51 in total. The majority of the stories under this domain were collected from the North Tongu District (49%) (Volta region) while Gomoa West and Ningo-Prampram recorded 9 (17.6%) of stories collected under this domain.
A total of 25 stories were collected on Alternative Care for Children or Family Based Care. Most of the MSC stories (96%) were collected from the two districts in the Greater Accra Region – Ga West (52%) and Ningo-Prampram (44%). This is due to the fact that MSC under this domain were collected from child shelters and homes in which access was given only to the Greater Accra team. There were 24 MSC stories on Empowerment, Livelihood and Voice of which distribution was as follows: Ga West (29.2%), Gomoa West 925%), North Tongu (20.8%) and South Tongu (16.7%). Awutu-Senya and Ningo-Prampram each recorded 1 (4.2%) under this domain.
Children in Conflict with the Law and Child Delinquency as a domain recorded 23 in total. The majority of these stories (52%) were collected from Ningo-Prampram (Greater Accra), while 17.4% each were collected from Awutu-Senya (Central region) and Ga West (Greater Accra). The 11 stories collected which cut across multiple child protection domains were mainly from South Tongu District (45%) and two districts in the Central Region, which cumulatively contributed 45% of the stories within this domain. In addition, there were a few stories collected under two other domains. Three (3) stories were collected on child marriage while one story was recorded on automated birth registration. Annex 4 presents a table of the distribution of collected stories across the child protection domains and districts. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
19 4.3 Light Touch Analysis of Final Selected MSC Stories This section presents the light touch analysis of the final MSC stories selected by the District Child Protection stakeholders. As indicated in the previous section, 348 stories were collected from across all 6 MSC target districts in the 3 regions visited. Out of this number of collected stories, 325 were selected based on the ratings of the MSC stories. On average, 93% of stories were selected out of the collected MSC stories based on the assessment by the district child protection committees based on the MSC story selection criteria described in Section 2.4 of this report. Tables 4 and 5 present details on the selected MSC Stories and their district and regional distribution. Table 4 Selected MSC Stories in Southern Ghana
District Total Number of Number of Stories % Stories Collected Selected Gomoa West 65 60 92 Awutu-Senya 49 45 92 Ga West 49 45 92 Ningo-Prampram 68 65 96 South Tongu 49 45 92 North Tongu 68 65 96 Total 348 325 93
Source: MSC Field Data, November, 2017 Table 5: Regional and District Distribution of Selected MSC Stories
District Frequency Percent (%) Gomoa West 60 18.5 Awutu-Senya 45 13.8 Central 105 32.4 Ga West 45 13.8 Ningo-Prampram 65 20.0 Greater Accra 110 33.8 South Tongu 45 13.8 North Tongu 65 20.0 Volta 110 33.8 Total 325 100.0
Source: MSC Field Data, November, 2017 The district and regional distribution of MSC stories suggest that 105 (32.4%) of the selected stories came from the Central Region which was made up of 60 (18.5%) from Gomoa West and 45 (13.8%) from Awutu-Senya. Both the Greater Accra and Volta Regions had 110 stories selected from each region- made up of 65 (20%) of stories from Ningo-Prampram and North Tongu districts. Similarly, Ga West and South Tongu had 45 (13.8%) stories each selected from their respective districts (see table 5 above). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
20 Child Protection Domains The majority (97%) of the 325 selected stories fell under one of the ten (10) exclusive domains of child protection. Significantly, the majority of MSC stories (19%) were under the domain -- right to education. This is explained by the fact that the majority of MSC stories were collected from children and young persons who were restricted from attending school and saw their education as being affected directly by poverty and the parental inability to support them. Stories on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights were 51 (15.7%) of selected stories in this domain. Selected MSC stories under the category Child Trafficking and Child Labour were 48 (14.8%) and 45 (13.8%) respectively. Other child protection domains with significant numbers of selected stories are Child Abuse and Neglect (11.1%) and Alternative Care for Children (7.7%). Table 6 presents the distribution of the selected MSC stories based on the key child protection domains, while Table 7 presents the distribution of the selected MSC stories grouped by district. Table 6: Distribution of Selected MSC Stories Based on Child Protection Domains
Child Protection Domains Frequency Percent (%)
Child Abuse and Neglect 36 11.1 Child Labour 45 13.8 Child Marriage 3 .9 Alternative Care for Children 25 7.7 Automated Birth Registration 1 .3 Rights to Education 62 19.1 Children in Conflict with the Law and Child Delinquency 22 6.8 Child Trafficking 48 14.8 Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights 51 15.7 Empowerment, Livelihood and Voice 22 6.8 Multiple Domains 10 3.1 Total 325 100.0
Source: MSC Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Table 7: Child Protection Domains of Selected MSC Stories Grouped by Districts
District Total Child Protection Domain Gomoa Awutu- Ga West Ningo- South North West Senya Prampram Tongu Tongu 9 6 4 13 3 1 36 Child Abuse and Neglect 25.0% 16.7% 11.1% 36.1% 8.3% 2.8% 100.0% 8 14 2 2 6 13 45 Child Labour 17.8% 31.1% 4.4% 4.4% 13.3% 28.9% 100.0% 0 1 1 0 1 0 3 Child Marriage 0.0% 33.3% 33.3% 0.0% 33.3% 0.0% 100.0% 0 0 13 11 0 1 25 Alternative Care for Children 0.0% 0.0% 52.0% 44.0% 0.0% 4.0% 100.0% 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Automated Birth Registration 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 100.0% 18 7 2 10 5 20 62 Rights to Education 29.0% 11.3% 3.2% 16.1% 8.1% 32.3% 100.0% Children in Conflict with the 0 4 3 12 3 0 22 Law and Child Delinquency 0.0% 18.2% 13.6% 54.5% 13.6% 0.0% 100.0% 8 5 0 8 3 24 48 Child Trafficking 16.7% 10.4% 0.0% 16.7% 6.2% 50.0% 100.0% Sexual and Reproductive 10 4 13 7 16 1 51 Health Rights 19.6% 7.8% 25.5% 13.7% 31.4% 2.0% 100.0% Empowerment, Livelihood 6 1 7 1 3 4 22 and Voice 27.3% 4.5% 31.8% 4.5% 13.6% 18.2% 100.0% 1 3 0 1 5 0 10 Multiple Domains 10.0% 30.0% 0.0% 10.0% 50.0% 0.0% 100.0% 60 45 45 65 45 65 325 Total 18.5% 13.8% 13.8% 20.0% 13.8% 20.0% 100.0%
Analysis of Multiple Domain Stories Not all the stories selected fell under the 10 child protection domains. There were some MSC stories which were classified under the “multiple” domain category due to the cross-cutting nature. Table 8 presents a deeper analysis of the 10 selected MSC stories which fell under the multiple domain category. In terms of the distribution of these stories, the majority (40%) were stories that border on child labour and right to education. The multiple domain category reveals the complexity of child protection issues and the linkages between domains; for instance, children were found to engage in child labour activities at the expense of their education, as well as children being forced to abandon their education in order to engage in child labour activities to provide for their educational needs. There were also 2 (20%) of stories recorded in this domain that involved Child Labour and Child Abuse and Neglect. MSC stories reveal that children in child labour activities are more predisposed to abuses, including physical and verbal abuse. Table 8 shows the distribution of MSC stories under the multiple domain category. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Table 8: Multiple Domain MSC Stories
Multiple Domains Number of Stories %
Child Abuse and Neglect + Child Trafficking 1 10 Child Abuse and Neglect + Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights 1 10 Child Labour + Alternative Care for Children 1 10 Child Labour+ Child Abuse and Neglect 2 20 Child Labour+ Rights to Education 4 40 Child Trafficking + Child Labour 1 10 Total 10 100
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Conclusion This section presented the light touch quantification of the MSC stories collected during the second phase in Southern Ghana. The stories were collected from six districts in three regions. In general, a total of 348 stories were collected of which 325 (93%) were eventually selected by the district level child protection stakeholders. The distribution of the selected stories revealed that 105 (32.4%) were from the Central Region Districts (Gomoa West and Awutu-Senya), while the Greater Accra (Ga West and Ning-Prampram) and Volta (South Tongu and North Tongu) each provided 110 (33.8%) of stories selected. Across the various child protection domains, the most frequent of the distribution were in the following order: Rights to Education (19.1%), Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (15.7%), Child Trafficking (14.8%), Child Labour (13.8%) and Child Neglect (11.1%). The majority (61%) of the stories were collected from children and young people aged 12-17 years. On gender basis, a slightly higher (51%) number of stories were from female sources compared to male sources. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
23 5.0 Socio-Economic and Programme Context of the Child
Protection Stories of Change This section presents a description of key child protection issues interventions across the Greater Accra, Central and Volta Regions, based on the MSC Assessment fieldwork. This section explores the context in which programme interventions by UNICEF, DCDSW and the partners are working. The MSC mapping exercise assisted the team identify several of the key interventions taking place in a target district before the MSC field work took place. The context assessment and mapping exercise are key to understanding the MSC stories collected from the six (6) districts.
5.1 Key Child Protection Issues Based on Stakeholder Interviews at District and Community Levels Interviews with key district officials working on child protection and focus group discussions with community opinion leaders suggest that child welfare and child protection issues are major concerns across all the assessment communities and districts. There was consensus among key stakeholders that over the years, some interventions have brought about some progress but more needs to be done; some chiefs and elders also revealed that the family breakdown and high divorce rates coupled with poverty were some of the core reasons for the high at-risk behaviour of children and the on-going child protection challenges across the regions. The key child protection issues across the six districts included: child trafficking, sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, child labour, child abuse, and parental neglect.
Greater Accra The major child protection issues based on the MSC field work experience in the Ga West and Ningo-Prampram Districts are: child labour and child trafficking, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, parental neglect and child delinquency. A growing problem in the Ga West District is drug abuse among young boys.
In Ningo-Prampram, child labour, caused by the inability of parents to adequately provide for their children, takes many forms. Young boys are taken from their community to work in galamsey sites. Young girls and boys are sometimes sent to communities along the Volta Lake, purposely to work in the fishing business -- with the boys helping in fish catching and the girls helping in fish smoking and selling. Children also get involved in ‘sewa’, a term used to describe the practice of children working for adults outside the community. These children often end up being maltreated and sexually abused. “Children in the Ga West District usually work at quarry sites. In some situations, the teenage mothers endanger the lives of their children who they leave unattended to near by the fish ponds while they busily harvest fish from the ponds for sale.” Young boys are also attracted to the okada12 business, transporting people with motorbikes, for ‘quick money’.
12 Using motor bikes as a commercial means of transport (considered illegal in Ghana) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Poverty and parental neglect is seen as a key causal agent for most cases of teenage pregnancy, and sexual abuse. Girls whose basic needs (including school requirements) are not provided by parents are lured by boys and older men with money. Some of these cases border on rape and defilement.
Most parents have no knowledge of the laws that protect children. Economic pressures sometimes force parents to leave their children in the care of their grandmothers and other relations while migrating to the urban areas. Interviews with community members reveal that the issue of polygamy was also a factor in family breakdown and divorce; several male adults were reported marrying more than one woman but could not provide child maintenance for any of the wives, bringing conflict in the family. These conditions led to child neglect and eventually the guardians losing control over their children. Other factors causing child delinquency were the exposure and access to inappropriate social media and entertainment platforms such as pornographic video shows. This also included daytime telenovelas that have adult scenes, pornographic videos, dance “jams” that eventually lead them to relationships with the opposite sex, game and gambling centres, smoking. Any of these can that distract children from schooling and work. In both districts, school absenteeism and dropout rates were very high largely due to the above challenges.
Central Region The major child protection issues in the two assessment districts in the Central Region (Gomoa West ad Awutu Senya) are: sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, child trafficking, child labour, child delinquency and parental neglect. The teenage pregnancy rate in the Central Region is one of the highest in the country. Many teen pregnancies lead to school dropout and the increase of poverty among women and children. Focal Group interviews with young girls reveal that family poverty, parental neglect and the girls’ lack of education on sexual health and reproductive rights resulted in them becoming highly vulnerable to sexual abuse. Inadequate support for their basic needs forced them to resort to various means, including transactional sex with older and younger men (over 18). Social events such as funerals provide the platform for children to engage in several high risk and illicit activities including experimenting with sex and drugs.
Child trafficking is seen as a dominant practice especially among communities along the coast. The coast usually serves as traffic points by recruiters of children who end up with their so-called “slave masters”13. Some of these recruiters deal directly with parents by making promises and eventually convincing parents to give out their children for as low as GHC 50.00 (approximately US$11). Some parents are promised monthly remittances from their child’s work and are also promised that the child will be supported in formal education, but interviews with partners in the field suggest that trafficked children end up in indentured slavery in fishing centres around the Volta Lake.
Trafficked children are also subjected to dangerous child labour practices including mending fishing nets, selling food for commission, working in cocoa, pineapple and cassava farms, especially in the northern part of Awutu Senya, to earn a living. These working children receive daily wages as low as Gh¢2 to Gh¢5 (US$0.03 – 0.10).
Interviews with community leaders and parents themselves suggest that parental/guardian neglect has also led to a decline in moral education and parenting. This “child behaviour-moulding” has resulted in the high incidence of high risk behaviour among children and youth. The rate of school drop-out is also
13 Persons who take final custody of trafficked children and exploit them in various forms such as forced labour like fishing and other income generating activities Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
25 high in the target communities and for many, schooling is irregular. Most parents in these communities do not know where their children spend the night. Children who patronise funeral festivals neglect their homework. Though there are community by-laws on the extent of access children can have to public functions, these laws are not upheld and do not effectively protect children. Many children engage in menial activities and spend their income on electronic gadgets, which are a symbol of wealth exhibited by their peers. Some children can engage in activities such as stealing of fish. The target districts are also recording a high incidence of gambling in both small and large centres, patronized by children below the age of 18. Delinquency and improper behaviour are also absorbed by the children through their exposure to inappropriate media content.
Parental neglect and inadequate care of children are largely due to marriage breakdown. Many husbands have not been providing for the basic needs of the family and ‘living up to their responsibilities’ to their families. Some men continue to engage in polygamous relationships with an average of two wives, resulting in large family sizes, and yet they do not provide for these families. The wives, on the other hand, have few resources and skills. There are also cases where both parents migrate to the Western Region and Accra, leaving the children to fend for themselves, while others send them to their grandparents.
Economic hardship and poverty, particularly among women, limit the capacity of parents to take care of their children. Residents of Gomoa West and the southern portions of Awutu Senya depend on fishing for their livelihood. However, fish yields have been declining over the years partly due to poor fishing practices and climate change, affecting the lives of fishing communities. In the northern section of Awutu Senya -- where farming is the main livelihood source -- this has also seen a decline over the years. Declines in soil fertility and severe drought have negatively affected yields and consequently income from regular crops -- including pineapple, cassava and vegetables. Availability of farmland has also been reduced as a result of traditional leaders selling to estate developers and investors.
Volta Region
Notable among the child protection issues in the North Tongu and South Tongu Districts of the Volta region are teenage pregnancy, child sexual abuse, child trafficking, child labour, parental neglect, child delinquency, child labour /domestic servitude, drug abuse, stigma against trokosi victims, poor quality education (e.g. inadequate school infrastructure, ineffective teaching), and high school dropout rates.
Teenage pregnancy is prevalent in both districts. The South Tongu District records high rates of pregnant girls who sit for their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Family poverty and parental neglect in these districts has deprived the children of moral education and parental guidance. Interviews with parents revealed that many are traders and do not have time to ensure the welfare of their children. Children are also exposed to sexual explicit content in media such as television, DVDs, computers and phones, contributing to children becoming sexually active at a very young age.
Some girls are forced into transactional sex and “take boyfriends to help them with their basic needs in return for sexual favours.” However, eventually these girls get pregnant, soon dropping out of school since both young parents have to work to feed themselves. Due to pregnancy, a few girls are led to early marriage as young as 15-17 years. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Child trafficking is very rampant in this region with such children normally given out to people from Akosombo in return for a cow as compensation or a small sum of money. Under such arrangements, children drop out of school, with some of these trafficked girls getting pregnant, while boys end up as cattle herders. Parents also report that if and when they return to their homes, the children are very aggressive and disrespectful.
Child labour and domestic servitude exist with parents/guardian allowing their children to work without pay at the expense of their schooling. Child abuse such as rape, defilement and other physical abuses occur and/or are allowed unreported because many parents don’t know the legal implications of such acts and the effect on the children. One other reported form of abuse in South Tongu is the stigma attached to Trokosi victims. They become ‘outcasts’ and are marginalised or rejected by the community after their stay in the shrines; they then have difficulties associating with their peers and even families and communities.
Inadequate school infrastructure also contributes to adverse conditions for children within these communities, leading to at risk behaviour. Some children, although determined to go to school, have to walk long distances to neighbouring villages just to attend classes. Girls end up at the ‘mercy’ of motorbike riders (okada) and eventually engage in transactional sex for these riders taking them to school, resulting in pregnancy. In South Tongu communities, interviews with the children themselves indicate that children start school at an older age (8 or 9) because the only school is about 3-4 kilometres away from their homes. Some of them also have to cross a river to access school and are forced to stay home on days when the boats leave them behind. Those who manage to get to school under these circumstances mostly sleep through the first and second class periods because of tiredness.
Parental neglect and poverty engender child delinquency. Some local government officials interviewed reported, “We don’t have major child protection issues in our community rather, our children are strong willed and disobedient.” However, interviews with the children themselves and parents revealed the linkage between lack of parental guidance and deviant behaviour among some of the children. “They don’t take their studies seriously and prefer to watch TV when they are at home. They attend wake- keeping sessions, drink excessively and disrespect their elders. They join bad friends to smoke weed, steal and ride motor bikes to make money.” They also spend their time playing jackpots at game centres and also go to the movies and return home very late in the night.
Parental neglect is common in the district because most of the children do not stay with their biological parents. The children rather stay with guardians, and this makes it difficult for the children to get proper care. Most parents live outside the district trying to make a living, leaving the children with their grandparents or other relations/neighbours who have little or no control over them. Many parents lack awareness concerning the importance of parental guidance and education, allowing their children to use their time irresponsibly. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
27 5.2 Community Interventions to Address Child Protection Information from the various focus group discussions and storytelling sessions by individuals revealed that chiefs and traditional leaders along with other opinion leaders are taking initiatives to curb the incidence of child abuse, neglect, exploitation and the adverse effects on the children. The following interventions were identified across various communities: a. Some child protection committee members in the communities have started to monitor the movement of children, preventing them from going out and staying late to watch illicit video films. Children that fail to follow these by-laws are severely punished; b. Some of the communities have enacted by-laws that prevent children from going to the beach to fish from Monday to Friday. The community task force monitors and ensures the enforcement of the by-laws; c. Some of the chiefs have established educational funds to support brilliant but needy children. This has helped children who would otherwise never have had the opportunity to be in school. Individuals and groups make donations into the fund; d. Youth associations and vigilante committees have been formed to assist in the control of deviant behaviour among children; e. Parents have been educated to know that excessive beating and punishment of children constitute child abuse and that they should refrain from such attitudes and behaviours. Analyses of the field data revealed some impressive community regulations with associated punishments. An example is the law that states that any girl who gets pregnant or any boy who impregnates a teenage girl is punished. Some of the punishments include “every school girl who gets pregnant is made to pay Gh¢100.00 and faces other punishments while the man or boy responsible pays Gh¢200.00 with other sanctions.” These initiatives may not exist in all communities, but a large proportion of MSC storytellers shared their experiences of interventions which were working and were confirmed during focus group discussions with community leaders.
5.3 UNICEF and Other Partner Programme Interventions on Child Protection across the Districts In response to the various forms of child protection issues, UNICEF Ghana has, in collaboration with its local state and non-state partners, implemented a number of child protection interventions with the aim of reducing or eliminating the main risks. The core programme areas of UNICEF’s child protection interventions are Child Marriage, Child Labour, and Automated Birth Registration. Other child protection interventions implemented under the auspices of UNICEF include the child protection community facilitation tool kit and social workforce, among others. The MSC Assessment also obtained information on non-UNICEF programmes that addressed or were addressing child protection issues in the communities visited.
Table 9 lists the government and non-organizations that have implemented or are implementing programme interventions that address child protection issues in the communities visited in the six districts. The organizations are also categorized as UNICEF Partners or other agencies. The highlighted/ coloured columns represent districts with UNICEF and non-UNICEF partners. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Table 9: UNICEF Partners and other organisations Implementing Child Interventions in Assessment Communities Visited for MSC Story-collection by District Organizations Central/R Greater Accra/R Volta/R Gomoa Awutu Ga Ningo- North South West Senya West Pram pram Tongu Tongu UNICEF Partners - GOG DCDSW NCCE UNICEF Partners - NGO International Needs Challenging Heights Chance for Children Kids’ Paradise Seek to Save Foundation Int’l Organization for Migration Plan Ghana Non-UNICEF Partners - GOG Ghana Health Service Ghana Education Service District Assembly Anti Child Trafficking Unit Non-UNICEF Partners - NGO CAMFED World Vision Action Aid Compassion International Cheerful Hearts Ark Foundation
5.3.1 UNICEF GOG Partners The DCDSW has embarked on community sensitization and awareness creation on child protection using the child protection tool kit. The child protection toolkit is a more participatory method of awareness-creation because it uses flash cards with pictures of various child protection issues to stimulate discussion of the problems in the community. In a community durbar14 setting, DCDSW covers general child protection issues such as child marriage, child labour, teenage pregnancy, child abuse, and school dropout; these community meetings are targeted largely towards parents or adults who are the primary perpetrators of these acts against children. The roll-out of the toolkit is an on-going programme across several districts including the six MSC districts. North Tongu is yet to benefit from the roll-out of the child protection toolkit. DCDSW is supported by NGOs/GOs in its implementation of the toolkit: Action Aid and NCCE in Ga West; International Needs in Gomoa West; Challenging Heights
14 A community gathering of its chiefs, opinion leaders and members Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
29 and NCCE in Awutu Senya; Seek to Save, Plan Ghana and International Organization for Migration in North and South Tongu; and NCCE in Ningo-Prampram.
The NCCE is also conducting community awareness-creation and capacity-building focussed on child protection issues at the school level. School clubs were formed known as the Civic Education Clubs at the junior high school level; these are often led by a teachers selected and trained on child protection issues who serves as the patrons of the clubs. The patron is responsible for organising meetings for club members where children are educated on the harmful effects of child protection issues so that they will be empowered to speak against these practices.
5.3.2 UNICEF NGO Partners International Needs, in close collaboration with the DCDSW and NCCE provided awareness-raising on Child’s Rights, educational support, and sexual health and reproductive rights lessons. They also work to establish community level structures that will continue the work with the community. International Needs discussed the rights and responsibilities of children and parents, particularly the children’s rights to go to school. This includes pregnant teenagers who they helped with school placement, providing them with educational materials and engaging them in counselling services. International Needs also established the model of the Community Child Protection Committee that is responsible for monitoring the children, educating the parents and reporting child abuses. The other UNICEF partners, such as Challenging Heights, Chance for Children, Kids’ Paradise, Seek to Save Foundation, International Organization for Migration, Plan Ghana, have all adopted an approach that includes rescuing abused children, re-integrating them into formal education or vocational training, providing them with alternative care in foster homes, and raising awareness on child’s rights among parents and community members. Action Aid provided livelihood skills training and start-up capital in the form of livestock and other resources. Challenging Heights, International Needs and Plan Ghana also assist parents of children to obtain alternative livelihood and accessing credit facilities through microfinance, which guarantees them some regular income sources for the maintenance of their children.
5.3.3 Other (Non-UNICEF) Partners The MSC Team of researchers also learned about government and NGOs implementing interventions in the MSC districts, aimed at protecting the child. The Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Education Service often team up with the NCCE and the Ghana Police-DOVVSU to educate the young people and parents on the dangers of parental neglect and child delinquency. These agencies often discuss children’s rights and responsibilities, the importance of education, family relationships, sexual health and reproductive rights, child labour, sexually transmitted infections, and personal hygiene. NGOs like CAMFED, World Vision and the Ark Foundation carried out sensitization and awareness creation in communities and provided direct support to children in the form of scholarships and school materials. CAMFED is a girl-child organisation focussed on promoting girls education. Their interventions covers the provision of scholarships and supply of school uniforms, bags, books and shoes to girls to sustain their interest in school. World Vision provides some community infrastructure such as schools and toilets. Some of the NGOs address the other basic needs of the family by providing support in order to improve livelihoods. Their interventions are indirect support to child protection since without these other basic needs, the child becomes more vulnerable and at risk.
Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
31 6.0 Qualitative Analysis of Key Findings based on the Child Protection Domains
This section provides detailed qualitative findings based on the selected MSC stories across the child protection domains across all the Phase Two assessment districts and communities. The qualitative analysis is presented across three sub-themes: 1) pre-intervention and the prevailing situation; 2) the interventions which took place to bring about the change; and 3) changes and most significant changes which took place in the child’s or parent’s life.
6.1 Child Migration and Trafficking Introduction This section presents the qualitative analysis of the MSC stories that were classified under the domain of Child Migration and Child Trafficking. It should be noted here that the domain is captioned “Child Migration and Child Trafficking” in consonance with the Phase One study in Northern Ghana. However, the analysis in the section is based on stories that clearly relate to only child trafficking and/or a combination of child trafficking and other domain(s). This is due to the fact that there were no stories collected related to child migration in the Phase Two study.
Child trafficking according to Article 3 (C) of the Palermo Protocol15, is “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation”. Exploitation in this context mainly implies forced labour and sexual exploitation. This definition according to Sertich and Heemskerk (2011), was adapted in Ghana’s Human Trafficking (Amendment) Act 784 (2009).
Children who have been intercepted or rescued from trafficked situations are known as rescued trafficked children. They are also known as trafficking survivors or child victims of trafficking. According to the 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report of the US Department of States, Ghanaian children are subjected to forced labor within the country in fishing, domestic service, street hawking, begging, pottering, artisanal gold mining, quarrying, herding, and agriculture. The report further states that more than 50% of children working on the Volta Lake are victims of child trafficking. Pufaa (2013) citing (Tengey and Oguaah, 2002) noted that child trafficking in Ghana is characterized by the frequent trafficking of children, primarily from the coastal fishing communities to work in the industry usually in the in-lad Volta lake areas of the Volta and Brong-Ahafo regions, often in exchange of money.
A total of forty-eight stories (48) on child trafficking were selected during the second phase of story- collection in southern Ghana. The distribution of the 48 child trafficking stories across the study districts reveal that the majority (50%) were from North Tongu District, while South Tongu district in the Volta region also had 3 (6.2%) selected MSC stories. In addition, 8 (16.7%) and 5 (10.4%) of selected stories were from Gomoa West and Awutu-Senya Districts, Central Region. In the Greater Accra Region, 8 (16.7%) stories were selected from Ningo-Prampram district whereas no child trafficking story emerged
15 United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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from the Ga West district. There were two stories classified as multiple domain stories; one of them bordered on a combination of Child Abuse/ Neglect, and Child Trafficking, while the other also bordered on child trafficking and child labour. This combination of domains is due to the close linkages between child trafficking due to child labour and child abuse.
Pre-Intervention and Prevailing Situation The pre intervention stage of analysis explores the pre-intervention and prevailing situation of children and adults before the intervention took place. This involves analysing what situation existed related to child trafficking at either the individual or community level, prior to the intervention taking place.
Child trafficking emerged as one of the major prevailing child protection issues present in the communities and districts visited. This was the case in both the individual story-collection stage as well as the focus group discussions with key opinion leaders across the various communities in the Volta, Greater Accra and Central regions. Child trafficking was mentioned in most interviews as a key child protection issue together with other interrelated issues such as child labour, child abuse and neglect, teenage pregnancy and child sexual abuse across the communities. For instance community elders and opinion leaders in Ahwiam Community in the Ningo-Prampram District indicated stated in the Focal Group Discussion (FGD):
“…the issue of child trafficking is also a big problem in this community. Both young boys and girls are given up to men to work in another town which prevents them from going to school” (FGD with Opinion Leader, Ahwiam Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
The following quotations are from interview extracts from the FGDs with community elders and opinion leaders which demonstrate the extent to which child trafficking was prevalent in the MSC communities:
“…another is child labour and child trafficking. Young children were taken from their community to another community to go and work. Young boys were taken from their community to galamsey sites to go and work. Young girls and boys are sometimes sent to Akosombo to help with fishing. The boys go to fish and the girls are fishmongers.” (FGD with Opinion Leaders, Ayetepa, Community, Ningo- Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
“We are confronted with several issues bothering our children as a community. Notable amongst them are child trafficking, child labour… Child trafficking was very rampant in this community. We normally gave out our children to people from Akosombo and received a cow as compensation or little sum of money…” (FGD with Opinion Leaders, Kpeyibor Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
One of the things affecting this community is that some people give their children to go and fish at Yeji (Volta region). Because of the poverty situation in the community, when the people come and make an offer, some parents are not able to resist and allow their children to go just like that (FGD with Community Leaders, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Similar views were expressed by the participants during the individual interview sessions during the story-collection process regarding the prevalence of child trafficking. A child in the Gomoa West District identified that out of several child protection concerns in his community, child trafficking was the most prominent. The child observed that:
“Child trafficking, child labour, and child abuse are common in this community but the most serious one is child trafficking where children are taken to Yeji for fishing” (Male Child, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
A male participant from the Awutu-Senya District (Central Region) while describing the prevalence of child trafficking, indicated how traffickers use deceitful tactics in luring parents to give their children out to them. He stated that “…child trafficking is endemic in this community. They come for your child and they tell you that they will take care of him very well and give you money but they don’t keep their promises” (Female Adult, Eqyaa Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region).
Another participant in the Ningo-Prampram district (Greater Accra) also linked the prevalence of child trafficking in their community to ignorance on the part of parents. Lack of parental awareness makes them susceptible to the incentives of child traffickers because parents do not know what their children will be made to go through. He was of the view that “Child trafficking is high due to the fact that parents are ignorant about child trafficking and education…they give up their children for child trafficking” (Male Adult, Ahwiam Community, Ningo-Prampram, Greater Accra Region).
Another participant in the Awutu-Senya District stated that:
“Children are given out to traffickers as a result of parental poverty to work in Yeji in the fishing industry. Both the trafficker and the parents negotiate for a small fee payment for the child to be taken away. The parents are assured of the child’s good care. There are other children who are hired on the beaches to mend fishing nets for a token fee. Child trafficking and labour are experienced in Senya community” (Female Adult, Senya Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region)
Key Actors and Means of Child Trafficking This sub-section focuses the analysis on identifying who the agents of child trafficking are and the means by which they have trafficked the children from their communities. The analysis of the MSC stories shows that the major players in the trafficking business are: parents, family members, and trafficking recruiters16. There were also a few instances of independent movement by children themselves who eventually were found in a trafficked situation.
The involvement and consent of parents and close family members in trafficking their children was found to be key to the process; often parents or close family members directly gave their children out to the agent/recruiter or “slave masters17” for a fee. Parents and family members often cited poverty as the main reason they gave up their children. The MSC assessment found that male and female parents and family members were equally engaged in child trafficking. There were also instances where parents had borrowed money from recruiters or “labour masters” and gave their children out to work in order to
16 Recruiters—These are people who serve as agents in recruiting children for onward sale to a slave master for a fee 17 Persons who take final custody of trafficked children and exploit them in various forms such as forced labour like fishing and other income generating activities Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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pay for the loan. This practice was common in the Awutu-Senya District, Central Region. The following are some extracts from the MSC stories collected demonstrating the involvement of parents, family members and recruiters in trafficking children.
“Parents used to give their children out to people they don’t even know at a price or some will ask the children to go and work to support the family. I know someone who the mother sold to a stranger for GHC 40. The boy was so sad that his mother sold him for just GHC 40” (Female Child, Hweda Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
“My mother gave me to my master to take me to Yeji. I was schooling when my father died. Then taking care of me alone by my mother was difficult so at age (7) seven she gave me to someone to take me to Yeji. My master’s name is Brother Esieku. I stayed with him to assist him to fish on the Yeji River” (Male Child, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
… At a point in time things became difficult and my parents advised me to go and fish for some time so that I can make money and go back to school. I accepted my parents’ suggestion and they gave me to a man from this community known as uncle Opah to work with. I started working with uncle Opah in fishing … (Male Child, Dego Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
“People, especially women used to come to this community to take children to other districts and communities in the name of providing for them and giving them a better education. Even some parents opt to give their children out because of poverty and lack of job opportunities in this community. We used to think it was a blessing until they started showing us what those children were engaged in” (Female Child, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
.. My daughter, whom I left behind to travel to Abidjan with my husband for work, was a victim of child trafficking. It was her own aunt who took her to Yeji to assist her in her fishing business (Female Adult, Senya Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region).
I loaned out two of my children for a woman in Akosombo for two years so she will work with them and then she will give me money. For about 4 years now she has been sending me money. I used it to feed the family and pay other bills (Female Adult, Ayetepa Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“I wanted to traffic 2 of my children to Yeji. I am Victoria, 22 years from Gomoa Hweda. I have four (4) children. The first one is 12 years, the second 10 years, third 8 years and the last one is years old… Now taking care of these four children alone was very difficult as it is now. I had the plan of giving the first two (2) to go and work with someone at Yeji, if they (the recruiters) come around …We were showed some videos of some trafficked children and what they go through at Yeji, yet still I wanted to traffic them because maintaining them alone was not easy for me at all” (Female Adult, Hweda Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
“Life was difficult for us so when someone came for me from my grandmother and promised to send me to school. They thought going away in cars was a thrilling experiences for us so I had no idea what the future held for me. I didn’t know the process was trafficking Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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either. I was told I will be away for 3 years. I barely had clothes or slippers to wear. My job was to take cattle to pasture and go to farm after” (Male Child, Dadome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
“My husband does not provide financial support back home and this has resulted in me having the responsibility of taking care of these seven children. Things became so hard for me and so I had an agreement with someone from Aveyame for one of my children to go and look after his cattle. The agreement was that after my son had spent 3 years there I am entitled to one cow from the man. My child spent a total of one and half years at Avegame with his master” (Female Adult, Bla Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“… My two children, one boy and one girl dropped out of school at a tender age of 12 and 13 respectively. I agreed for them to be taken to Akosombo; where the boy will be doing fishing and the girl will be a fishmonger” (Female Adult, Ayetepa Community, Ningo- Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
There was the case of a boy who decided to go to Yeji by himself, without any compulsion. However, this boy’s decision was influenced by two things: the parents’ inability to meet his educational needs (e.g. provide him with a school uniform), and one of his friends who had returned from Yeji and had told him that he would be able to get money to meet his educational needs. A longer extract of his story is reproduced in annex 5.
Although there was no evidence in the stories of the use of threats by agents in getting children trafficked, the use of deception was very common. In this respect, children were made to believe that they were being taken in order to continue with their education. The use of deception was mostly carried out by parents when giving the children out to recruiters or a trafficker. Some parents also made their children to believe that they were taken in order to live with an external family member such as an uncle or a grandparent, but upon arrival they realized they were only being used to work/fish/ farm. In addition, recruiters also used deception to convince some parents to give them their children. Examples of the use of deception in trafficking are found in the Kyeyibor Community of the North Tongu District Volta in the MSC quotations below:
“In 2013 I was trafficked by my mother to a fishing community called Sodzikope to my grandfather Mr. Jonathan. To my knowledge I was going to school but to my mother and my grandfather I was going to fish for my grandfather for my mother to get a reward. I must say life there was unbearable for a boy of my age, because I was nine years by then, I normally paddled the canoe far away in the lake to set for the fish to trap in” (Male Child, Kpeyibor Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
“One day a man came to promise my parents that he will take proper care of me at school and my parents agreed and asked me to go with him. I stayed with the man for about 12 years and during these years I was engaged in fishing and farming. The man used to force me to go into the river several times to catch fish. Even though the man was giving me food it was really difficult for me because I am forced to go deep into the water and sometimes at night to catch fish” (Male Child, Kpeyibor Community, North District, Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
36 Destination of Trafficked Children The analysis of the stories show that the main destination of children trafficked was to the sYeji area in the Volta region. However, Akosombo in the Eastern Region was also mentioned as a destination for trafficked children. Elements of cross-border trafficking were recorded in the Gomoa West District (Central Region) where some children were trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire for fishing.
Global research on child trafficking reveals that the exploitation of children is the ultimate end in child trafficking. Victims of child trafficking are subjected to labour and also sexual exploitation. All the stories collected on child trafficking bordered on the labour exploitation of children where they were engaged in fishing and other physical activities. In the majority of the cases, boys who were the victims of child trafficking ended up engaged in often abusive and exploitative child labour. The labour activities performed by trafficked children included paddling of canoes, mending of fishing nets, diving down deep into the water (to disentangle nets), and night fishing. The MSC stories also showed that child victims of trafficking were not only exploited in terms of their labour, but were also victims of severe abuse and violations. Some of the children mentioned that they were beaten, at times with heavy objects such as a canoe paddle, while others were fed only once or twice a day with small quantities of poor quality food. Some children were starved all together, especially when they failed to carry out a working task successfully. The following are some quotations based on the MSC stories collected on child trafficking.
“The man used to force me to go into the river several times to catch fish … it was really difficult for me because I am forced to go deep into the water and sometimes at night to catch fish” (Male Child, Kpeyibor Community, North District, Volta Region).
“We leave home every dawn at 1:00 am to go and fish. Sometimes he beat me and insult me when the net gets disorganized in the process. Most of the times, he makes me to dive into the water to get the net when it gets stuck on to something beneath the water. He beats me using the paddle at the slightest error” (Male Child, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
“I was at Dzigbe about four years ago. Fishing and farming was the order of the day at the time in Dzigbe, and I was not left out of it. I was fully involved in bringing in fish for the Dzigbe market on market days. Anytime I was not helping to fish on the Volta River, then you will find me on the farm doing my best to assist to my fullest capacity” (Male Child, Degome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“All I did was farming and fishing for small proceeds which done not even come to me. At the place, I wake up around 6am and go to the farm or fishing” (Male Child, Dadome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
“My mother asked me to go and stay with someone at Yeji who my mother said was my uncle. I stayed with the man at Yeji for 5 years. During the 5 years I had to help the man with his fishing activities every day. I was made to dive into the water several times to set the fishing nets under the water” (Male Child, Dadome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
“…the nature of the work was such that we went fishing even at night I was made to toe and untie the boat whenever we wanted to stop or move and whenever the boat Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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got stacked I was made to go into the water to free the boat…” (Male Child, Hweda Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
“At Akosombo the boy who was 10yrs by then will have to wake up at dawn at round 3am and sometimes late in the night, the boy will have to go with the fisherman for fishing. And when the boy will still be feeling sleepy and be reluctant to go with the man, the man will force the boy by whipping him mercilessly” (Male Adult, Old-Ningo Community, Ningo- Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
“Children between 7yrs and 18 years were being trafficked outside the community and also used as labour for fishing in the community. It became so severe that children became scarce in the community. The fishermen take the children into the deep sea where outboard motors go making the children paddle back to the shore all by themselves which exposes them to all dangers of life” (Male Adult, Ahwiam Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
“I know a friend who did not want to be a cowboy but his parents made him take care of their cattle in the community. The boy was 8 years then and he was controlling the cattle here in the community for a while. It got to a time the parents said “now you have to go to Akosombo” so they gave the boy to the men to work with in Akosombo. For about 6-7 years, the boy was working with the men because normally the money that the men gave to the boy’s parent will mean the boy has to work for 3 years and it’s renewed after those years. The boy who is my friend told me he went through hard treatment when he was at Akosombo; the man would beat him if he is unable to remove a stuck net that they have ordered him to dive into the lake for. He said sometimes he is not given food to eat for the little mistakes he does. Because they used to go for fishing, the boy will wake up at dawn and prepare the canoe and other tools alone in the cold weather” (Male Adult, Ahwiam Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
However, in the situations where girls were involved in the exploitation of their labour, they were mostly used in the smoking and selling of fish, or carrying out other forms of petty trading. Some female victims of child trafficking were also used in farm work while others were made to perform household chores for their “masters” at the expense of their education. These are some of the quotations from the MSC stories narrated by girls who were trafficked.
“… I was staying with an aunty who was a farmer. When I wake in the morning I go to the farm, fill the water tanks before taking my bath and go to school. When I get back from school I usually go back to the farm to work and also get back the river and before going I eat and take a bath and sleep. This is routine for every day of my life except that sometimes I do the cooking at home. In school too I have to copy notes read and do my homework and it was difficult for me because I don’t get time to do any of them” (Female Child, Kpeyibor Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
“Initially I was living with my mother but at some point I was asked to go and live with a rice farmer because she had more resources than my family did. While I was with there I was in school but never got the chance to attend school. This is because early in the morning I woke up to the riverside to wash after which I will dry out and wait before I leave” (Female Child, Bla Community, North Tongu, Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“My mother decided to send me to a woman in a different community to help me go to school. But later the schooling story was changed to pure water selling and beatings at times for the whole day in the scotching sun” (Female Child, Dadome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
“I normally prepared fish, washed the clothes of my uncle’s wife and always fetched water. I was very terrified on the lake because I also saw dead people on the lake and at times slave masters force young girls to sleep with them” (Female Child, Senya Beraku, Awutu-Senya Community, Central Region).
There was a unique case of cross-border trafficking of a girl from the Central Region to Cote d’Ivoire where she was made to sell. The girl in her narration stated that:
“I used to live with my mother but after a while she said she was not having money again and it will be very difficult for her to take care of me. She then decided to give me to a certain woman who took me to Cote D’dvoire. The woman sells food and cosmetics, so I used to help her and she gives my mother my pay on monthly bases. I wake up as early as 3am to help her cook after which we go to sell it. At around 2pm – 3pm the food and then we will go around with the cosmetics and come home at night around 7pm or 8pm sometimes” (Female Child, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
Cattle Rearing Activities and Trafficking for Non-Fishing Activities
Not all trafficked children ended up engaged in fishing activities. There were some children, especially from the North Tongu (Volta region) and Ningo-Prampram (Greater Accra) districts who engaged in cattle rearing and other forms of child labour and exploitation. Most of these children were given out by their parents or relatives to work as cattle herders, either for a small monetary reward or in kind payments such as a cow.
“… I had an agreement with someone form Avegame for one of my children to go and look after his cattle. The agreement was that after my son had spent 3 years there I am entitled to one cow from the man. My child spend a total of one and half year at Avegame with his master” (Male Adult, Bla Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“… My job was to take cattle to pasture and go to farm after” (Male Child, Dadome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
“… I herded cattle for him without going to school … after a few years, he passed away and I was sent to live with a brother of his. That was when my woes started. I will go to herd cattle for him while they go to farm” (Male Child, Dadome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
Effects of trafficking on Children The ultimate effect of trafficking based on the MSC stories reviewed suggest that child trafficking denies children a safe and loving environment, their education, and the means to grow into responsible adults. An analysis of the main effects of child trafficking reveals that majority of the interviewees believe child trafficking significantly affects the child’s right to uninterrupted schooling and educational completion. This has been attributed to the fact that trafficked children often end-up dropping out of school and rarely re-entering. Female victims get pregnant at an early age, and when they are unable to take care Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
39 of their children, they also resort to trafficking their own children---reproducing the vicious cycle. The following are some of the MSC story quotations which focus on the effect of child tracking on children.
“When Nicholas was brought back, he had developed an ear problem due to the diving he was doing at Yeji. When he turns the head sideways you could see some water coming out of his ears. He could not hear from one side of his ears, but now he is okay. He could not also associate with other children. How to socialize with other children was difficult. He was afraid of people totally” (Male Child, Dego Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
“Child Trafficking prevents boys and girls from going to school and the trafficked children end up being abused which leads to child labour” (Adult Male, Ayetepa Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“Children who are trafficked are usually abused and don’t have the opportunity to go to school, girls also drop out of school when they become pregnant” (Male Child, Egyaa Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region).
“Child trafficking is an issue because it leads to child labour which affects the health of the children and to some extent their education” (Male Child, Egyaa Community, Awutu- Senya District, Central Region).
“Some parents are engaged in child trafficking activities in the community. The number of girls getting pregnant is very high in the community which in turn leads to child trafficking because teenage mothers cannot take care of the child so they give them up for child trafficking” (Male Adult, Old Ningo Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“These are issues of child protection because the children who fall victims to child trafficking mostly drop out of schools and their lives destroys then they become burden in the society” (Male Child, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
Intervention Process (Role of Institutions and Change Actors) Both governmental and NGOs were implementing interventions in relation to child trafficking in the communities across the study districts. The chiefs and opinion leaders also put in place measures to curb the menace of child trafficking. These interventions were often complemented by sensitization and awareness-creation activities by the DCDSW and other government agencies, including rescue and reintegration activities, and the formation of the Community Child Protection Committees. Strengthening of Community Level Structures such as SMC’s and PTAs were other interventions being implemented across the study districts.
The Non-Governmental Organizations who implemented interventions on child trafficking were mainly the following: International Needs, Challenging Heights, and International Organization for Migration and Plan Ghana. However, there were other NGOs whose activities complemented the works of these organizations such as: World Vision, Compassion, CAMFED and Cheerful Hearts Foundation. There was also involvement of state actors in the implementation of child trafficking interventions. At the governmental level, the Department of Community Development and Social Welfare were key agencies involved along with the National Commission for Civic Education, and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
40 Sensitization and awareness creation on child trafficking Sensitization and awareness creation programmes were by far the most common of intervention implemented in the community on child trafficking. The essence of the intervention was to help educate the people on the issue of child trafficking, highlighting its dangers and how it eventually affects the growth and development of children as well as its contribution to school drop-out and teenage pregnancy. The target for sensitization on child trafficking was the entire community, while placing special focus on children, both at home and in schools. Parents and guardians of children were also key targets of such interventions since they mostly use the position of ‘power’ to give out the children for trafficking. It must be noted, however, that sensitization and awareness-creation was not sole focused on child trafficking. Focus was also on the other key issues of child protection such as sexual and reproductive health rights, rights and responsibilities of children, parents and community members towards the protection of children, child marriage, child labour etc. Thus, the sensitization and awareness creation was implemented in the holistic sense in order to provide for all the other issues of child protection but focusing on peculiarities of the various communities and districts. The following are extracts from the stories on children trafficking which illustrate the implementation of sensitization and awareness-creation as an intervention by the NGOs and CSOs:
“International Needs came to show videos of children who had been trafficked to Yeji to work on the lake. The kind of molestation they go through, the starvation and how they we made to dive into the water to get their net when stacked on to something in the lake. Then the father realized that his son has been trafficked also and by then he might be going through such difficulties. So he asked for the name of the son’s trade master and his contact from the mother and then went to Yeji to bring his son back” (Male Child, Dego Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
“Through Mr. Kanga (International Needs) there has been education on child rights and responsibilities. He taught us that as children as we are, the age for us to work is 18 years and above which we have not attained and so we should not be allowed to get involved in child labour but we can assist with some house chores. On child trafficking too he taught us that we could report any case or suspected cases of trafficking to the authorities the chief, assembly man, teachers or international needs” (Male Child, Dego Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
“International Needs educated us about child protection issues too and also helping those who were rescued by sending them back to school and giving them books, pencils and erasers. We also watched a video about certain boy who was also sold to a stranger and he took him to Yeji. The boy was helping him fish. He wasn’t giving him food and always beating him with the paddle. One day on the river, their net got entangled in the water, his master pushed him into the water so he could disentangle it, and unfortunately he hit himself on a stump and got really wounded. When they managed to bring him out the water, it didn’t take long and he died. I was crying when I watched that video and many members of the community were also crying especially the mothers. They explained to us that, that is the lives of those taken to Yeji for fishing. Most people came out and pledge never to give out their children anymore. The chief also said they will report anyone or parent who is suspected of trafficking his/her child”. (Female Child, Hweda Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“Challenging heights organise film shows on child trafficking periodically for the community, there is no organises called power to girls. They sometimes come to the schools to talk us to about teenage pregnancy” (Male Child, Egyaa Community, Awutu- Senya District).
“Sensitization and education by Challenging Height. They show videos of trafficked children and the suffering and maltreatment they go through in the hands of the master. Through this education, we are now aware of the things our sisters and brothers go through when they are taken out of the community” (Female Child, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
“World Vision felt the need to act a play on it and educate the community members on child trafficking and the need for parents to take care of their children and also take them to school. I played the role of a trafficked boy in the community and my guardians made me work so hard that in the end I was affected health wise. When the video was shown the community, it scared them and most people went back for their children from Akosombo. Those who were thinking of sending their children didn’t proceed on doing so” (Male Adult, Ahwiam Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“About 2 years ago IOM came to the community and picked three volunteers which am a member of for training at Sogakope for 3 days. We were made up of two males and a female. At the training, IOM taught us about the dangers of child trafficking, good parenting and child relationship” (Male Adult, Dzebetato Community, South Tongu District, Volta Region).
“IOM and Plan Ghana came to our community to talk to us about effect of child trafficking, child labour and child abuse. After the sensitization I could not sleep so the following morning I went to bring the children back to live with me” (Female Adult, Bla Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“I went for an IOM meeting in the community. It was then that I got to understand the harm I am causing to my children and how am destroying their future. After the meeting, I told the people I have my children on trafficking so l went to bring them back for them to have access to education” (Female Adult, Bla Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
“One day, IOM came to gather the people and talk to us about the need for us to ensure all our children are sent to school. This changed my thinking a lot and I decided to find out from my son how conditions are over there was, my son narrated some horrible incidents which makes it unsafe for him to stay there. I discussed with my husband about taking back our child from his master. He agreed with me and we both went to rescue the child from that man” (Female Adult, Bla Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
The state actors (e.g. DCD and SW) are also involved in the sensitization and awareness creation on child trafficking at the district and community level. In most cases, they collaborated with the NGOs and CSOs to carry out their activities successfully. The key state institutions that engaged in sensitization and awareness creation were the Department of Community Development and Social Welfare, National Commission for Civic Education and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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(CHRAJ). The following extracts were taken from the MSC stories and demonstrate the importance of state institutional involvement in sensitization and awareness creation:
“During that period the Ningo-Prampam District Assembly staff had heard about the high rate of child trafficking in the community. So the Community Development staff from the District Assembly came up with an anti-child trafficking monitoring team which came to sensitize members in the community on the negative effects of child trafficking” (Male Adult, Ayetepa Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
“The PTA organized meetings to sensitize parents on child protection issues and importance of education. A group of students from university of Ghana meet and sensitize community members on the welfare of the children. The government through the assembly of Shai-Osudoku assembly sent out monitoring team to locate parents who lead them to the village to bring back the children” (Male Adult, Ayetepa Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
“DCD staff and social welfare and other NGOs started educating the members on child trafficking. We were also encouraged by pastors, social welfare and the community committee to send our children to school” (Female Adult, Ayetepa Community, Ningo- Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
“Social Welfare and Community Development in collaboration with International Needs Ghana undertook a community sensitization programme on ways of protecting our children” (Male Adult, Morklikpo Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
Rescue and Reintegration of Trafficked Children One of the major interventions of NGOs and CSOs is the direct rescue and reintegration of trafficked children. These organizations, mainly embark on rescue missions in the various destination zones for trafficked children, especially Yeji, Volta Region. The organizations sometimes rely on information given to them by the community members (usually during the sensitization meetings) and through key informants. The organizations also collaborate with the Anti-Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service to rescue children in trafficked situations. The main UNICEF -upported NGOs engaged in rescuing trafficked children are: Challenging Heights, International Needs, Free the Slaves, and International Organization for Migration.
Following the successful rescue of children from the trafficked situation, the organisations proceed to reintegrate the rescued children. Pufaa (2013:29) citing Surtees (2013) describes reintegration as “a process of recovery, and economic and social inclusion following a trafficking experience. It includes the settlement of children into a safe and secured environment, access to a reasonable standard of living, and mental and physical well-being, opportunities for personal, social and economic development, as well as access to social and emotional support.”
The analysis of the MSC stories revealed that the NGOs proceed to provide children with varying forms of assistance towards their reintegration into society after they are rescued. In most cases, this takes the form of psycho-social support at the initial stages and then more material support. The children are mostly reintegrated with their families after which they are sent to school in line with the best interest of the child principle. Those sent to school are provided with educational support in the form of school uniforms, books, sandals, school bags, pen, pencils, etc. Some organizations go further to Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
43 provide parents of rescued trafficked children with income-generating activities, while other parents are enrolled unto micro-finance and small loan schemes. A female adult from a community in the Awutu-Senya District summarises the rescuing and reintegration process of her children by Challenging Heights in the following words:
“After rescuing him, they did not bring him back to me and I did not know where he was. I learnt that they took him to their rehabilitation centre because he went through a lot of ordeal and trauma. In fact, I think he was abused severely. They invited me to the shelter and when I called for his return home I was told he needed to complete his rehabilitation cycle. In fact, I think my son really suffered because some of the children only spend 3 months there, but my son had to spend 6 months going through rehabilitation. At first he did not want to return because apparently his master had told him that his father and I had sold him so he was the master’s property.
The child was 14 when they took him there. He has been treated for behavioural problems but he had developed hearing problems. I have now learnt that some of the children are taken there when they are very small and the masters change their names and identity so that they own them and they cannot be traced. The traffickers just brain wash them and the children tend to hate their own parents, but the truth is that the traffickers deceive the parents into giving out their children. I am now happy that my child is back and he goes to school. Challenging Heights provides for his education. They give him educational supplies, school uniforms, school bags, and shoes for school. They buy his textbooks every other academic term. I know they monitored the child and even we his family. Before they brought my son back to me, they gave me livelihood empowerment; they did not give me money but rather they came here to ask about what I do for a living and I told them that I sold sugar cane. So they bought the sugar cane that I sell. Even the sugar cane that you see here was all given to me by the Challenging Heights’ people (Female Adult, Eqyaa Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region)
The following are some other quotations from MSC stories describing the rescuing and reintegration process by various organizations, as well as the support given to them.
“Through the support of International Needs, Community Development, and Free the Slaves, the community members are all involved in bringing back all trafficked children have also form community child protection committee to mentor and report all cases to the palace to arrest the culprits” (Female Child, Dadome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“From Senya my nephew was taken to a Challenging Heights rehabilitation Centre. During the rehabilitation my nephew was enrolled in a school” (Male Adult, Senya Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region).
“International Needs provide support to those trafficked but rescued children to settle well in the community and also helping them with their educational needs” (Female Child, Hweda Community, Gomoa West, Central Region)
“As a mother of the rescued child, I was given food items to sell by Challenging Heights and use the proceeds to provide for my seven children. The preference of my daughter to learn a vocation was respected by the CSO. She was enrolled in a vocation school Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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and trained as a seamstress and she was given the necessary tools to learn the trade. My daughter has now got a life-long profession to enable her become self-dependent. My income has also been strengthened through assistance by the Challenging Heights to trade to enable me provide for the needs of my children” (Female Adult, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region)
“The most significant change to me is that, it has brought a lot of change into the community and myself. Because after the play, a lot of people brought their children back to school, and some of them are now graduate and gainfully employed and are supporting their families” (Male Adult, Ahwiam Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
Most Significant Change The key changes that occurred as a result of the interventions include increased awareness of child trafficking among community members including children. We can largely attribute these changes to the sensitization and awareness creation activities by various organizations, as well as the formation of the Community Child Protection Committees and Community Level Structures to monitor children. MSC stories also reveal that significant/positive changes have come about regarding the reintegration of children in schooling along with the provision of their basic educational needs. These significant changes came about as a result of the rescuing and reintegration interventions of the various institutions across the study districts. The provision of livelihood options for parents of rescued trafficked children was also seen as a source of significant change based on the fact that this intervention brought about a regular source of income to parents who could better provide for their children.
Most significant change stories revealed that interventions in the districts were helping to increase awareness on child trafficking issues and the importance of education which was having a positive effect on attitudinal and behavioural changes at the family and community levels. Communities were now aware of the dangers of child trafficking and are willing to bring an end to the practice. On the other hand, rescued trafficked children who have been reintegrated saw the most significant changes in their lives in relation to their enrolment and retention in school. Interviews with rescued children revealed that changes had been brought about because they were reintegrated in school where there attendance was now regular, they also had improved academic performance and learning outcomes. Parents also saw change in relation to having their children back home with them.
“…this change is very significant because I have my son back. Hmmm! (sigh of relief), since my son came he goes to school alright and he is doing well. I am also earning quite a lot from my sugar cane business and life is quite good now” (Female Adult, Eqyaa Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region)
“The most significant change to me is that now I know the importance to send children to school. At first I did not see why children should go to school. That is the reason I sent the two children to Akosombo. But now I have realized that the children are my future and future of the community, and they must be protected for a bright tomorrow for ourselves and the community” (Female Adult, Ayetepa Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra).
“My niece is now getting help from the anti-child trafficking team while she goes to school. They provide school uniform and other basic needs. They also monitor her to ensure she Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
45 does not stop going to school and also see to it that her academic performance improves. I can confidently say that education has change her life because of the fluency in the English language and the respect she shows at home” (Male Adult, Ayetepa Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra).
“… I have learnt a lot about child trafficking and child labour. I used to think it was good for someone to take you to his/her community because I thought they were helping them to get a better future than those of us in the village, but now I know what they really do to those children” (Female Child, Hweda Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
For me, this support was a dream come true. Since they started supporting me, coming to school was no longer a problem since I had all the basic things. Their support also helped me to study hard, and my performance also improved a lot. This is what I think is the most significant change in my life due to the support I got from International Needs. Without their support, I would not have been in school right now. I would have been fishing or trying to find some work to support myself” (Male Child, Dego Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
“I am now know what these children go through. We have seen the videos, and it has created the awareness of child trafficking and child labour” (Female Child, Dego Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
“Going back to school is the most significant change in my life. This is because going back to school was the reason why I went to Yeji to work for 2 years but to no avail” (Male Child, Hweda Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
“I am very happy to say that, now in my community those children brought back are now enrolled in school, therefore increasing school enrolment since the CCPC work is on-going. Child Rights Clubs have been formed in the schools to explain to the children their roles and responsibility. Now most of the children aspire to be enrolled in school to become good leaders for the community. I have also noticed that, the attitude of our children have positively changed with most of the youths now engaging in communal labour when the elders make announcement to that effect. I am very delighted to say that everyone in the community had taken a firm stand to stopping child trafficking in Morklikpo” (Male Adult, Morklikpo Community, North Tingu Distirt, Volta Region)
“I am very happy because I am in school and most importantly I have escaped from trafficking. Even today as I talk to you, if the woman comes back and ask me to follow her and that she will kill a cow for me every day, I will not follow her because I have escaped slavery and will not go back there never and never. The future is more important, and my education is necessary” (Female Child, Dadome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
“I have seen great change in my life and that of other beneficiaries. We now come to school without unnecessary absenteeism. For me, I have since then take every exam seriously. I appreciate this gesture so much” (Male Child, Dadome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“I have been in school for one year now, and life is far better than the fishing, I have not been in heaven like I would describe here as my heaven because am free to do what I want. This is the day I never thought of it in my life. That is why I have considered this change as the most significant change in my life. Because of this, I have started my campaign against child trafficking in my own way by telling my classmates to run when they hear about trafficking them to fishing” (Male Child, Kpeyibor Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
Conclusion This section analysed the Most Significant Change (MSC) stories on child trafficking and migration. The analysis showed how child trafficking was prevalent in the study districts which were often the source of sending communities. The analysis also revealed that the key actors engaged in child trafficking which included parents and guardians of children as well as trafficking recruiters. The common means used for child trafficking was deception of a better life at the destination area. There was no case of force in the cases studies collected but this does not mean that it was not happening but it was not picked up through the MSC process. The MSC process did reveal that parents and guardians played an influential role in convincing children to embark on a trafficking mission. Trafficking recruiters paid very small sums of money (often less than 15 USD) to the parents/guardians of children. Some parents and guardians also entered into agreements with the recruiter to remit funds to them on a regular basis. Poverty and ignorance were cited as the main reason for giving children out for trafficking but there were also deeper issues of female only households responsible for large numbers of children and cases of divorce and family breakdown. Parental inability to provide for the needs (especially educational needs) of their children was a route cause which made some parents and even children decide to engage in child trafficking. Peer influences were also common in the cases where children took their own decision to go to Yeji.
The MSC stories revealed that the majority of children trafficked across the three regions were taken to Yeji and Akosombo, where they engaged in fishing activities, while others were used for herding cattle. Children trafficked for fishing described their work to include diving deep into water to disentangle nets, mending fishing nets, paddling boats, going on fishing expeditions at dawn and late into the night. These conditions can clearly be classified as hazardous labour based on ILOs definition. In all cases of child trafficking cases revealed that there was direct exploitation of their labour. The MSC analysis further showed that child trafficking apart from the physical harm and psychological trauma experienced by children, also led children to drop out of school and not re-enter; female trafficked victims often got pregnant and eventually dropped out of school.
Sensitization and awareness creation, rescuing and reintegration of trafficked children and the formation of Community Child Protection Committees and Community Level Structures were the key interventions implemented by the organizations across the MSC target districts. The purpose of these interventions was to increase the awareness on the risks/dangers of child trafficking. The institutions who formed groups like the Community Child Protection Committee, Community Level Structure and School-Based Clubs used these to facilitate the education and sensitization activities.
The recorded changes resulting from the interventions were mainly in the form attitudinal and behavioural change at both individual and community levels. The significant was related to the community reawakening its members, parents and guardians against child trafficking; this was part of the strategy by UNICEF to build a “first Line of Defence” which advocates that families and communities should form Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
47 the “First Line” for the protection of children against all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation.18 Changes in terms of rescuing and reintegration interventions was mainly focussed on children being free from torture, enrolled in school and the provision of their educational needs. Enrolled children was the next step toward recovery by ensuring children were re-enrolled, monitoring to ensure regular school attendance, improved academic performance and learning outcomes---these were all identified as the most significant changes to them. The provision of income generating activities was also seen as a major change resulting in the empowerment of parents in their ability to sustain a livelihood and provide ongoing support to their rescued children.
6.2 Child Labour and Child Work Introduction The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines child labour to be any form of work that is hazardous to the child both physically and mentally and also deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity. Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560) defines exploitative labour as “work that deprives the child of his/her health, education or development”. The Act sets the minimum age for admission into employment at 15 years for general employment, 13 years for light work and 18 years for hazardous work. Hazardous work in this context refers to “work posing a danger to the health, safety or morals of a person”. Such work includes but is not limited to fishing, quarrying, porterage or carrying of heavy loads. In light of this, not all work carried out by children could be termed “child labour”. Work carried out by children above the nationally designated minimum age that does not interfere with their schooling is generally regarded as being something positive. Such activities include helping the parents around the home or assisting in a family business. The Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) are defined in ILO Convention No. 182 to include: ¡¡ All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; ¡¡ The use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances; ¡¡ The use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties; ¡¡ Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children. UNICEF (2015) estimated that 33.9% of Ghana’s children aged between 5 and 14 years are involved in child labour including hazardous work such as fishing, mining and quarrying. Similarly, the Ghana Living Standard Survey 6 (GLSS 6) report indicate that children between the age of 5-17 are engaged in economic activities, child labour and hazardous forms of child labour.
This section of the report analyses the Most Significant Change stories that were collected under the child labour domain. The data analysis follows the pattern of the previous section in which three stages
18 (Available at: https://www.unicef.org/ghana/protection_7534.html). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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are presented: the pre-intervention stage, the intervention stage and the post-intervention stage19. A total of 45 stories on child labour were collected across the six districts with Awutu-Senya and North Tongu districts having the highest number of child labour stories: 14 (31.1%) and 13 (28.9%) respectively. Gomoa West had 8 (17.8%) stories; 6 (13.3%) stories from South Tongu; and there were 2 (4.4%) stories each from Ga West and Ningo Prampram districts.
Pre-intervention stage The pre-intervention situation based on the Most Significant Change (MSC) across the three regions shows children being engaged in diverse child labour related activities; child labour was attributed to parents’ inability to provide for the basic needs of their children due to high levels of poverty in the communities. The main child labour activities were: fishing, cattle herding and farming, and petty trading. These child labour activities had a gender dimension with boys mainly engaged in fishing, cattle herding and farming while girls were involved in petty trading activities. The MSC assessment revealed that child labour and child trafficking were closely intertwined; child labour activities were often the end result of child trafficking. The incidence of child labour in the sampled Districts were more frequent among trafficked children mostly boys.
Fishing Activities In most of the MSC stories, children’s engagement in fishing was the dominant child labour activity across the six selected district. This was as a result of children working with parents, guardians and relatives in fishing activities. The MSC study found that parents involved had knowledge that their children were engaged in harzardous fishing activities for small monetary gain. Community leaders in Mumford community in the Gomoa West district in the Central Region reported “some parents are forced to allow their children do certain hazardous works, including going to Yeji for fishing, Some of these children end up losing their lives or suffer severe injury”. In some cases, relatives of children whose parents were not able to enrol them in school took advantage of that situation by encouraging such children to live with them, telling them that they would enrol them in school. This was not often the case; they instead engaged them in their own fishing activities which sometimes posed dangers to the child’s life and interrupted their regular school attendance.
Some of these children as young as 8 years were made to dive deep into the sea to “fix” entangled fishing nets. This practice falls under the category of worst forms of child labour under ILO Convention No. 182 because it poses a tremendous threat to children’s lives. Several of the children engaged in the fishing activities did not know how to swim. A 15-year old boy from the Gomoa West District in the Central region narrating his experience as a fisher boy at the time he was 11 years old said “the water too was full of tree stumps and this could injure you when you dive into the water. I saw some boys who lost one of their eyes when they dived into the water, as for me I was lucky I had only bruises and sores on my shin”.
19 The intervention stage seeks to discuss the situation of child labour in the six selected districts before the implementation of child protection interventions. The intervention stage will talk about the various child protection interventions that have been implemented in the communities in the six districts as well as the institutions or organisations implementing these interventions. The post-intervention stage will present the outcomes of the interventions in the communities, the changes that have resulted from the intervention as well as their impacts on the beneficiaries at the individual, family and community levels Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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The children who gave their stories narrated the ordeals they went through in the hands of their care- givers (they were mostly uncles and grandfathers of the children). They felt the fishing activities were beyond their strength and were harmful to their health. In some cases, the children had to wake up as early as 3:00 AM to embark on fishing expeditions on empty stomachs. A 17-year old boy in South Tongu District narrated how his maternal uncle came to take him from his mother to live with him in Yeji because his mother was not able to look after him due to poverty. He was made to work 17 hours a day on fishing expeditions which affected his health. He intended escaping from his uncle but did not have money for transport. The boy had this to say:
“When I was with my uncle at Yeji, in fact, I had to wake up about 3:00 AM to go fishing on an empty stomach, until about 7 PM before we returned from the lake. After this, we would eat with the elderly men and we were mostly unsatisfied. In fact, life was very terrible”. (Male child, Sokpoe community, South Tongu District, Volta Region).
Similarly, in the North Tongu District, a 13-year old boy had this to say about his uncle with whom he was asked to live, “I was asked to go live with my uncle in Fanokorpe Abora when I was in class 4. I quit school to go be with him and all he made me do was to fish for sale. I went to fish for him yet I was not properly fed. I did things no child should be made to do”. (Male child, Dadome community, North Tongu District)
The MSC stories narrated by the children focus on the inhuman treatment they were subjected to were corroborated by community leaders in the New Ningo community in the Ningo- Prampram district during a FGD. The following was said about how the children are treated, “the children are sent outside the community and used as labourers… Boys are forced and tortured which affects their health” (FGD with Community Leaders, New Ningo Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
The MSC stories revealed that the majority of children did not voluntarily participate in fishing activities in their communities but were coerced to take part, even though some resisted or protested because they were aware of the dangers associated with fishing. The few children who voluntarily engaged in fishing did so since their parents needed them and or they had to work to obtain money for their basic needs including buying of school materials such as uniforms and books. This is captured in the following quotations:
“I told my father that I needed school uniform but he told me he had no uniform issues with me so I should get it myself since children of my age were working to provide for their school needs”. (Male child, Hweda community in Gomoa West District, Central Region)
“I was five years old by then but I was asked to work at the lake. I refused because I did not have the strength to pull the fishing net but I was forced to do it. I was always beaten whenever I exhibited stubborn behaviour” (Male child, Senya community in the Awutu- Senya District, Central Region.
“My grandfather and I would wake up at dawn to go and set up our fishing traps, and after school I will go with him to catch the fish. My grandfather will insist I go fishing with him even when I was feeling cold”. (Male child, Dzebetato community in the South Tongu District, Volta Region) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Fishing was the major child labour activity in the selected MSC districts. With the exception of the two Greater Accra districts (e.g. Ga West and Ningo Prampram) which had a total of 5 stories on child labour, the nature of child labour in the other four districts were similar. Children from these four districts were trafficked to Yeji in the Brong Ahafo Region for fishing activities. However, a FGD with community leaders in the Ningo-Prampram district showed that some children in the district are sent to Ada for fishing but stories about experiences in Ada did not feature much in the stories of change. The community leaders in Anwiam community in the Ningo-Prampram district were of the view that children go to the sea to fish for the adults for some economic benefit. This means children were thought to be paid to help the adults in fishing – a situation which the elders said was an issue of concern to them because it was a form of child exploitation. This was captured from a FGD “the children go to the sea and work for adults for a fee”. It was clear from the stories that it is only boys that are engaged in fishing in all the districts visited for the story-collection. The girls were mainly engaged in the smoking of the fish and its trading.
Cattle herding and farming Cattle herding and farming also emerged as key child labour activities that children were engaged. Analysis of the MSC stories showed that cattle herding was hazardous to the health and lives of the children as they are exposed to the dangers of the bush, snake bites and the physical harm the cattle can cause based on the fact that children were small and young in age. The farming activities and cattle herding also interfered with their school activities, leading to dropping out, particularly on the part of boys. Dropping out of school to engage in farming activities deprives children of their educational development and, according to the Ghana Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), is described as exploitative labour.
Cattle herding and farming by children of school-going age were recorded in stories from the Volta Region (North Tongu and South Tongu districts) but were not recorded in the other four districts. This may be due to the fact that the child labour activities in the other four districts was predominantly fishing. The children, mostly boys, were looking after the cattle of their parents, which prevented them from going to school and/or enrolling in school at a later age. Starting school so late affected some of the boys psychologically. Some of the comments of the children are presented below:
“I could not start school at an early age. This was due to the fact that I was engaged in cattle herding at the age of ten. It started in 2010 and ended at the later part of 2014. Here I was enrolled in the Degorme D/A school at the age of 15. I sometimes feel embarrassed to mention my class to other people. This is so because at my age, I am expected to be far ahead, trying to attain my senior high education” (Male child, Degorme community, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“I was in KG, my father needed a cattle herdsman and did not have anybody at the time to take care of our family cattle. Most of my senior brothers herded cattle just like me so when it was my time I couldn’t refuse. I dropped out of school to take up the responsibility which was now staring me in the face as the youngest at the time” (Male child, Lasiwenu, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“I dropped out from class 2 when I was 9 years old to herd cattle. It was too much work for me having to close from school and asked to go herd cattle. Even when I come back without feeding I will be sent to work and it was too much so I dropped out eventually” (Male child, Kpeyibor, North Tongu District, Volta Region) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
51 Petty Trading Selling on the streets or at the markets was recorded in the stories as the pre-intervention situation of child labour, predominantly by girls, in the six sampled districts. Parents were not able to meet the basic needs of the children, so the girls were engaged in selling of commodities in order to support the family. The girls were mostly engaged in the processing and selling of smoked fish, which is a time consuming activity. This usually interfered with their school activities since the girls had to begin processing the fish in the morning at same time that they were expected to be in school. This resulted in lateness to school and irregular school attendance. An extract from a MSC story narrated by a female child attests to this:
“There were times I didn’t go to school the whole day because when uncle comes I have to prepare the fish for smoking. This will take as long as 4 hours. After, I will have to help my Aunty Akua smoke. We will finish by 9 am and she would sometimes leave me to sell the fish. When this happens I would go to bed without food”. (Female child, Anomansa- senya, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region)
Helping one’s parents in the markets may not necessarily be referred to as child labour, but the fact that the girls were engaged in selling as early as 4 a.m. and as late as 11 p.m. made petty trading in some circumstances a child protection issue. Interviews revealed that petty trading often exposed girls to all kinds of risks such as exposing them at night to men who might exploit them sexually. A 17-year old girl in the South Tongu district narrated her story that revealed she got pregnant as a result of the petty trading. “I started selling onions and through that I met a guy who became my boyfriend and latter got me pregnant”. Another 13-year old girl in the Awutu-Senya District made this remark “my grandmother woke us up as early as 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. to go and sell at the shop. Yes, there was another girl with her. She was also my grandmother’s sister’s daughter. People come to buy biscuits and other things at that ungodly time too. They are fisher folks and they just don’t sleep.”
Interviews with girls revealed the other trading activities they were engaged in:
“We the children have to go and fetch firewood to sell or go and cut raffia to dry for sale at Dabala market to support our parents who cannot provide us with everything we need. I was not left out either. I always join children to cut raffia to dry and sell in the market for my needs. Sometimes, I will go to school very late but my teacher was so kind and will never punish me because she knows what I go through every day”. (Female child, Agorta, South Tongu District, Volta Region)
“…the girl lived with a woman who was fond of maltreating her and has also refused to send her to school or enrol her in a vocational training programme. Instead the woman made her to sell her sugarcane which is always loaded in excess of her strength” (Female adult, Mumford, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
Traditionally, domestic chores are seen to be the reserve of girls in Ghanaian homes, which was brought out in the MSC stories collected. The stories revealed that girls were taking care of most, if not all, domestic chores without their male siblings taking part. They were burdened with cooking, fetching water, sweeping the compound and other chores before going to school. This situation led to the girls being late for school and missing important early morning lessons. Upon return from school, the girls had little time to rest and had to help in preparing the evening meal. Below is a quotation from an interview with a young girl in Ga West district attesting to this: Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“At first, I used to come to school very late and ended up missing some classes I have an older sibling and a younger one but I used to do most of the work in the house. When I wake up, I have to finish everything before I come to school”. (Female child, Akotoshie No. 2, Ga West District, Greater Accra Region”
Please see also annex 6 for one of the top ten selected MSC stories on child labour.
Intervention Stage (intervention by NGOs and government institutions) Various NGOs and government institutions working on child protection have over the years carried out interventions and activities to eliminate specific child labour issues in their operational areas. As stated in the pre-intervention stage, child labour in the six sampled districts, resulted from poverty and parental neglect in the communities. Therefore, interventions of the non–state actors (NGOs) had to do with monitoring children engaged in harmful child labour activities, supporting their education and providing their mothers with income-generating activities to empower them financially to be able to meet the needs of the children. The NGOs that were identified by MSC story tellers as having implemented interventions in their communities were: ¡¡ Challenging Heights and the Cheerful Heart Foundation in Awutu-Senya District; ¡¡ International Needs in Gomoa West District; ¡¡ International Organisation for Migration and International Needs in North Tongu District; ¡¡ Seek to Save Foundation and International Organisation for Migration in South Tongu District; ¡¡ Kinder Paradise and International Justice Mission in Ningo-Prampram District; ¡¡ World Vision in Ga West District. Challenging Heights Intervention The intervention of Challenging Heights was seen in the Awutu-Senya District of the Central region. The organisation has helped set up Community Child Protection Committees (CCPC) in the various communities. Their mandate is to identify children who have been trafficked and are engaged in child labour-related activities. Members of the committee - upon identifying a child who is engaged in child labour - report to Challenging Heights, requesting the organisation to take actions against the perpetrator. Actions by Challenging Heights may lead to the arrest and prosecution of child labour offenders.
Interviews with community members revealed that the partnership between the CCPC and Challenging Heights was seen to be effective in identifying and rescuing of trafficked children who were engaged in child labour in fishing communities. Below are some quotations confirming the working relationship between CCPC and Challenging Heights.
“An informant gave information to the Community Child Protection Committee to the effect that a girl has been seen carry excessive load of sugarcane which she was selling. After following up, it was realized the girl lived with a woman who fond of maltreating her and has also refused to send her to school or enrol her in a vocational training programme. Instead the woman made her sell her sugarcane which is always loaded in excess of her strength”. (Female adult, Mumford, Gomoa West District, Central Region) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“I was however brought back to Senya. My grandmother heard that Challenging Height NGO were moving round the community arresting people who have engaged children in child labour. She was afraid because she knew that if they caught me, they were definitely going to arrest her so that is why I was brought back here”. (Female child, Winneba Road community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region)
“I was helping my father fish until one day when Challenging Heights came to the lake and was going round arresting children of school going age and I was also grabbed. We were taken straight to Swedru to their shelter and we were put in school.” (Male child, Senya Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region)
After intervening to stop children from engaging in child labour related activities, Challenging Heights enrols them in school and provides them with school materials such as books, uniforms, and bags and also pays the school fees, in order to reduce the burden on parents and motivate them to remain in school. The inability of parents to provide these educational materials for their children was one of the main reasons given for their non-attendance/dropping out and their subsequent engagement in fishing and other child labour-related activities. Analysis of the MSC stories showed that the children were happy to be re enrolled in school and provided with learning materials by Challenging Heights. This encouraged them to stay in school.
In order to empower the women to provide for the needs of their children, Challenging Heights supports mothers of rescued child labour victims with income-generating activities. The women are given some quantity of fish to start a fish-selling businesses. This was confirmed by a 13-year old girl from Kroboekyir community in the Awutu-Senya district. “Challenging Heights give my mother fish to trade so that they can take care of victims of trafficking”. Another girl child from Anomansa-senya community said, “They gave my mother some fish to start smoking and sell because she told them she couldn’t take care of me. They enrolled me in their vocational training school to learn to become a provider.” Cheerful Heart Foundation This foundation also provides educational materials to children who have been rescued and need financial assistance to enrol in school. They provide educational scholarships to children after they have successfully passed interviews. The scholarship includes payment of school fees, provision of uniforms, shoes and bags. According to one child, the support from the Cheerful Heart Foundation was the main reason he stayed in school. “As a result of the assistance I am very punctual to school. I am seriously learning what is being taught in class. I participate in all curricular activities in the school. I am able to speak English fluently and confidently in public” (Male child, Senya Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region).
Cheerful Heart Foundation’s intervention is not limited to the provision of educational support to children, but they also sensitize individuals and families about child protection. This was mentioned in a FGD with male children in Senya community, Awutu-Senya district “Cheerful Heart provides educational sensitization to individual families and support such as school bags”. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
54 International Needs Analysis of the MSC stories showed that International Needs’ child protection intervention on child labour covers the Gomoa West and North Tongu Districts. In these districts, International Needs offers educational support and counselling to trafficked children. Their work in the communities is facilitated by the CCPC workers, who identify trafficked children and report to International Needs. The children are also educated about child trafficking and child labour, and are asked to report these issues to the CCPC. This statement was made in a FGD with female children of Degome in the North Tongu district “They also engage in rescuing the children from the traffickers and also advise us to report any incidence of trafficking and child labour to the CCPC.” This strategy is similar to that of Challenging Heights in the Awutu-Senya District. The use of community members in addressing child protection issues is seen to be effective. They also help in the formation of child rights clubs in schools to educate the children on their rights and responsibilities. The major intervention by International Needs, as seen in the stories, was the educational support to children rescued from child labour-related work. The educational support was in the form of payment of school fees, provision of school uniforms, books, school bags, sandals pens and pencils. In addition to these materials, girls are provided with sanitary pads to use during their menstrual cycles so as not to skip school. Extracts from the stories attesting to International Needs’ intervention can be seen below:
“International Needs then came to my aid. They spoke to my grandmother and explained to her the dangers of the work which I was engaged in and how that can affect my life. They took me back to school and even my brother. They provided us with books, pencils, erasers and pen and even paid of the fees”. (Male child, Mumford, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
International Organization for Migration (IOM) IOM’s intervention was in two out of the six sampled districts - South Tongu and North Tongu districts. Their intervention involved rescuing trafficked children. Their strategy in tackling child trafficking and subsequently child labour was the use of community volunteers in the fight against child trafficking. Community volunteers are trained on child trafficking and child labour by IOM, and they are expected to educate community members on the dangers of child trafficking and child labour, as well as identify and report cases of child trafficking/child labour to IOM for action. Focus Group Discussion with community opinion leaders revealed that they have between 9 and 20 community volunteers per community, depending on the size of the community. These volunteers are largely men, as can be seen in this comment made in a FGD with opinion leaders of Kpeyibor community in North Tongu District: “We have 12 members in the committee. They are all men because the committee was formed after training from IOM and the trainees were all men”. In Dadome-Mefe community the opinion leaders revealed “We have 9 members. It’s made up of 7 males and 2 females”.
In the two districts in the Greater Accra Region (Ga West and Ningo-Prampram), very few stories were recorded on child labour. A careful read of the stories shows that Kinder Paradise was working with the Department of Social Welfare trying to tackle child labour in the Ningo-Prampram district. Kinder Paradise, through its officers in the various communities, identifies cases of child labour and reports to the Department of Social Welfare. Action Aid was also mentioned as educating children on the effects of child labour in the Ga West District. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
55 Intervention by Government Institutions Aside from the interventions of NGOs in tackling child labour in the sampled communities, government institutions were identified as complementing the efforts of the NGOs in implementing their intervention. These institutions were the National Commission for Civic Education (NCC), the Department of Community Development (DCD), and the Department of Social Welfare (DSW). These institutions’ interventions were in the areas of advocacy and community sensitization on child protection. It was evident from the stories that these institutions work closely with the NGOs to undertake their activities. For example, the South Tongu District DSW’s close work with IOM is demonstrated by the following story:
“Some officers from the Social Welfare and IOM came to our house with my mother. I was later called and was told that I should start preparing to go and live with my mother at Sokpoe”. (Female child, Sokpoe community, South Tongu District, Volta Region)
The target of the NCCE was school children; they encouraged the formation of child rights clubs to educate the children on their rights and responsibilities, in order to enable them to be able to speak about child protection issues and to educate their parents on the effects of child trafficking and child labour.
The sensitization and education carried out by DCD and DSW were more focused on parents in the community. Their sensitization was general in nature and did not focus on specific child protection issues such as child labour. It was a holistic education on all child protection issues using the child protection toolkit. The use of the child protection toolkit was by the Department of Community Development. The work of DCD was mentioned in stories from only two out of the six districts (Awutu-Senya and Gomoa West Districts). However, data from FGD with community opinion leaders suggests that DCD had carried out community sensitization on child protection using the child protection toolkit.
“Community Development came to do some education at the school and also with the women group. They used a chart to show some of the child protection issues like child labour and child abuse and their effects”. (FGD with opinion leaders, Kpobikope community, Ga West District, Greater Accra Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Table 10: Interventions on child labour across the six MSC target districts
District Organization/ Activities Changes Institution Increased school enrolment; Counseling of trafficked children; International improved academic Gomoa West provision of educational support Needs performance; reduction in child to rescued children labour Rescuing of trafficked children; Increased school enrolment; Challenging provision of educational support improved academic Heights Awutu-Senya to rescued children performance Cheerful Provide educational scholarship Increased enrolment Heart to children Rescuing of trafficked children; Enhanced school participation IOM provision of educational support and completion South Tongu to rescued children Seek to Save Rescuing of trafficked children Reduction in child labour Foundation Rescuing of trafficked children; Enhanced school participation IOM provision of educational support and completion to rescued children North Tongu Increased school enrolment; Counselling of trafficked children; International improved academic provision of educational support Needs performance; reduction in child to rescued children labour Rescuing of trafficked children Enhanced school participation Kinder and provision of shelter for and achievement, Attitudinal Paradise Ningo-Pram- children and behavioral change pram Enhanced school participation IOM Rescuing of trafficked children and achievement Attitudinal and behavioral Ga West World Vision Education on child labour change
Source: MSC Field Data, November, 2017 Post -intervention (Changes) Implementation of interventions was expected to impact on the lives of its beneficiaries or the target population. As part of the MSC story-collection process, storytellers and community opinion leaders were asked to share the changes that they had experienced as a result of the intervention or interventions on child protection from which they or their communities had benefited. Analysis of the stories points to the fact that there have been some changes in the lives of children and adults in the six sampled districts as a result of the various interventions.
The MSC stories by children who at the pre-intervention stage had been engaged in child labour in other communities (thereby missing the opportunity to be in school) identify some changes in their lives resulting from various interventions. It is important to note that changes in the lives of these children did not come about as a result of a single intervention from a single organization or institution, but were the Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
57 result of the collective, complementary efforts of various organisations. This is reflected in the words of a female child in Senya community in the Awutu-Senya District, “Challenging Heights and Department of Social and Community Development, contributed to the change.”
Most Significant Changes Identified by Children According to the children, the most significant changes they experienced were having access to education after being rescued. The provision of educational materials by NGOs mentioned at the intervention stage served as a motivation for the children to stay in school and was a relief to parents and guardians. The children can now dream of a better future and may be able to realise their dreams of becoming professionals. It is important to note that it was only the girls that talked about their preferred professions; their male counterparts simply talked about their excitement of being in school. The preferred professions of the girls included nursing, providing, teaching, and medicine. Quotations from children highlighting some of the changes are presented below:
“There has been great improvement in terms of school enrolment for the children and they seem happy going to school”. (Male child, Lasivenu Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“Going back to school is the most significant change because at a point I lost the ability to learn because of my father’s exploitation on the lake. However, now I have found myself back in the classroom” (Male child, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
“If I complete school I will get a job and do things for myself. I will not rely on people to survive like I am doing now”. (Male child, Senya Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region)
“I was rescued from child labour and brought back to school and I can now read, write and speak good English and there is hope for my future”. (Male child, Prampram Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“Being in school is important and has changed my life. I feel as if I am more knowledgeable than my parents. I have a long way to go but I am hopeful” (Male child, Prampram Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“I have come to realize that my future was bleak without education. At the time that I was fishing I didn’t go to school and I could not read properly. Now that I am in school, I am doing very well”. (Male child, Dzebetato Community, South Tongu District, Central Region)
The provision of scholarships and school materials to the children by NGOs was another significant change for children. As discussed in the pre-intervention section, the inability of parents to provide their wards with needed educational materials resulted in the children dropping out of school and subsequently being trafficked to the fishing communities for fishing - after which, they were rescued, enrolled in school, and provided with school materials. Children who previously did not have decent school uniforms and sandals to wear to school are excited to have these things and they saw their provision as a significant change in their lives. A female child in Morklikpo Community in the North Tongu District described how she felt at having been provided with school materials by International Needs “I became excited because for the first time I am going to be like most of the kids in my school”. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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According to some of the children especially in the South Tongu and North Tongu Districts, the educational support they received brought about other changes in their lives: they developed an interest in their education, and improved in their academic work. Those who reported having improved in their academic performance were those who had previously been in school but had dropped out. These children intimated that their improved academic performance was as a result of the books they received from the NGOs which facilitated their learning. This is seen in the excerpts below:
“This has brought a lot of changes in my life. I improved upon my performance because now I have books to write notes in and revise when I go home. I also get the chance to do homework in a book not on paper” (Female child, Morklikpo Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“There is also great change in my performance because my focus is not on money for my fees or books any longer. It is just how to study and I am getting better at it” (Male child Dadome Community, South Tongu District, Volta Region)
Analysis of the stories also demonstrates some attitudinal change. For example, one child in the North Tongu District did not know that child labour was illegal and did not see anything wrong with it. Fortunately, his participation in the activities of the child rights club has educated him on child labour and other child protection issues, and he has therefore resolved to speak against child labour. These words were attributed to him: “This transformation is admirable and few people who know me before have noticed this change and are proud of the influence the club has had on its members. I have also realized that child labour is illegal so I would never allow myself to be engaged” (Male child, Degorme Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region).
To a female child from Kroboekyir in the Awutu-Senya District of the Central Region, the fact that she was rescued from Yeji and brought back to her parents was a significant change to her. Her mother was assisted by Challenging Heights to start a business and she was also enrolled in vocational school. “I am happy living with my parents though I am missing my friend at Yeji. Also I am learning a trade and I can become a madam in future”.
Attitudinal and behavioural change among adults Ten stories of change were collected from adults on child labour in the six sampled districts. Analysis of these stories revealed that some changes have occurred in adults in the communities. The changes observed were attitudinal and behavioural changes resulting from education on the effects of child labour and the arrest of perpetrators of child trafficking and child labour. The adults stated they had turned over “new leaves” and have resolved not to engage children in child labour but rather enrol them in school because they are now aware of its effects on the development of children and its consequences on the individual and the community as a whole. This has led to a reduction in child labour in some communities notably Akotoshie No. 2 in the Ga West District of the Greater Accra Region. The reduction in child labour in Akotoshie No. 2 was attributed to the continuous community sensitization by the DCD and training programmes organised by Action Aid. These claims of behavioural change expressed by some of the ten storytellers were confirmed by community opinion leaders and women during FGDs. Their comments can be seen below:
“Because of the anti-trafficking team now parents no longer give their children out to work for them at Akosombo, Lake Volta, Togo and Guinea”. (FGD with women, Lekpongunor Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“People are now more aware of the dangers of child trafficking and child labour. More people are reporting cases of trafficking unlike the past. There is increase in parental responsibility for their children”. (FGD with women, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
Another change the adults reported was improved school enrolment in their communities. This was strongly expressed in almost all the FGD with community opinion leaders and women. It is a significant change because their communities were characterized by low enrolment of children in school due to the trafficking of the children to other communities - notably Yeji in the Brong Ahafo Region. It is refreshing to note that both children and adults in all the six districts mentioned school enrolment as a significant change to them. This shows that awareness on the importance of education has been raised and parents have realized its importance to the development of their children and their communities.
“It is significant because our children are now in school. The majority of our children are in school. This was achieved through the help of NGO’s” (FGD with women, Lekpongunor Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“Being educated means high level of literacy and we wish to have a labour force that will be full of educated people. Education will also give them a better future and eradicate poverty”. (FGD with Men, Morklikpo Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“Their enrolment in school and continuous improvement in their academic performance is what I will consider as the most significant change”. (Male adult, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
Most Significant Changes In all the MSC stories and focus group discussions, it was clear that the most significant change for children and adults was in the area of education. Analysis of the stories shows that enrolment in school and the provision of school materials to children who were rescued from child trafficking are the most significant changes they have experienced. All stories from the six districts on child labour noted improved school enrolment. The reason for stating these as the most significant change is because of the importance of education to the development of the children and their communities. To the parents, education of their children means a brighter future for them. To attest to this, quotations are presented below:
“My enrolment in school is the most significant change in my life because it has saved me from the tedious work I used to do on the lake with my father and brothers”. (Male child, Mumford Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
“This is the most significant change story because now the boy has been given education and his future is secured”. (Male adult Lekpongunor Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“This is the most significant change for me because my education and that of my brother is rescued for now through the sponsorship of International Needs”. (Male child, Dadome Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“Emmanuel’s education is now on the go. I believe with Emmanuel at peace and in school, he can have a very bright future” (Male adult, Agorta Community, South Tongu District, Volta Region)
Type of Changes A detailed analysis of the significant changes among adults and children from all the six districts showed two types of changes; attitudinal and behavioural change, including improved school attendance. The significant changes attributed to the adults were attitudinal and behavioural whilst the changes on the part of the children are classified under improved attitude to education and schooling. The attitudinal changes of adults resulted from the sensitization and education on child protection carried out by various organizations including NCCE, DCD and DSW in the communities.
Depth of change and sustainability To a large extent, the changes observed by beneficiaries of interventions were at the individual level. The behavioural changes of adults were as a result of their personal decisions to change. Only a few of the changes were at the family level. Eleven out of the 45 stories revealed family level changes, and seven showed community level changes. This brings into question the sustainability of the changes. Individual level change may not be sustainable if there are not “changes of heart” on the part of individuals and their family members. For example, the individual changes reported by the children were attributed to the support they received from the NGOs. If the NGOs end their support, will the children be able to continue their education? A more sustainable change will be one that is a community level change. If an entire community should decide to end child labour in their community, this may yield greater results because it may be backed by community action.
Change actors The organizations that have influenced the changes are International Needs, Challenging Heights, IOM, Cheerful Heart Foundation, World Vision, Kinder Paradise, IJM, Seek to Save Foundation, DCD, DSW and NCCE. Three of these NGOs appear to have had a greater impact in the communities in which they operate, based on the number of the stories attributed to their interventions. These NGOs are Challenging Heights, International Needs and IOM. Sixteen stories of change were attributed to or partly attributed to International Needs; twelve to Challenging Heights; and eight to IOM – possibly as a result of the material support that was given to children. There were some stories of change that were also attributed to DCD, DSW and NCCE working in partnership with NGOs.
Conclusion The pre-intervention situation of child labour revealed that the male children are mainly engaged in fishing activities. The pre-intervention situation also suggested that relatives of the children were the people who engaged the children in the fishing activities. Girls, on the other hand, were engaged in the processing and selling of the fish and other commodities to support their families. Despite some education and sensitization on gender equality for boys and girls over the years in relation to domestic chores, not much has been achieved in that direction as the stories suggest girls are still doing all the domestic chores with little or no help from the boys. Analysis showed that a combination of rescuing children from child labour and providing them with educational support was the key to change. Increased school enrolments, improved academic performance of children were demonstrated; while among parents and other adults, some attitudinal and behavioural changes were also demonstrated as a result of sensitization and education by DCD, DSW and NCCE. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
61 6.3 Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Introduction Sexual and reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system. It means that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life, the capability to reproduce, and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so (UNFPA20:: accessed online 2018-02-14). Given that sexual and reproductive health (SRH) may be seen as both a human rights and a child protection issue, it has been explored as part of the MSC research into child protection. Findings from that research are presented here under the following stages: pre- intervention, intervention, and post-intervention.
Sexual and reproductive health was the focus of 51 selected Most Significant Change (MSC) stories collected from six (6) study districts across the three target regions (Greater Accra, Central and Volta Regions). Out of these 51 stories, 16 (31.4%) were recorded in South Tongu district, 13 (25.5%) were from Ga West district, 10 (19.6%) were from Gomoa West, 7 (13.7%) were from Ningo- Prampram (GA), 4 (7.8%) were from Awutu Senya (Central region), and 1 (2.0%) was from North Tongu (Volta region). Only one story covered multiple domains, which was a story about teenage pregnancy and child neglect/child abuse. The MSC analysis suggests that sexual and reproductive health issues, including teenage pregnancy, were reported in all three regions of study and were a significant theme in the MSC assessment.
The sexual and reproductive health issue raised in MSC stories included teenage pregnancy and rape – issues which, also relate to the voice and agency of teenage girls, their knowledge concerning contraception, their access to conception, and other impacts such as sexually transmitted diseases and infertility. Unfortunately, (but not surprisingly), none of the MSC stories collected dealt with these other SRH issues around contraception and sexually transmitted diseases.
Pre- Intervention Situation In all six districts, teenage pregnancy and child sexual abuse (as well as abortion) was mentioned by children and adults in community focus group discussions (FDG), as well as by children during their narration of MSC stories; and was attributed to poverty, lack of education/dropping out of school, lack of employment opportunities, family conflict, family break-up, parental neglect, lack of adult supervision and control, lack of knowledge concerning SRH, and peer pressure. Other consequences of unsafe sex such as sexually transmitted diseases, were not mentioned, however.
The MSC story analysis reveals that some parents were financially incapable of meeting their children’s basic needs and providing for their basic schooling experience. Some parents even advised their girls to seek support from boyfriends and older men so they could get “quick money” (shika) for their upkeep even if it meant engaging in transactional sex with boys and older men. In response, some girl-children did seek financial and even psycho-social support from “boyfriends” by engaging in transactional sex.
“Parental neglect is one of our biggest problem in this community. Most of the children are staying with their grandparents who are weak and are unable to properly take care and guide the children. Their parents have left for the big cities and this is causing all kinds of deviant behaviours in the community. Parental neglect is the major cause of teenage pregnancy and child labour” (Male, Adult, Gomoa Denkyira, Gomoa West District. Central Region.)
20 https://www.unfpa.org/sexual-reproductive-health Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“Teenage pregnancy- This is due to lack of maintenance by parents, some are not working for that matter we also seek support from boyfriends to be able to buy some basic needs” (Community Leaders FGD, Ayetepa, Ningo Prampram, Greater Accra).
“Teenage pregnancy- parents are not taking care of their children saying that they are poor and sending or encouraging their girl -child to go sleep with men older than them” (Female child, Ga West, Greater Accra).
Parental neglect, family conflict, and family breakup were also highlighted among key informants and interviewees in all the districts —especially in Gomoa West, Ga West and South Tongu Districts. Children were left to live by themselves or in the care of relatives or neighbours while parents travelled to other communities or districts in search for better economic opportunities. Some children were living with grandparents who could no longer control them or take good care of them because of financial difficulties, leaving the children to fend for themselves.
“It was easy to find husband and wife not in good terms for years. Most women in the community are single-parents. They have either divorced or separated over petty quarrels and disagreements. When this happens, it’s the children that suffer. They are abused emotionally and psychologically and are unable to concentrate at school. Sometimes even the person the child will stay with is a problem. Both parents keep tossing the child here and there and it even affects their education.” (Female, Child, Dago, Gomoa West. Central Region).
“One major problem is the abandonment of children by their parents on their grandparents who are incapable of taking care of them. This is because of the economic hardship facing the community in that they leave to other communities to work. These children say a girl will take a boyfriend to help her provide basic need, eventually she will get pregnant” (Male, Adult, Dzebetato, South Tongu, Volta Region).
Teenage pregnancy and child sexual abuse in some districts was attributed to peer pressure. Some girls were introduced to transactional sex activities by friends and schools mates who were already engaging in these strategies to survive. Some girls interviewed were advised by their friends to take boyfriends who could give them money to buy food, clothes and other basic necessities which they could not get from their parents or guardians; and the ensuing relationships led to them becoming pregnant.
“I used to be friends with bad girls and because I have these friends that I walk with, I engaged in sexual activities with boys and I did not see anything wrong with it at that time” (Female, Child, Prampram, Ningo Prampram District, Greater Accra.)
MSC analysis also revealed that lack of general knowledge about sexual reproductive health also contributed to teenage pregnancy in Gomoa West and Ga West. There were reports in these districts that some girls who had had their first menstrual cycle were advised by their friends to pick boyfriends who could buy them sanitary pads every month. Interviews with children indicate that this was becoming a trend in some communities—especially in Gomoa West district (Central region) with one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy. Female children interviewed in FDG’s had this to say:
“Teenage pregnancy because the boys take advantage of the girls because of sanitary pad and sleep with them which results in pregnancy and child marriage; child abuse Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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especially emotional abuse and parental neglect because of broken homes is also the cause…” (Female, Children, FGD, Ngyiresi, Gomoa West District, Central Region.)
“On the part of the teenage pregnancy, it is mostly because of peer influence, when your friends come to school with money, you are also tempted to ask for where they get it from; they will tell you it is from boys. They will even connect you to boys who will be giving you the money. You will then start sleeping with them as usual the result is pregnancy” (Female, Child, Sokpoe, South Tongu District, Volta Region).
Participants in FGDs also stated that teenage pregnancy was both a cause and a consequence of girls dropping out of school. In all the regions, MSC reports indicate that most girls who become pregnant immediately stop school because of the stigma. Moreover, only a handful of teenage mothers re-integrate to into school after they deliver, which also depends on the support they receive from their parents.
“It affects the children’s performance at school, they drop out of school as a result of teenage pregnancy and it leads them to becoming poor in the community in the future” (Females, FDG, New Ningo, Ningo Prampram District. Greater Accra Region.)
“Teenage Pregnancy - Girls who get pregnant have to drop out of school. A lot of girls are engage in sexual intercourse at a very young age. They either abort or have to drop out of school” (Male Adult, Ayetepa, Ningo Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
“These girls get pregnant and they drop out of school and their lives becomes haphazard” (Female, Adult, Apam, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
Some communities view teenage pregnancy as a shameful and disgraceful act not only to the child but to the family and the community as a whole; they also view it as a bad example for other children in the community. As a result, some teenage mothers were thrown out of their homes and often not supported in school.
Knowledge about sexual and reproductive health—for example, about menstruation, personal hygiene and general issues around sex—was generally lacking. Girls interviewed had not been informed by their parents or any other adult about SRH issues, causing them to seek information from friends and enabling misconceptions about sex and menstruation to gain ground. For example, girls were often told that sex could stop menstrual pain.
“I thought as a girl, when you start growing breast and you finish your university you just get married to a husband of your choice. I didn’t know that as you are growing you have to shed blood called menstruation because my mother didn’t educate me on that” (Female, Child, Akotoshie No. 2. Ga West. Greater Accra Region).
Interviews revealed from FDG’s that most teenage pregnancies were neither planned nor wanted-- a clear indication of unprotected sex, and heightened risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
All communities in the three regions identified teenage pregnancy as a major problem, but only some had taken steps to combat it. Additionally, some government agencies and a number of NGOs have taken up the cause of preventing teenage pregnancy. Although teenage pregnancy was frequently reported, only one case of rape was recorded during the phase 2 MSC exercise. The ordeal of this girl is narrated below; Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“I asked of him and a young girl told me that he said I should come inside when I show up. I insisted she call him for me but he wouldn’t come out of his room. I entered the room and he was writing his notes. He was in SHS 2. He asked me to sit but I told him it was getting late and I wanted to go home. He insisted and locked the door. I begged him to open the door but he refused and begun to touch me all over. I told him to stop but he wouldn’t. I threatened to scream but he said no one would hear me even if I did. So I started to struggle with him but he pushed me unto a student mattress and had sex with me. He then gave me GH20.00 afterwards. I rejected the money and threatened to tell his mother. He warned me that if I said a word to anyone he will kill me.
I missed my period the following month and I told my mum. She asked if I slept with the boy and I narrated everything to her. So my mum informed his mum who gave us money to go and do pregnancy test in a drug store by the road side. I tested positive. The mother later said his son said he is not responsible for the pregnancy. My mum again asked if I was sure he was the one and I said yes but he still denied it (Female, Adult, Sokpoe. South Tongu District. Volta Region).
During the narration of the MSCs story, the victim expressed her heartfelt gratitude for the support she was given to enable her to return to school but did not say anything about counselling or testing for sexually transmitted diseases, nor whether she had learned how to protect herself in the future.
MSC interviews suggest that rape cases are still not widely reported; perpetrators go unpunished and therefore no deterrent is set for others. Communities, parents and children are not made aware of their rights about rape, how to prevent it, and what to do when it happens. Communities and opinion leaders continue to “frown at this act and try to hide it when it happens”. Victims should be encouraged to speak out, report incidents of rape to the police, and also take steps to aid in the investigations. Institution in charge should also create an enabling environment and be approachable so that people can report even suspected cases of rape whether the victim is a known person or not.
Intervention Process (Role of Institutions and Activities Undertaken) A number of interventions have been rolled out in the various districts by government agencies, NGOs and communities themselves as a way of combating teenage pregnancy. NGOs have focused mainly on mobilization, sensitization and awareness-raising. In districts like Ningo Prampram, South Tongu, Ga West and Gomoa West, the chiefs and elders have enacted by-laws aimed at reducing the incidence of teenage pregnancy and other child sexual abuse issues. Watch-dog committees were formed in these districts. Their main task was to ensure that no child was outside at night alone beyond 8 or 9 p.m. Parents of children who were found outside were warned by the authorities; and if the offense was repeated, the parents were fined while the children were lashed. Additionally, boys found to have impregnated girls were fined.
“The Community has enacted a by-law which restrict all children to sleep before 8:00 p.m. If you are caught after 8:00 p.m. you will be beaten and your parents also pay a fine of GH100” (Female, Adult, Gomoa Denkyira, Gomoa West. Central Region.) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“The opinion leaders introduced a by-law which was sent to the District Assembly that any boy who impregnates any school girl will be fined GH¢500.00” (Male, Adult, Lekpongunor, Ningo Prampram District. Greater Accra Region.)
Such sanctions were supported by NGOs and other child protection workers, and served as a deterrent in some communities. The District Community Development and Social Welfare (DCD/SW), National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ghana Health Service (GHS) and some NGO’s promoted such efforts in the fight against teenage pregnancy. While DCD/SW, NCCE, GHS focused on the sensitization of parents, NGOs and CSOs focused on mentorship of girls, provision of information on child protection issues, confidence-building and self-esteem activities for girls in clubs, and provision of educational supplies. Some also provided financial assistance to single mothers.
DCD/SW worked in collaboration with Ghana Health Service and NGOs to encourage the formation of clubs aimed at educating children about child protection issues like teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse. Drama and role play were intensively used to highlight the dangers of teenage pregnancy. In some communities, the child protection toolkit was used. Through their child rights clubs, the NCCE also played a significant role in educating children on their rights and responsibilities.
“Community Development educated us on child labour, child trafficking, teenage pregnancy and child development ladder through the use of flash cards” (Female, Adults, FGD, Lekpongunor, Ningo Prampram District. Greater Accra Region.)
International Needs, Action Aid and World Vision were working to prevent teenage pregnancy in Gomoa West District and Ga West respectively. International Needs saturated some communities with information and, together with opinion leaders, helped in the formation of Community Child Protection Clubs. They also activated community involvement by using the child protection toolkit. Also, in some communities, they taught girls how to make sanitary pads using locally available materials and how to manage menstrual pains. Girls who had dropped out of school as a result of teenage pregnancy were encouraged to return to school and were supported with school fees (printing fees), books, uniforms and pens. Some of these teenage mothers were picked to serve as mentors to other girls who had fallen victim to teenage pregnancy. In Ga West, Action Aid and World Vision also distributed sanitary pads and encouraged the reintegration of teenage mothers in schools.
NGOs like International Needs, Action Aid, CAMFED, Seek to Save, and Plan Ghana also provided material assistance to children and facilitated interviews with key district stakeholders. The children suggest that this had helped to reduce dropout rates, thereby contributing to a reduction in teenage pregnancy. Most teenage mothers in Gomoa West, Ga West and South Tongu were also given scholarship packages to enable their reintegration into school. Printing fees, as well as uniforms, books, textbooks, pens and school bags were distributed to these children. Some of these interventions targeted only girls (e.g. CAMFED). In addition to reducing the incidence of teenage pregnancy, these interventions also reduced the financial burden on parents.
“STSF through social welfare have organized teenage girls who are victims of teenage pregnancy to help them return to school. Currently about 8 girls are now in school. Volunteers were selected to help monitor and educate these teenagers. Currently school Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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uniforms (2 yards) 20 exercise books, GH100.00, and other stationery were given to us. This took place this 2017.They also counselled us about sexual reproductive health” (Female, Child, Sokpoe, South Tongu, Volta Region).
Plan International Ghana, Seek to Save, International Organization for Migration (IOM) worked to sensitize residents of South and North Tongu and Ningo Prampram respectively on child protection issues in general. Additionally, the provision of financial payments and loans to parents by LEAP and IOM helped to reduce their poverty, which contributed to the fight against teenage pregnancy. Parents were able to start businesses to support their families; and farmers were able to buy fertilizers and other farm inputs and to expand their farms. However, teenage pregnancy was not given much attention in districts like North Tongu, Ningo-Prampram, and Awutu Senya—only general sensitization concerning child protection issues.
Sensitization efforts were thought to have resulted in: attitudinal and behavioural change, girls’, assertiveness, raising the confidence of children, and empowerment through knowledge—thereby causing changes in the lives of individuals, families and communities. The Table 11 summarizes the key interventions (by district) and the accompanying changes thought to have taken place. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Table 11: Interventions on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights based on MSC Stories
District Name of Organization Intervention/ Activities Changes Organized drama to educate the public about Attitudinal and behavioural child protection issues. change International Needs Provided scholarship Improved school attendance packages to teenage and achievement mother to facilitate their reintegration in school. Gomoa West Enhanced knowledge and Department Provided general awareness about the dangers of Community sensitization on child and effects of teenage Development/ Social protection issues pregnancy on youth and on Welfare the community as a whole National Commission Educated students Increased knowledge and on Civic Education about their rights and awareness about child rights (NCCE) responsibilities and responsibilities Distribution of sanitary Action Aid pads and education about personal hygiene Ga West Distribution of sanitary Increased knowledge pads and education of and awareness on proper World Vision girls about sexual and usage of sanitary pad and reproductive health menstruation International Provision of micro finance Ningo Prampram Organization for to support farmers and Enhancement of income Migration other businesses Provision of educational Improved attendance and Plan International materials such as uniforms, achievement and reduced Ghana books, pens drop-outs South Tongu Reintegration in school of dropout teenage mother Improved attendance and Seek to Save or supporting them with skills acquisition skills acquisition North Tongu None Awutu Senya None
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
68 Post- Intervention According the MSC analysis of stories, interventions by individuals, families, communities, government agencies and NGOs have produced changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices related to SRH. Of particular note are the following: ¡¡ a reduction in teenage pregnancy in certain districts; ¡¡ increased confidence and improved self-esteem—particularly among girls who have access to SRH clubs; ¡¡ ability of girls to stand their ground and say “no” to actions harmful to them. Some of these achievements resulted from the communities’ own inventions. Four districts—including: Gomoa West, Ga West, South Tongu and Ningo Prampram—enacted by-laws intended to reduce teenage pregnancy in their communities. Through these by-laws, parents were warned if their children were out alone after curfew time; and they were fined for repeated offenses. They also fined boys who impregnated teenage girls and ensured that they provided support for girls and the infants born to them. Parents of such boys could also be fined. Some communities also created watch-dog committees to ensure that curfews were respected.
They also punished children who were engaged in late night activities such as dances and funerals, which could lead to high risk activities and result in teenage pregnancy. Only a few interviewees attributed change to the activities of such committees.
“The community watchdog activities made my grandsons stopped going out at night and has avoided bad companies and friends. This also helped to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy as well” (Female, Adult, Kpotame, South Tongu District. Volta Region).
“Frequent threatening of the girls has ended and everyone is free and happy because of the rules governing the community. Moreover the chief and the elders took their words seriously and acted upon it” (Female, Child, Kwashiekuma, Ga West District. Greater Region.)
The DCD/ SW sensitization has awakened communities to the miserable effects of teenage pregnancy and other child mistreatment. NCCE is present in all the districts except North Tongu and has also contributed to the success of community interventions. Through the Child Rights Clubs, the NCCE has educated children on their rights and responsibilities, enabling them to stand up for their rights. The clubs appear to be functioning in all the districts; and it is in these clubs that most girls learned about the risks of teenage pregnancy. Discussion among students in class also inspired others to join the clubs. Some students attested to the fact that they gained confidence through participation in these clubs; and this confidence helped them to curb behaviours that could have led teenage pregnancy.
“The formation of the Child Rights Club and the introduction of drama toward eliminating teenage pregnancy and child marriage: Awareness creation through drama, durbar and plays has led to a drastic reduction of teenage pregnancy. In 2016 BECE, 12 girls were pregnant in this school, but in 2017 only one girl got pregnant in the community. Teenage pregnancy used to be so common in this community and a reduction in it has caused a simultaneous reduction is school dropout and in child marriage” (Female, Children, FDG, Ngyiresi, Gomoa West, Central Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“Due to the empowerment of the girl child, now they know who to report to when they are harassed. They have also become bold enough to tell the harassers to stop such acts. Through the education given to the girls club, they now know how to care for themselves in case of that problem” (Female, Adult, Akotoshie NO.2, Ga West. Greater Accra).
NGO interventions also yielded results. International Needs (who were present in Gomoa West and North Tongu) Child Rights Clubs and Rhema Girls Clubs played an important role in curbing teenage pregnancy within their operational districts. In some communities in Gomoa West, International Needs also trained girls about how to take care of themselves during their menstrual cycles and how to manage menstrual cramps. By offering cash to a girl during her monthly periods, a boy could create a dependency, thus with increasing the likelihood of her becoming pregnant. Now wiser through club discussions, girls taught their friends and mothers. Consequently, the girls became more confident and more open in talking to others about issues of concern to them.
“Even the pregnant girl in the school, we talk to her from time to time. She has been encouraged not to stop school and indeed she has not stopped. We don’t tease or make fun of her but rather encourage her as we were taught by International Needs. Hopefully, she will deliver in February and after a while she will come back to school again. This was not the case some time ago. Those girls who become pregnant stop schooling because of the stigma. Also, I can now freely approach a teacher even a male teacher to inform him about any issue. I can voice my worries without being afraid or shy. When someone is trying to get me do bad things I boldly tell the person I am not interested. CRC has really boosted my confidence. I know my rights as a child and even those to contact should anything or anyone try to harm me. I can discuss sexual reproductive health with my colleagues without being shy” (Female, Child, Ngyeresi, Gomoa West. Central Region).
Interventions aimed at reintegrating drop-outs back into school have also worked well. Historically, girls left school as soon as they knew they were pregnant and never returned, due to stigma and financial constraints. Through the efforts of International Needs, Action Aid and World Vision, both parents and children now realize the importance of education—particularly for girls. Moreover, they provided teenage mothers with counselling, scholarship packages and educational materials; and enlisted parents’ help for child care. After joining such clubs, children not only had “thank you “stories to tell, they also had “Now I know better” stories to tell.
Interventions by Action Aid and World Vision in Ga West also brought some changes to these districts. Sensitization activities was linked to attitudinal change, as indicated in the story below.
“Action Aid made a role play on teenage pregnancy. The play was about a parent telling a child to go in for a boy to who could get her money to support the mother. Girl Child Club are teaching us how to manage ourselves that is to know the wrong from right. World Vision also thought us how to manage our menstrual period and the types of pads to buy when menstruating” (Female, Child, Ayikai Doblo, Ga West, Greater Accra Region).
Interventions also impacted school enrolment. Except in Awutu Senya and Ningo-Prampram, school enrolment increased, including enrolment of teenage mothers, due to incentives and parental support. With increased school enrolment came a decreased incidence in teenage pregnancy, as illustrated in the following story: Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“Four teenage girls who dropped out of school as a result of teenage pregnancy are all back to school. Seek to Save through the Social Welfare came to write the names of pregnant girls who have dropped out of school to help get them back. Four girls are back to school now following their steps. The best gift any community can give to its future leaders is education. Through education the children will take up positions in the society and they can use such positions to bring development to the community. It is very expensive to invest in the education of children these days. Therefore when the girls drop out of school because of pregnancy we want them to leave their babies home and go back to school so that we can reap them from our investments made into their lives” (Adults, FGD, Atsieve, South Tongu, Volta Region).
Conclusion The pre-intervention gave us a clear idea about the disturbing SRH issues among children in the various districts, and about the people and institutions who were trying to bring about change in the situation. From the information gleaned, it was clear that teenage pregnancy is driven by multiple, inter-related factors. As such, teenage pregnancy is a symptom of larger social problems. Therefore, its incidence can be reduced only by action on several fronts.
Interventions by the Department of Community Development, the National Commission on Civic Education, and Ghana Health Services and numerous NGOs such as International Needs, Plan Ghana, World Vision, Action Aid, and Seek to Save Foundation have been successful in changing attitudes, preventing drop outs, reducing teenage pregnancy rates, reintegrating teenage mothers in school, heightening awareness of SRH and other child rights issues in communities, and improving parent/child relationships. Education and social engagement have been key catalysts in this process. The NGO’s have also contributed to overall improvements in the economic climate of communities, through micro- finance programmes.
Loopholes Even though by-laws were enacted in some communities, enforcement did not always occur. Moreover, some aspects of enforcement may be infringing on the rights of suspected perpetrators: for example, those accused of fathering children by teenage girls could rightly demand that officials produce evidence of their paternity before imposing sanctions.
Watch-dog committees worked only at night—meaning that inappropriate behaviours occurring during the day were perhaps not being observed and reported. More worrisome, however, are the attitudes of the committees themselves and the sanctions they permitted enacted: for example, lashing children for being out after curfew unaccompanied. If such committees are seen to be overly punitive or coercive, public resistance to their operation may arise.
Some of the inventions were also limited to schools. However, although such interventions do not reach all children directly, information will likely reach them indirectly, through siblings and friends.
Some individuals have objected to NGOs’ focus on the rights of children. Therefore, respect, care and empathy are needed when working with communities on child rights issues. It is important for NGOs to be seen as credible and trustworthy if their efforts are to have a lasting impact. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
71 6.4 Child Marriage Introduction Child marriage is defined by UNICEF21 as a formal marriage or informal union between men and women below the age 18. UNICEF further describes child marriage as “reality for both boys and girls, although girls are disproportionately the most affected. Child marriage is widespread and can lead to a lifetime of disadvantage and deprivation”. In Ghana, the disparity between legal age of marriage (18 years) and legal age for consent to sex (16 years) has served as one of the fertile grounds for the perpetuation of the practice of child marriage
A total of three selected stories on child marriage were recorded in the three regions. There was only one story collected in each of the following districts: Awutu Senya, Ga West and South Tongu. There were no cases of child marriage in Gomoa West, North Tongu and Ningo Prampram. Child marriage was therefore not a highly reported child protection issue in comparison to the Phase 1 MSC roll out in the northern and upper east regions, where child marriage was one of the prominent domains. Teenage pregnancy was not culturally intertwined with child marriage as was prevalent in the north.
Past and On-Going Interventions
In one of the cases of child marriage in South Tongu, the girl was disowned by her parents because of teenage pregnancy. She then decided to live with the boy responsible for the pregnancy. After delivery, however, Seek to Save Foundation came to her aid, and she was counselled and educated on the need to continue school. They then supported her with school fees, uniforms, books and other learning materials to enable her to reintegrate smoothly. In Awutu Senya, a sixteen-year old girl was given to a thirty-seven year old man. She expressed the painful experience with the man and the medical condition she suffered from after her second delivery. Cheerful Heart Foundation and Social Welfare took up the case; the man involved was arrested; and the girl received medical treatment.
In one community in the Gomoa West District, the research team came across a girl who had given birth, returned to school and was actually in the same school as her child. There was however, a case in which a teenage mother decided to enrol in a school outside her community in order to avoid being teased. Also in Gomoa West, a 12-year old girl was in the same school as her son. She had decided to return to school after delivery and two years later, enrolled her son in nursery school there. Lastly, there was a story from South Tongu District: a teenage mother returned to school eighteen months after delivering while her mother and aunty took care of the baby.
The child rights clubs formed in schools and the Community Child Protection Committees as well as other community level structures have contributed greatly to the reduction in cases of child marriage in the districts. Through drama and role play, and with the aid of a toolkit, they demonstrate to the communities the dangers of teenage pregnancy and child marriage, and their effects on children.
“International Needs together with UNICEF rolled out what is called the toolkit which is a participatory advocacy thing. They educated and sensitized the community about child protection issues. The child rights club was formed as a result and the girls in the club are doing well. They now talk about teenage pregnancy and also dramatize the effects of it. Go round the community, you will find placards carrying messages of teenage
21 https://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_58008.html Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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pregnancy and child marriage, All these has resulted in the creation of awareness about these issues” (Male, Adult, Gomoa Denkyira, Gomoa West. Central Region.)
Parents were advised to encourage their teenage mothers to return to school and to also support them by helping take care of the children while their mothers are in school. Teenage mothers who wanted to continue schooling were also supported with school fees, uniforms, books and other learning materials.
Post-Intervention The low number of cases of child marriage can be attributed to sensitization and awareness creation have been taking place in the various districts The Department of Community Development and Social Welfare together with International Needs, World Vision, Action Aid, Plan Ghana, Seek to Save and other organizations have been sensitizing communities on child protection issues like child marriage, child labour, child trafficking etc.—in particular, challenging the social norm whereby girls were married off as soon as they became pregnant.
“One thing is that, child marriage is not directly practiced in the community. What happens is that, when a child gets pregnant, they marry her off to the one responsible because we used to see it as normal and the right thing to do since that’s the path they have decided to follow. So parent will just go ahead to give the girl picture to the boy/man who got her pregnant as a way of relieving themselves from the burden of having to take care of another person (the baby) so both families just come together and solve the problem by joining the two together and it may not be necessary a marriage ceremony but the girl goes to stay with the boy who got her pregnant. Through our interactions with International Needs, we got to understand that, pushing a girl into marriage is like adding stones into a sacks of stones. It makes matters worse because the girl is not capable of taking care of anyone neither should her life come to an end because of one mistake. We have been educated on how to raise our children better to prevent teenage pregnancy in the first place and we (CLS) have taken it upon ourselves to go door- to-door talking to fathers, mothers and the entire community about how teenage pregnancy hinders development” (Male, Adult, Dunkwa, Gomoa West District. Central Region.)
Conclusion The low number of cases of child marriage in the districts can perhaps be attributed to the increased knowledge and awareness about the harmful effects of child marriage. The former practice of pushing girls into marriage with boys responsible for their pregnancies has been at least partly replaced by families now taking responsibility for their pregnant daughters and their babies, including ensuring that teenage mothers go back to school or at least enrol in vocational training programmes. This approach has been strongly supported by NGOs such as International Needs, which usually provides educational support to teenage mothers in the Central Region.
While child marriage was a child protection issue prevalent in two regions in Northern Ghana in the first phase of the MSC research project, the exact opposite situation was observed in the three regions of study in the second phase. While in the Northern and Upper East Regions, families covered up unwanted pregnancies to protect family image and honour by marrying off pregnant girls, in the south, the girls stayed with their families after delivery and some returned to school with the support of their families and NGOs. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
73 6.5 Children in Conflict with the Law and Child Delinquency Introduction Parents are expected to socialize their children to conform to societal norms and expectations. During children’s interaction with their peers and other children and adults, positive and negative lifestyles are easily copied or learned depending on the quality of parental level supervision. Traditionally, adults in Ghana have imparted high standards of ethical training and behaviour to the children of their communities.
Government as well other civil and religious institutions communicate expectations of upright behaviour to children. They also warn of consequences of antisocial behaviour. The Juvenile Justice Act 653 (2003) prescribes procedures and correction centres to handle juvenile offenders. In addition, there are state and non-state initiatives to effect behavioural change in children. A study by Social Welfare Department on Juvenile Justice Administration in Ghana (2006) indicates that most of the reported offences committed by children are stealing, assault and exposure. The report suggests that children’s infractions of the law are attributable to weak family capacity, parental poverty and unemployment. Most Significant Change story data also suggests that peer influence, parental neglect, and poor parental care and supervision lead to child misbehaviour.
The Most Significant Change Stories collected in this domain, reflect offences ranging from stealing (pilfering), vagrancy, truancy, and indecent dressing, to disrespect for elders, and pre-marital sex. The stories tell of smoking, drinking alcohol, and other substance abuse, as well as violent crimes such as thuggery. Out of 19 stories, 11 (57.9%) cover children in conflict with the law. Stories demonstrating delinquent behaviour are 5 (20.3%), and stories capturing other deviant behaviours of children are 3 (15.8%).
Out of the three regions sampled for Most Significant Change story-collection, the Volta Region did not include any of children in conflict with the law. All such stories were from the Central and Greater Accra Regions. The number of stories collected from the Greater Accra and the Central Region were 7 (63.6%) and 4 (36.4%) respectively. Similarly, delinquent behaviour of children appeared to be more pronounced in Greater Accra: there were 4 (80%) cases compared to 1 (20%) in the Central Region. Three stories of other types of deviant behaviour were from Greater Accra.
Three districts out of six sampled districts yielded Most Significant Change stories on children in conflict with the law and delinquency. Districts where children with stories of misconduct or misbehaviour were recorded were Awutu-Senya, Ga West and Ningo-Prampram22.
Pre-Intervention and Prevailing Situation Delinquency MSC story data from the sampled districts suggests a high level of delinquent behaviour among children in Awutu Senya and Ningo-Prampram Districts. Ningo-Prampram reported more children with delinquent behaviour than Awutu-Senya. Misbehaviour recorded involves pilfering or stealing money from daily sales, particularly from stores owned by parents. The stories attribute their behaviour to weak parental supervision and care. Children steal for food and to pay for extra classes in
22 Children in conflict with the law is highest in Ningo-Prampram with 7(63.6%) recorded stories. Awutu-Senya has 4(36.4%). Ga West does not have any stories of children in conflict with the law. However Ga West has 2 (66.7%) of children with other deviant behaviour and Ningo-Prampram only 1(33.3%). Awutu Senya does not have any stories of other deviant behaviour. The total number of delinquency stories are 5 of which Awutu-Senya recorded 1 (20%) and Ningo-Prampram, 4 (80%). Ga West does not have any recorded story of delinquent behaviour. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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school. Some parents deliberately refuse to give their children money to go to school, or give amounts inadequate to cover costs of their food and extra classes. The following stories attest to this:
“My father used to give me GH¢3.00 to go school. After my father’s transfer to Kumasi, my mother reduced the money to GH¢1.50 and later on increased it to GH¢2.00. This is not sufficient to provide for my school. My mother has a provision store. This makes a lot of money through sales. My mother asks me to sell at the shop after school until 11 pm when I go to sleep. Then she will take over. So I have been stealing from the shop. I give my friends GH¢5.00 and GH¢10.00 to keep for me when they come to buy items at the store. Sometimes I also steal drinks and biscuits and give to them to keep so I can take it the following day at school. I steal to survive and avoid being embarrassed with name calling “begbeg”. (Male youth, Awutu-Bereku Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region).
“My aunty in Akosombo has three children who are in school. My grandmother took me there because she was facing financial challenges to take care of me. She [my auntie] never treated me like how she treats her own children. Though I eat every morning before going to school, she never gives me a pocket money as she gives her children to school. I was very sad about that. It influenced me to start stealing from her when she leaves some coins in the room” (Male Participant, Lakpongunor Community, Ningo Prampram District).
During children’s upbringing, their learning process involves experimentation, mischief, adventure, peer influence and imitation. High standards of acceptable behaviour are compromised when there is poor parental supervision. This frees some children to engage in behaviour jeopardising their welfare and safety. This is reflected in a story of one of the school children in Awutu Senya District.
“I have a friend who had an OKADA23. He was my best friend at that time and I thought what he was doing and what he was teaching me was good so I also learnt it. We used to just ride around in Asalaja town disturbing but I never used it to pick passengers. My parents were not aware that I was riding OKADA with this friend. One day, we were sacked from school because we had not paid our school fees on our way home with the OKADA with any best friend and we had an accident” (Male youth Ayikai Doblo Community, Ga West District, Greater Accra).
Smoking, Drinking Alcohol and Drug Abuse Children learn through their five senses and are inclined to experimentation and adventure, especially if encouraged by peers. MSC story data indicate that some of the children in Ga West District are involved in smoking and alcohol abuse, as attested by a child who was interviewed:
“In this town most of the young guys are involved in alcoholism and smoking. I tried smoking as a result of peer pressure. There was a funeral programme one day and some of my friends present were smoking “SHISHA”. I like the strawberry flavour of smoke so the boys convinced me to try it. I was 16 years in JHS 2 when I tried it”. (Male child, Kwashie Kuma Community Ga West District, Greater Accra).
23 OKADA – A Motor Cycle (usually for commercial purposes and considered illegal in Ghana). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
75 Other Delinquent Behaviour In every society there are norms to guide human behaviour bequeathed to them by tradition. However, MSC story data indicates that some children through ignorance, imitation, peer pressure, and need have adopted practices which are unacceptable to the society in which they live. Traditionally, behaviours such as disrespect for the elderly and pre-marital sex, particularly among the youth, tend to attract serious sanctions. The following MSC story from Ningo Prampram District gives a glimpse of deviant behaviour resulting from lack of parental sanction.
“I stay with my Aunty. She is the one who takes care of me because my parents are dead. Because of poor communication between me and her it makes me to disrespect her. She like pouring verbal abuse on me where I mistakenly do something wrong. Due to this, most of my friends who were close to me influenced me to disrespect her.”
(Female Participant, Ayetepa Community, Ningo Prampram District, Greater Accra)
Note that in this case, “disrespecting” the aunt in response to verbal abuse probably entailed verbally assaulting the aunt in return.
Pre-Marital Sex Sometimes due to parental neglect, poverty and poor supervision, some children turn to deviant behaviours to satisfy their material needs. An MSC story below gives an experience of a girl child in Ningo-Prampram.
“Sometime last year my parents were finding it difficult to take care of us. My dad works at the sea and my mum sells foodstuffs. Since they were not having money to take care of me. My mother gives me some of the food stuffs to sell around. Through that I met one boy older than me who said he will be giving me money so I should be his girlfriend. I accepted to date him. Since then anytime I go to him he gives me money. My parents did not know about that. In fact they do not really pay much attention to what I do. My mother was only happy to see me bringing money home from foodstuff I take round to sell for her.”(Female Child, Ayetepa Community, Ningo Prapram, Greater Accra)
Conflict with the Law Under the Juvenile Justice Administration Act 695 (2003) there are procedures for dealing with juveniles in conflict with the law. MSC stories relating children’s illegal activities include child prostitution, thuggery, and alcohol and drug abuse such as smoking of marijuana. The stories do not indicate police arrests and prosecution, but they demonstrate moral decadence in various communities where the stories were collected. Those immoral activities are facilitated by lack of adequate parental care and supervision, peer influence, poverty, ignorance and adventurism coupled with experimentation.
Child Prostitution In seaside communities, girls may visit the beaches at night to solicit males, with the objective of making money for their needs. The story below gives a glimpse of how risky behaviour evolves:
“I started going out at night with my friends to have fun. We go to “Jams” and to the beach in the night to meet boys so we have fun. The boys will be touching me in my very sensitive part. Through the night outing I started dating a boy. I was curious to have Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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sex with him but refused because he never gave me money. For some few months I got some feeling for another boy. The behaviour became worse that I developed the habit of chasing boys at night. That is why I started involving myself in sexual activities. I was following boys because they give me money which help me.”
(Female Child , Lekpongunor Community, Ningo Prampram District, Greater Accra).
Drug Abuse MSC data indicates that drug abuse is prevalent in some communities among school children. Peer influence appears to be a key facilitator. The following MSC story gives a glimpse of this trend:
“John started associating himself with some gang at lower Prampram. The name of the gang is AGBOTOE. The gang is noted for all the bad things that happen in Prampram like stealing, violence and especially smoking of weed and cigarette. I have seen John smoke weed couple of times with his new friends.” (Male Parent, Prampram Community, Ningo Prampram District, Greater Accra).
Thuggery and Gambling Thuggery and gambling are offences which appear to be more prevalent in Ningo Prampram District than other districts. Children view these offences as ways of supporting their needs and desires. MSC story data reveals that violent crimes are committed in some communities by a gang of youth that robs people of their personal belongings. A child in an interview confessed:
“I sometimes join my friends who do not go to school to do bad things in the community. My friends and I cause a lot of trouble in the town because we were strong boys. I did not take advice from anyone and my friends also encouraged me to do bad things. I was the leader of the group. I thought we were the village champions because when I see anything that does not belong to me, I will organize my boys to beat up the person and collect that particular thing like phone, shirt, shoes and so on.”
(Male child, New Ningo Community, Ningo Prampram District – Greater Accra).
Gambling is also very common among school children in Ningo Prampram district. Children use their pocket money to gamble, hoping to make more money. This is attributable to poor parental supervision, adult exploitation of children, as well as peer influence. Time spent gaming has a negative impact on the children’s work output in school, as affirmed by the following MSC story:
“I was going to the game centre every day. My parents were not taking care or having time for me. So when I saw my friends going to the game centre I would follow them. And sometimes when I am given money for school, I spend it at the game centre. I also slept very late.” (Male Child, Ayetepa Community, Ningo Prampram District, Greater Accra).
“I was influenced by some friends who took me to the game centre then I started gambling. I was using my feeding money to go to the game centre. Because I go to the centre late and every morning I will be feeling sleepy. (Male child, Old Ningo Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
77 Lateness to School Most Significant Change story data reveals that some of the school children are not punctual in coming to school also leave early. The problem increases after the midday break.
“Anytime I go home during break time to find food, I come back late when gates of the school are closed. Coming back late from break is an offence so I would be beaten”. (Male child, Bontrase, Awutu-Senya District, Central).
Challenges and issues which districts have to address are lateness to school, vagrancy, gambling, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, pilfering disrespect (verbal abuse) for elders, thuggery, pre-marital sex and emergence of child prostitution. Children involved in such anti-social behaviour or conduct attest to the fact that their involvement has negatively affected their school attendance and academic performance.
Intervention Processes (Role of Institutions and Activities Undertaken) Child delinquency, infractions of the law, and other deviant behaviours have a negative impact on all dimensions of life. Considering limited family capacity (due to family breakup, poverty and unemployment), state and non-state actors have initiated a variety of interventions aimed at behaviour change. They use such sensitization activities as videos, discussions, flash cards activities; and the establishment of school clubs or study groups. State change actors include the National Commission for Civic (NCCE), the Social Welfare Department, the Community Development Department, the Girls Education Unit of Ghana Education Service (GES), the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) and Ghana Health Service. NCCE has intervention programmes across two Districts, Awutu-Senya and Ningo-Prampram. Community Development Department operations are more pronounced in Ningo Prampram District. The Girl Child Education unit of the Ghana Education Service operates across the three districts, while DOVVSU’s interventions are found only in Ningo Prampram.
NCCE visits schools to sensitize children on sexual and reproductive health (including teenage pregnancy), negative effects of early marriage, rights and responsibilities of children, and the importance of school education, good citizenship, the constitution and the law. It has also established NCCE clubs and study groups in schools to discuss child protection issues.
Community Development Department officers also organize school and community sensitization programmes on child protection issues, teenage pregnancy, child trafficking, child labour, drug abuse and the harmful effects of smoking and bad behaviour. The Counselling Unit of the Ghana Health Service also sensitizes children on sexual and reproductive health matters such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), personal hygiene and teenage pregnancy.
DOVVSU officers provide sensitization lectures to children on juvenile offences including alcohol and drug abuse, child trafficking and child labour. Schools have also mounted several initiatives. All schools have study clubs in which membership is compulsory. There are also boys’ and girls’ clubs which discuss issues affecting their welfare and protection. Teachers are made patrons to ensure efficient and effective functioning of the clubs. In addition, some schools have adolescent health centres which team up with NCCE to organize sensitization programmes on health issues of adolescent children. Below are the excerpts from interviews with children that attest to the role of state and non-state actors in ensuring pro-social behaviour, preventing deviant behaviours, and as required, fostering attitudinal and behavioural change: Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“My friend later sent me some recorded videos about good and bad behaviour and negative effect of teenage pregnancy which he got from NCCE. – (Male Child,, New Ningo Community, Ningo Prampram, Greater Accra).
“I changed due to advice that I received from some of my friends and also an educational NCCE programme I used to watch on TV”. (Male Child , Ayikai Doblo Community, Greater Accra).
“We have three (3) clubs in the school, the NCCE club, the boys’ club and the girls’ club. They taught us about Reproductive Health issues and personal hygiene. They taught us about teenage pregnancy and sexual exploitation. We have been told to shun bad peers and report anybody who makes sexual advance towards us. The club visited the hospital in the community and we have resource personnel from the counselling unit to educate us on how to keep ourselves clean.” (Male Child, Awutu-Bereku Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central).
“The NCCE started the club two years ago in 2015. We meet once a week, we have a club patron in the school. She together with the teachers teach us about the constitution. They taught us about our rights and responsibilities. They taught us that there are laws in Ghana just as any other country that has constitution to govern the country.” (Male Child, Awutu-Bereku Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central).
Assembly CDD came to educate children at the shore. They spoke to us about teenage pregnancy, child trafficking, child labour and drug abuse. Through the programme we learn that smoking is harmful and that it causes cancer and health problems. We were also taught the importance of education. (Male Child, Prampram Community, Ningo Prampram District, Greater Accra).
“Community Development Department came to the community for sensitization on child protection issues. The officers also came with flash pictures to educate us on child protection issues.” (Male Child, Ayetepa Community, Ningo Prampram, Greater Accra).
“Personnel from Ghana Education Service came to talk to us about teenage pregnancy.” (Female Child, Prampram Community, Ningo Prampram, Greater Accra).
“NCCE educated us on how to care for our children. We were told not to beat our children on least provocation. They said parents should be patient with our children. We should sit down and talk to them.” (Female Parent, Prampram Community, Ningo Prampram, Greater Accra).
PLAN Ghana, which operates in Awutu-Senya District, has established a micro-finance scheme in the form of susu groups, which give loans to contributors to expand their small businesses. Such schemes financially empower parents to be able to adequately care for their children, as testified by one of the pupils interviewed:
“An NGO called Micro-Plus has also helped us form savings groups so that our parents can provide for our needs. This also a PLAN GHANA COMMUNITY so they are working to empower people” (Male Parent, Bontrase Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Table 12: Intervention grid based on Stories on Children in Conflict with the Law and Child Delinquency
Child Protection Change Agent Intervention Change Issues Inadequate care Plan Ghana Establishment of micro-plus, Parents benefitted from loan and support for a micro finance organization schemes. Children are able to go children and (SUSU) which provides soft to school with money to buy food lateness to school loans to contributors to and with all educational needs expand their small businesses. supplied. Children report to school on time.
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Post-Intervention The interventions initiated by various government departments and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) have specific objectives for addressing challenges in children’s and parent’s behaviours or attitudes. It is expected that interventions will induce cognitive empowerment of children and yield desirable outcomes. MSC story data suggests that most of the sensitisation programmes initiated by departments and NGO’s did, in fact, yield fruitful results. The stories collected suggest that the learning process of children facilitated by experimentation, peer influence or pressure coupled with ignorance and limited experience has resulted into deviant, delinquent behavior and sometimes infractions of the law. Sensitization efforts to combat social vices not only affected children but also the conduct and attitude of parents and elders. Interventions have made attitudinal and behavioural change possible as captured below:
“I realized that how I was handling my children was not the best. So I now talk to them more. When I get angry at their behaviour I just relax and then later I call them and talk to them. Relation with children is better than before” (Female Parent, Prampram Community, Ningo Prampram, Greater Accra)
Most Significant Change story data suggests that most of the children interviewed have benefited from the interventions initiated by state and non-state agencies and organizations.. Stories indicate that children’s deviant and delinquent behaviours have declined and that, in some cases, children’s attitude to their schooling and studies has also undergone substantial improvement.
Sensitization programmes have also enlightened children on the legal implications of bad behaviour and the benefits of good behaviour. The following excerpts from children interviewed attest to this.
“As a result of club activities, I have changed my ways. I wash my uniforms and iron them before I wear them to school. I am no longer afraid to go for morning assembly at school because of inspection”. (Male Child, Awutu Bereku Community, Awutu- Senya District, Central).
“They told me about dangers of smoking and health consequences of it in future. I made up my mind never to smoke again and I have never tried it again.” (Male Participant, Kwashiekuma Community, Ga West, Greater Accra). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“I have also stopped the gambling and my performance has increased. I learnt a lot my school report is good. (Male Child, Ayetepa Community, Ningo Prampram, Greater Accra).
“I don’t go out to the beach in the night again. I don’t chase boys again and I don’t involve myself in sexual activities again. I am always at first or second position in clubs. Thank God I still hold that position in clubs. (Female Child, Lekpongunor Community, Ningo Prampram, Greater Accra).
“Now due to advice I got from the girl child club, I respect my aunty now. I am a change person now. Sir I respect my aunty and I am happy for this.” (Female Child Nartey, Ayetepa Community, Ningo Prampram, Greater Accra).
“I am happy now that I do not steal anymore” (Female Child, , Ayetepa Community, Ningo Prampram District, Greater Accra).
Children interviewed attribute change to the direct, ongoing personal benefits derived from pro-social rather than deviant behaviour. These benefits include improved academic performance, peaceful and happy child-parent relationships, and avoidance of health problems associated with sex and smoking. Sustainability of the changed behaviour will depend on how the children perceive its long term benefits; and also on how well their parents supervise and care for them, maintain family harmony, and provide for the family’s needs.
Conclusion Out of the six (6) Districts sampled for study, only three have stories of deviance, delinquency and law infractions: Awutu-Senya, Ga West and Ningo Prampram. Stories of children in conflict with the law were told more frequently than stories of delinquency. Most of the stories on law infraction were from Ningo Prampram and Ga West. Stories indicate that children’s anti-social behaviour and moral decadence have occurred as a result of weak family capacity. (which includes family disintegration, poverty and poor parental child supervision and care). These factors have contributed to the moral decadence of children in various communities. State and non-state actors have initiated interventions among all age-groups to encourage pro-social behaviours, prevent deviant behaviours, and foster change in attitudes. Most of the interventions in these communities and districts are initiated by the NCCE and the Community Development Department. Their sensitization programmes have yielded fruitful results. Their performance and school attendance have improved. They are refraining from stealing, thuggery, premarital sex, smoking, gambling and other social vices. Parents are now living up to their responsibilities, and the stories suggest that children’s experiences have positively affected their attitudes and behaviours. The sustainability of change depends on the benefits perceived or experienced by children and on the improved support, guidance and care from their parents.
On a cautionary note, community apathy has exacerbated deviant and delinquent behaviour of children in at least one out of the three districts under this domain. Ningo Prampram district, has made an attempt to pass by-laws to deal with children’s gambling and loitering at night; however, these laws are not being rigidly enforced. Unfortunately, this brings into question the level of commitment of the District Assembly in resolving the issue of deviancy. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
81 6.6 Child Abuse and Neglect Introduction The World Health Organization defines child abuse to be “all forms of physical and emotional ill- treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation that results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, development or dignity. Neglect refers to the failure of a parent to provide for the development of the child where the parent is in a position to do so. The government of Ghana’s Child and Family Welfare Policy recognises a child as a person below the age of 18. This is in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 1992 Fourth Republic Constitution of Ghana (article 28) and the Children’s Act 1998, (Act 560) (section 1). In the Ghanaian cultural context, a child is defined as one who is still largely dependent on an adult for the necessaries of life.
This section of the report discusses the issues of child abuse and neglect across the 6 sampled districts in 3 regions. The total number of stories collected on child abuse and neglect was 36, with Ningo- Prampram contributing the majority (13/36.1%). Gomoa West contributed 9 (25.0%) of the stories; Awutu- Senya contributed 6 (16.7%); Ga West contributed 4 (11.1%); South Tongu contributed 3 (8.3%); and North Tongu District contributed 1 (2.8%).
Pre-Intervention --Child Abuse Analysis of the pre-intervention stories indicates that children are often abused or neglected by people who are supposed to be their caregivers - mostly relatives and close, trusted family friends. The stories suggested that these children suffer both physical and verbal abuse from their caregivers. The caregivers include aunties, stepmothers and grandparents who subject the children to physical abuse such as striking the child with the “fufu’’ pounding pestle and sticks, causing physical injuries to the child. The incidence of child abuse was more frequently reported in stories from the Ningo Prampram District compared to the other five districts: 8 out of 16 stories. There were no stories on child abuse from Awutu-Senya and North Tongu Districts. Excerpts attesting to the physical abuse of children are presented below:
“After school we prepare the pestle by hitting the wood on a stone to become as how it is for pounding fufu. She maltreated me always. Sometimes she will hit me with the pestle and beat me at the slightest error” (Female child, Gomoa Hweda, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
“I was staying with my mother and my step-father. As I was growing with them I had to go through a lot of abuse; they abused me physically and verbally. Sometimes, the beating brought about bruises on my body” (Female child, New Ningo, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“I grew up with my mother’s sister whom I called my aunt. I was maltreated and I was sometimes starved; no food for long hours until I finish whatever assignment my aunt gave me. My aunt sometimes beats me severely and I sustain injuries all over my body. In fact I was physically and verbally assaulted” (Female child, Prampram, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“I stayed with one lady called sister Yaa. I went to class 1 at sister Yaa’s place, but whenever she asked me to do something and she was not satisfied, she would hit me with iron sheet. Other times too, she will not give me any food or money to go to school”. (Female child, Sokpoe, South Tongu District, Volta Region).
Focus group discussions (FGD) with community opinion leaders suggests that child abuse is an issue of concern to some communities. Parents or caregivers physically abuse their children when they do wrong or disobey. They see corporal punishment as effective in ensuring that children are not engaged in delinquent behaviours. In an FGD in Akotoshie No-2 in Ga West District, the men stated that “child abuse is a problem because parents use electric wire to beat their children.” This shows the severity of physical abuse that children may go through even in the hands of their own parents.
On a gender basis, the stories on child abuse from the districts confirmed that girls suffer most of the physical abuse. Eleven (68.75%) stories were on the abuse of girls between the ages of 13 and 16. These girls were not living with their biological parents but were given to relatives or friends for their up-bringing.
It was revealed in one of the stories that a 15-year old male child in the Gomoa West District in the Central Region was sexually abused by a male adult to whom the boy was given as an apprentice (to learn how to drive a car). Although the boy reported the incident to his parents, the culprit was not punished due to lack of compelling evidence.
“There was once a case of sexual abuse where a teen boy was involved in anal sex by his master who was teaching him how to drive…He reported one day to his parents that his master took him to a festival at a nearby community where during that time his master used medicine or some cream on his manhood and penetrated him through his anus”. (Male adult, Gomoa Brofo, Gomoa West District, Central Region.
A similar case of sexual assault was reported in the Ga West District where sexual advances were made on a 16-year old girl by the son of her uncle. Sadly, the girl reported the incident to the boy’s mother and it later resulted in hatred for the girl by the boy and his mother. The girl had this to say:
“One day, when I was asleep I realized that someone was touching my body and I woke up to see my uncle’s son doing that. The next morning, I reported to his mother and she told me she would talk to her son - which she did and they separated us. After that, they developed hatred for me; I felt uncomfortable living with them…” (Female child, Akotoshie NO.2, Ga West District, Greater Accra Region).
Another case of child sexual exploitation was reported in the Ningo-Prampram District involving a male adult and 3 girls:
“…this man camped them under one room, one roof and on one bed. I cannot state whether the girls willingly went to the man or whether it is the man who forced them. The man had sex with the three girls in turns and induced them with black power so that they will continue to stay with him. This continued for about one and half months till people and family started talking about the loss of their girls”. ((Male adult, Ayetepa, Ningo- Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
Some of the MSC stories of child abuse highlighted the poor academic performance of children that resulted from the maltreatment they received from their caregivers. This maltreatment resulted in Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
83 emotional and psychological trauma. Children who suffered abuse had poor school attendance and were unable to concentrate in school. In the words of a female child in Sakpoe in the South Tongu district, “…other times too, she will not give me any food or money to go to school. I didn’t also have sandals so I walked bare footed. After school, I had to go and sell fish for her before she will give me food to eat”.
Below are quotations from a child and adult attributing poor academic performance to child abuse:
“The friend I left my four children with was always quarrelling with his wife because the wife was not treating the children fairly, which brought confusion between them. The wife later started maltreating my children which affected their academic performance in school”. (Male adult, Ayetepa, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“…Later I was given to a family friend who was not a family relative to take care of me. Over there, in fact she took me through a lot of terrible experiences thus mistreatment and molestation started affecting my studies, and my performance also begun dropping. I could not help it but endure.” (Female child, Mumford, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
Child neglect Child neglect is a problem in the communities where the MSC stories were collected. Analysis of the stories points to the fact that some of the child neglect cases were the result of family break-ups, while others were the result of abandonment – particularly (but not solely) on the part of fathers.
Neglect affected children emotionally and psychologically. The children lamented that their parents neglected them when it came to providing for their basic needs and their education. Some of the children had to work on their own or in their parents’ businesses to raise money for their basic needs. Some dropped out of school; and some girls began to exchange sex for money. The following are excerpts from some of the children’s stories.
“…these are problems because parents are unable to take care of their children because of the low fish catch due to illegal fishing. Children are forced to take care of themselves and therefore do not respect their parents and other adults. The girls go after men to get money and they become pregnant” (FGD with men, New Ningo, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“Basically over here, it is as though when one completes JHS3 the basic education they have the freedom to man their own lives. Your parents will not necessarily be in involved with your control again”. (Male adult, Ngyiresi, Gomoa West District, Central Region.)
“We are family of nine and do not get the chance to complete school, some of my siblings drop out from school to help my parents to sell in the market and help in the farm”. (Female child, Atsieve, South Tongu District, Volta Region)
“Most women in the community are single-parents. They have either divorced or separated over petty quarrels and disagreements. When this happens, it’s the children that suffer. They are abused emotionally and psychologically and are unable to concentrate at school. Sometimes even the person the child will stay with is a problem. Both parents keep tossing the child here and there and it even affects their education”. (Female child, Dago, Gomoa West District, Central Region.) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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In telling their stories, some male adults in Ningo-Prampram intimated that they did not have the time nor in some cases, the interest, in their children’s development, and left the children in the care of their mothers. They did however realize that as a result, their children were being negatively influenced by their peers:
“Formally, I left the upkeep and caring of my children to their mother to do. She was the one who fed them and clothed them. I only supported her when I had the means to do so, but she carried greater part of the burden”. (Male adult, Prampram, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“…Because I have not given my attention to the children, they grew up to be somehow on their own. Also apart from neglect, peer pressure is another problem. Due to this issue my daughter got pregnant at only age 15”. (Male adult, Ayetepa, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“Because of how my work is I have to leave early in the morning for work and always come back late in the night sometimes at 11:00 p.m. My work does not give me the chance to see and talk to my two girls often. My wife is the one who is always with our two girls. So I counted on her support to be advising our children when they go wrong. This is because as a father I thought I have to put food on the table for my family so I was just focusing on the work”. (Male adult, Prampram, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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The following story of Most Significant Change explores one girl’s experience of child neglect.
I am Dora Tetteh. I am 14 years old and I am in JHS1. I was staying with my mother and my step-father. As I was growing with them I had to go through a lot of abuse; they abused me physically and verbally. Sometimes, the beating brought about bruises on my body. Through this suffering, I got the thought that I had to go to my father because I felt that since my mother is no more with my father and now with another man, I was not wanted. So I asked an old woman to know where my father is so that I can go to him. She told me that my father is at Ahwiam. When my mother got to know that I had asked the old woman in our household, she asked me why I wanted to know my father and for what. I told my mother that I just wanted to know because; my name is Tetteh which is different from my other siblings’ name, Awuku. That day, she beat me very well and I sustained injuries. Sometimes she starves me as I go to school with no money, I have to beg my friends for food. Generally, this treatment I get from my mother and step father makes me feel more useless than my siblings. But the sensitization on child abuse has changed the situation for the better. Now she does not beat me again or shout on me. My step father too has stopped beating me and he treats me like he does his own children. Compassion International also helped in provision of my school materials. This helped me to study and it improved my learning and performance. That is not all; the NCCE also sensitized the children and the community on dangers of beating a child, dangers of child labour, and child trafficking. These actions have helped improve my mother and step father in their thinking. Through sensitization and awareness creation by one Henry Tetteh Amanor, who speaks through Public Address System at the Information Centre in the Community, parents also listen to the advice and they practice what they have learnt. And this brought a great difference and a change in my parents. The most significant change is that my parents have stopped maltreating me, and this has brought a great change in my life. Now I feel I am part of the family and mentally I do not feel inferior again. This has resulted in my better performance.
Intervention Analysis of the MSC stories across the six sampled districts suggests that International Needs, Action Aid, National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) and the Department of Community Development (DCD) are the key organisations tackling child abuse and neglect. Other organisations mentioned include the Department of Social Welfare, Challenging Heights, Kinder Paradise, Plan Ghana, IOM, Destiny Child, and Seek to Save Foundation. The main interventions were community sensitization, and education concerning child abuse and neglect.
International Needs, which operates in Gomoa West and North Tongu Districts, focused on the formation of Rhema Health/Children Clubs in the schools to educate children on sexual and reproductive health and their rights as children. International Needs also worked in community sensitization and education related to family values, using role play and drama; they also provided educational materials (books, school, bags, school uniforms etc.) for children and paid of school fees for the most needy children. Six Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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stories of change mentioned International Needs, and out of these, only one was from the North Tongu District. The interventions of International needs are captured in the following extracts from the stories:
“International needs provide support to children in their schooling. They give them text books, uniform, sandals and also pay their fees for them”. (Male child, Dego, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
“We benefitted a great deal from them. They supported needy students like my siblings and me by paying our fees, giving us school uniforms, exercise books and even inspiring us to study hard so that we can became great future leaders”. (Female child, Lasivenu, North Tongu District, Volta Region”
“International Needs have organized drama and have educated the adult and family values and the way it affects children growth. They have been advised to try and settle their differences for the sake of their children and not to pack their bags and leave over small fight”. (Female child, Dego, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
The DCD and NCCE interventions involved sensitization and awareness-creation for both the children and adults in the communities.. The areas of the sensitization included the effects of physical, verbal and sexual abuse of children. The strategies used to communicate their messages were the use of drama and flash cards, to which the people could easily relate. The interventions of NCCE and DCD were mentioned in stories from Awutu-Senya, Gomoa West and Ningo-Prampram only. FGDs with community members shows their interventions were not limited to these three districts. The interventions are captured in the comments below:
“It was through the sensitization programme held by the Community Development staff, that I have realized my mistakes. In fact, my daughter suffered neglect”. (Female adult, Ayetepa, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“We attended a meeting where a team from the district assembly community development unit educated us on the need to take care of our children. They said it is not only one person who takes care of children but everyone in the family and community”. (FGD with men, New Ningo, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“Community development implemented their sensitization in 2016. They usually come around when we have a gathering in this community like outdooring, festival to educate the community on child protection issues. They also go to the school to speak with the children” (FGD with men, Kwashiekuma, Ga West District, Greater Accra Region)
See Annex 8 for more details on interventions which address child neglect. Post Intervention (Changes) Analysis of the MSC stories suggests that respondents attributed attitudinal and behavioural change, and improved academic performance to the various interventions. Adults who reported previously abusing and neglecting children stated they have experienced behavioural and attitudinal changes; similarly, the victims of child abuse reported have experienced improved school attendance and performance. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Community sensitization and education on child abuse and neglect has contributed immensely to behavioural change according to adults. Their past verbal and physical abuse stemmed from ignorance in some cases. The parents intimated that through the interventions, they have learned that all children need to be given attention and support. They therefore stated that they had resolved to pay more attention to the welfare of their children and not to subject them to any form of abuse or neglect. The change in their attitudes towards their children has resulted in cordial relationships between parents and children. The adults revealed that their children are happy to be free from abuse and neglect. Parents who previously neglected their children have assumed their responsibilities and are taking care of their children’s needs. In Gomoa Dunkwa community, in particular, the chief issued a directive for all parents to enrol their children in school and failure to do so would result in the parent being invited to the chief’s palace for questioning and if necessary, to be fined. This measure was to help solve low enrolment in his community. The following extracts attest to changes:
“After the sensitization the chiefs also got involved and a directive was given that if any child does not go to school, he/she would be taken to the palace and the parents would be invited and questioned and after that they would be given some fines to pay, then an order to make sure that their children will go to school”. (Male adult, Gomoa Dunkwa, Gomoa West District, Central Region)
“In the morning, I always pray with him and help him to prepare to go to school every day. I give him ghc2.50 every day for school and leave his money for feeding with the mother and I am making sure all his needs are being given to him. I attend his school’s PTA meetings, pay the PTA dues and provide all his school needs and do not depend on his mother to do that again.” (Male adult, Prampram, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“Now the 32-year old man due to intervention has stopped that amorous lifestyle with the girls who are under age. The two girls enrolled back to school at classes 5 and 3”. (Male adult, Ayetepa, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
On the part of the children, they indicated that their change was in the area of education. They were particularly happy that their parents were now taking up their responsibilities —especially for their educational needs. Such comments came mostly from children who had been neglected by their parents. The children also intimated that the support they were now receiving from their parents and NGOs had given them the peace of mind to study in school, and therefore their academic performance had improved. Some of the changes the children noted by the children are captured in the comments below:
“I am very happy to be in normal school. I come to school every day. Since I came back have never absented myself from school. My mother is at Senya now and she does not burden me with work”. (Female child, Winneba Road, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region)
“My education is taken care of, my feeding, and clothing. I am a transformed abused child into a lovely sober girl”. (Female child, Prampram, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“I started school at class one and now gradually I am in class four. There is progress in my life physically, emotionally in material wise example clothing and educational needs are taken care of. Now I am even responsible as a child on my duties such as reading, learning and respect the elders”. (Female child, Prampram, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
As part of the MSC story-collection process, FGDs with community opinion leaders and women’s groups were conducted in all the communities that the teams visited, in order to get a general sense of the various child protection interventions that have been implemented and their impact. Findings from these FGDs confirm the changes that children and the adults expressed individually. These changes were attributed to sensitization and education on child protection with particular interest in child neglect by parents. The key changes that were mentioned were parents’ interest in their children’s education and its impact on enrolment in school. Some extracts from the FGDs can be seen below:
“Community members especially parents send their children to school due to the sensitisation on the importance of education”. (FGD with women, New Ningo, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
“Awareness of value of education has been heightened. Almost all children of school- going age have been enrolled in various schools”. (FGD with opinion leaders, Bontrase, Awutu-Senya District, Central Region).
“Enrolments have increased amongst our children. Parental support has been improved so they are able to help their children in school”. (FGD with opinion leaders, Bla, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
“The children are now taking their studies serious because most of the parents are able to provide them with their needs and give them the support they need to study”. (FGD with men, Agorta, South Tongu District, Volta Region)
Most Significant Changes A careful analysis of the most significant change stories across the six sampled districts shows a variety of changes that beneficiaries considered to be more significant than others. Gaining knowledge on the importance of education, attitudinal change, improved academic performance, freedom from abuse, self-confidence and the provision of shelter were cited as the most significant changes across the six districts. Comments in relation to these are seen below:
“The most significant change to me is that I as the parent now know how important it is to take particular interest and care for the welfare of my children”. (Female adult, Ayetepa, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
“My most significant change is that Kinder Paradise has provided me a home that I have not had before. A home away from home”. (Female child, Prampram, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
Parents and community members have become aware of the negative effects of their attitudes and actions on their children”. (Female child, Dago, Gomoa West District, Central Region) Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
89 Change Actors The organisations whose interventions have influenced the changes are International Needs, Challenging Heights, World Vision, Kinder Paradise, DCD, DSW and NCCE. Based on the number of the stories attributed to particular organizations’ interventions, some organizations have had a greater impact than others. These organisations are International Needs, DCD, DSW and NCCE—organizations that embarked on sensitization, education and awareness-creation on child protection and well as providing material support for school children.
Conclusion The pre-intervention situation and the current prevailing child protection issues in the sampled districts and communities suggest that child abuse and neglect resulted in children being deprived their basic needs and leading to psychological and emotional trauma. Divorce or broken homes accounted for some of the abuse and neglect that the children suffered in the hands of alternative caregivers. The interventions of the organisations are having a positive impact on adults who are perpetrators of child abuse and neglect. The sensitization activities have changed attitudes and are creating awareness concerning responsible parenting. The interventions of International Needs, DCD and NCCE are bringing changes to the lives of children in their operational areas. The MSC stories showed changes in attitudes and behaviours of adults and some community leaders towards the well-being of children. These changes have resulted in improved school enrolment and performance of children.
6.7 Automated Birth Registration The second phase of the MSC story-collection in Southern Ghana recorded only one storey on automated birth registration. This was in the North Tongu District. Birth registration was a peripheral issue that the community members tended to hear of during sensitization periods on other child protection issues. There is no readily available reason for this, but the lack of direct intervention linked to birth registration seems to be the most likely reason. The single story recorded during this phase indicated that International Organization for Migration promotes sensitization on the need to register children. However, this sensitization is not done in isolation because the organization also engages in anti-trafficking activities. The participant indicated that:
IOM educated and sensitisation on the need to register our children at birth and send them to school… IOM representatives who are working tirelessly to ensure that the education we have received yield better results. They do well to go round the community and pick up children who are seen roaming town during school hours and send them to school. They also make sure they intercept children who are tempted to be trafficked as well as send word to parents to go for the already trafficked ones (Male Adult, Bla Community, North Toingu District, Volta region).
The story teller went further to explain that the registration of children will ensure the children have a legal identity. This was the most significant change to him. He stated specifically that:
Most significant change to us as a community is the education of our children. I am certain my children will have clear identity in future and at the community level, we can be certain our children will have brighter future due to increased enrolment (Male Adult, Bla Community, North Toingu District, Volta region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
90 6.8 Right to Education This section analyses the Most Significant Change (MSC) stories collected from participants from Greater Accra, Central Region and Volta Regions on the domain of Rights to Education. The Right to Education was a domain which emerged in phase 1 of the research based on the fact that parents were unable to support their children at school due to lack of basic items such as school uniforms, notebooks etc. Despite the Government’s fee-free policy, the indirect costs of education, such as providing food for children who attend school, was a major deterrent for parents under the poverty line and without a stable livelihood. The MSC stories revealed that schooling was one of the main safe guards for protecting children especially girls from high risk factors. Maintaining children in school was also a problem for many families and therefore became an issue related to child rights and protection.
There were 64 stories in the domain of rights to education. Their distribution across districts showed that 18 (28.1) and 8 (12.5%) receptively came from the Gomoa West Awutu-Senya Districts of the Central Region. Similarly, 3 (4.7%) of the stories were from the Ga West District and 10 (15.6%) from Ningo- Prampram Districts of the Greater Accra Region. In the Volta Region, 5 (7.8%) stories were from the South Tongu District while North Tongu recorded 20 (31.2%)
The Right to Education as a child protection domain is illustrated in MSC stories related to access to schools, school drop-outs, irregular school attendance, financial challenges for both parents and children, enrolment, retention and completion challenges. The analysis of the stories will include Pre- Interventions and Prevailing Situations; the intervention processes which are being implemented to the benefit of the individual or the community as whole; and the changes that have occurred as a result of the interventions. The changes are analysed considering the attitude, knowledge, skills etc. of the individual in the change process. The last part discusses the institutional involvement and change actors at the community and district level.
Pre-Intervention and Prevailing Situation The pre-intervention situation reflected in by MSC Rights to Education stories shows a range of issues: lack of access to education, irregular school attendance due to poverty, and stubbornness of children. Financial challenges were a leading issue, as well as social factors like teenage pregnancy, and lack of parental care. The latter included child neglect, single parenting, and lack of family commitment to progress in education. Story-based data on these issues suggests that the prevailing situation differs from one community to the other.
Lack of Access to Education Lack of access to education is featured in most of the MSC stories collected from participants. In some communities, this included lack of good educational facilities like school buildings, washrooms, libraries etc. In some cases, the closest schools are far from children’s homes.
In the North Tongu district of the Volta Region, educational facilities like school buildings are simply not in some of the communities, so either children to walk many miles to school or just remain at home. Some schools too were mud buildings and too small to accommodate the pupils, which resulted in many children dropping-out from school. Some stories mentioned the stigma of attending a school in mud buildings. A man from Lasivenu Community in the North Tongu shared Joyce Lawoe’s story:
“This young lady’s name is Joyce Lawoe who is now 20 years of age but received the intervention when she was around 16 to 17 years of age. Before the intervention she was Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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having challenges with being regular at school which stemmed from the fact that her school was far from the community. She had to walk several kilometres to get to school every blessed day and this alone discouraged her.” (Male Adult, Lasivenu community, North Tongu District, the Volta Region).
A related story was narrated by one of the MSC participants in the same community. The story also revealed that though there are other schools in the nearby community, it is still far and one needs a motorbike to get to the school.
“There was no school block in the community, I attended school at one mud block that the community members put up for us. I attended school in that block from class one to class four with the other children in the community. Because the school environment was not good, it made it very difficult for me to attend school. Due to this, my parents took me to a school in Battor that is Shelter Academy. The school block that the community constructed was small, therefore not able to accommodate all of us. As a result, most of my friends were not going to school but always at home. To attend school in Battor, you have to take a motor bike that is also expensive.” (Male Adult, from Lasivenu Community, North Tongu District, Volta Region)
Aside from lack of school buildings, lack of educational aids like books, school bags, school sandals pencils etc., also hindered children from acquiring basic education. This was a basic challenge in all the three regions. Therefore, some children stopped schooling due to lack of these basic educational supports. Examples of views of the participants are presented in the following extracts from the stories:
“I come from a very poor home in Akotoshie community where my parents could not afford buying a school bag for me. I was compelled to carry my books in polythene bag to go to school and when it is a raining season I find it very difficult to come to school because I am afraid the books will get wet. I also have rampant absence from school because my parents could not pay my school fees.” (Male child, Akotoshie community, GA West district, Greater Accra Region).
“When I was 10 years old at the primary school, my parents were poor and therefore could not take very good care of me. I had no sandals, my mom do not even prepare well balanced diet food for us due to our economic status. I used only one exercise book for all my subjects in school, no pocket money for school as well” (Female Child Senya community, Awutu Senya District, Central Region).
Evidence from some of the stories suggested that some children dropped out of school because parents could not pay their school fees and other levies (e.g. printings fees), and therefore were sent home by their teachers. This was a stigma on both child victims and their parents. Consider an extract below:
“My parents are farmers but they are not able to make enough money to provide for our daily expenses. This usually affects their ability to provide us with our school needs. On a few occasions I was asked to go home for my school/printing fees and some other dues. It was quite embarrassing when such a thing happened to me and my parents were also not happy about it.” (Male Child, Lasivenu Community, North Tongu, Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“Before International Needs, I was finding it difficult coming to school. My family does not have enough to take care of my educational needs. At some point I stopped schooling. I stayed in the house for more than a year. Because I did not have school uniforms, shoes and bag. Money to buy books and pay for classes in the school was a challenge. Whenever I come to the school without classes’ fee, I was punished and not allowed to do the classes. So at class five (5) I stopped schooling.” (Male child, Gomoa Dego, Gomoa West, Central region).
Severe poverty was one of the problems in all the three regions. Some parents could not afford to school their children at all. They keep their children at home and sometimes cannot afford to feed them a meal. Some of the children had to work to feed their parents. The following quotes affirm this:
“I was in KG when my mother took me to Kumasi. She sells food (wheat) so I was helping her sell the food and take care of my junior brother and sister. I told her I wanted to go to school but she said she didn’t have money. Then one day, we came back to the village for a festival and I told her I wanted to stay back at the community and go to school so she left me with her sister. I stayed with her for some time but she didn’t also send me to school and also used not to give me food” (Female child, Dego Gomoa, West central region).
“There is a friend of mine who used to go to the sea shore for fishing because his parents could not afford to take care of him when he was schooling. He was in class four when he dropped out of school in the year 2008. He would go for fishing in order to buy for himself and sometimes gave his parents money for food and the other siblings. Even when we were in class having our lessons, he would normally go out and will not return to class till the following day. These activities of my friend went on for some months, the parents did not do anything to help their child go to school because of the money he was bringing home. The boy wanted to be in school but also thought of who will provide for him since he was now sending money to his parent. In the community most parents did not know the importance of education in the lives of their children”. (Adult male, New Ningo community, Ningo-Prampram district, Greater Accra Region).
“I had challenges with my studies because of my level of concentration in class. My parent are not having any sustainable source of income. This brought untold hardship to our family. One of my sisters ended up getting pregnant because of our predicament; she eventually dropped out of school.” (Male Child, Lasiwenu community, North Tongu district, Volta Region).
The financial constraints of some parents are so dire to the extent that they can’t purchase a school set of uniforms for their children, hence making their children to stay away from school. As a result, some children who manage to go school eventually do not stay because of the embarrassment of either looking different from their colleagues or being driven away by their teachers. Also, some parents have to borrow to maintain their homes.
“I was living with both parents when I was sent to school. Life was miserable in a way that when I go to school without uniform I was sacked. The teachers always sack student’s in house attire to go home and I was always sacked because I didn’t have school uniform.” (Female child, Akotoshie No. 2, community Ga West, Greater Accra Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“My father got mentally ill just when my brother gained admission into SHS (Apam Senior High school). My mother then sold most of her things to provide for both my daddy’s condition and my brother’s admission. She even went borrowing from her friends just to take care of the house. Within that same time, I also completed JHS due to the situation at home, my mother told me she cannot afford to send me to SHS to further my education” (Female Child, Apam Community, Gomoa West District, Central Region).
School Drop-out and Restricted School Attendance Stories collected on rights of children to education highlighted school drop-out as a key prevailing issue in the districts and communities visited. Stories that link teenage pregnancy to dropping out were prominent. Other causes of dropping out were, peer influence, lack of good parental care, foster parenting, single parenting etc. Below are extracts giving a picture how teenage pregnancies eventually leads to dropping out:
“My mother wanted me to continue JHS here but I did not want to. Most of the girls dropped out of school at a point because of teenage pregnancy and some of them join bad companies at the school so I was not interested in going to school. My friends at the school used to advise me to take a boyfriend but I did not like it.” (Female child, Mumford community, Gomoa West, Central Region).
There were also stories that showed that children were truants due to peer group influence and lack of good parenting:
“… I never liked going to school because most of my friends are drop outs and never had any interest in education. They do business and make a lot of money which I used to jealous a lot. At a point I tried moving with them but my family will not allow me to engage in child labour” (Male child, Dejorme community, North Tongu, Volta Region).
“At first I was not interested in school. I used to stay at home most often. Even when I go to school I would run away and go home. I used to follow bad friends and they influenced me to stay at home. I would not assist my parents in any house chores. I did not stay at home to study at evenings.” (Male child, Mumford community, Gomoa West district, Central Region).
Single parenting was a prevailing issue that restricted children from acquiring basic education. Stories from some of our MSC participants have given us a picture of how women have suffered all alone to look after their children. Some of them reached a point where they trafficked their children to reduce the burden. Single parenting was due to death, separation or negligence of responsibilities of a spouse, especially the husband. Teenage pregnancy was also seen to lead to single parenting. Teenage mothers are known to run away from home or leave their children with their parents or grandparents. In most cases the boys who impregnated them do not accept responsibilities. The following are some comments taken from a sample of the stories.
“My granddaughter dropped out of school in JHS 2 as a result of teenage pregnancy. She didn’t have the support of the boy who impregnated her and she left the little child with me and run to live with her mother. That little child, my great granddaughter has been my responsibility since birth till now. She is just 5 years old.” (A female adult Degorme community. North Tongu district, Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“In this community most of the children of school-going age were not going to school because most of them were being looked after by single parents. For those who lived with both parents too, their fathers were irresponsible and left the burden of their upkeep to their mothers. For this reason, most of the mothers become fed up and often asked the children to stay at home instead of going to school or asked their children to sell before they could get money to support them.” (Male Adult, Ahwiam Community, Ningo- Prampram, Greater Accra Region).
“I had to take up the task of provideing for all three of my grandchildren. Their father had abandoned them and their mother was also unemployed. Since I was making a little income through burning and selling of charcoal, my daughter asked me to assist her by taking up the responsibility of these children so that she could go look for a job elsewhere. Times became hard for me so eventually, the children had to drop out of school”. (Female Adult, Kpeyibor Community, North-Tongu, Volta Region).
Foster parenting was an issue which led to lack of schooling. Children living with foster parents had their rights to education violated by whoever they stayed with. In some cases, such children were laden with heavy household chores, made to engage in selling of wares or food and these activities invariably had a negative impact on their school attendance and academic performance. Below is the narration of a young girl who, despite such problems, has managed to complete school
“I was very young when my mother (Mercy Nukpenu) gave me out to Madam Suzzy Abotsi. I am currently 19 years old. I have completed New Covenant School last year and I’m waiting to go to secondary school. My father does not care about our welfare. For this reason I stayed with Madam Abotsi. When I was with Madam Abotsi, in fact things were difficult for me. I sometimes skipped school to sell to help maintain the house. I often did not eat before going to school. I later stopped going to school when I was in class five. I stayed at home for almost two years.” (Female adult, Sokpoe community South Tongu district, Volta Region).
Some of the communities have multiple child protection issues. These were due to child neglect, teenage pregnancy, school drop-outs, poverty, and unemployment of parents and youth as well as lack of proper education.
“As an elder in the community for the past 2 years, I have seen most of the children being school drop-outs, increase rate of teenage pregnancy, child labour, as well as child trafficking. I have been so much worried about these issues and always thinking about how the future of our children with be if we the elders are no more.” (Male adult, Bla community, North Tongu district, Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
95 Intervention Process (Institutions Mobilized and Activities Undertaken) The dominant interventions implemented to ensure the rights of children to education were in the form of sensitization and awareness-creation, forming Community Child Protection Committees (CCPC), building educational facilities, and providing educational materials. In some cases, medications as well as financial and academic support were given. The stories revealed that most of these interventions were offered together, adding greater impact and sustainability to the initiatives. However, other interventions were on their own.
Analysing the stories revealed that, most of the implementations were to offer educational support to the communities. Below are extracts to confirm how people benefit from some of the NGOs.
“Plan International Ghana came to our community to offer education to children who had dropped out of school for one reason or another. We were told that they were rolling out their educational programme for 9 months then our children could go back into the mainstream education system.” (A Female adult Kpeyibor community, North Tongu in district Volta Region).
USAID was on a mission to help needy children who due to financial difficulties have dropped out of school. This happened between 2011 and 2013 when the team came to the community to identify those children who were in need of basic learning materials, like books, pens, mathematical set, bags, and pair of shoes. They also talked to us about the rights and responsibilities of the child, peer influence, child trafficking etc. My friend was not present so I told him all I have learnt about USAID. After I finished talking to him about the benefits of schooling, he did not start schooling but stayed home for 5 months before going back to school. Meanwhile, there was a teacher in my school who always advised us and inspired us to study for there is more to education. “Compassion” brought letters to the school to sponsor some of the student, and I was included. At first if it was difficult to go to school. Compassion sponsored me. Every month, they give some amount of money which I use to spend on things I lacked like bag to keep my cloths in at home. I have been able to buy school shoes and uniforms. I also fed from that amount.” (A male adult, New Ningo community, Ningo Prampram district Greater Accra Region).
In addition, scholarships were established by Challenging Heights scholarships for high-achieving girls to attend school cost-free at the basic level, in the SHS, and also in vocational school. Before this, hope had been lost for most of the girl; they never thought of getting the chance to attend SHS. Consider some extracts below:
“Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) came to my school and I was selected by my teacher to be added to the list of those who needed support. CAMFED did not only support me financially but also educated me on the right as a lady and a child. Through those education I gained confidence. Again in addition to the support I received from CAMFED, I am trained in soap making and batik and can be able to work with it if I want to.” (Female adult from Apam, Gomoa west districts in Central Region).
“The vocational school is run by the Challenging Height NGO. Two weeks later my mother called me out that I had some visitors. When I went out, I realized that they were from Challenging Height Vocational School. They asked me if I had changed my mind about learning a vocation. They asked about what the issue was so I told them I could not pay Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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for a passport picture. They asked me to come without one and I was very happy. My mother also thanked them.” (Female child, Senya Breku community, Awutu Senya district, Central Region).
Moreover, some children were given free medication and feeding. A 38-year old man shared the educational challenges children in their community used to face.
“Through the help of International Needs, a transformational change was brought into the lives of several children in our community including Joyce Lawoe. The NGO also supported their effort by providing them with toilet facilities, offering students a free feeding programme, medication like folic acid was given to them once a week etc.” (Male adult, Lasivenu community, North Tongu, Volta Region).
A good number of the MSC stories showed the result of sensitization and awareness-creation regarding the rights and responsibilities related to education. This affected both children and adults. Below is a quote from a 17 year old boy’s story in the Gomoa West.
“An NGO (International Needs) came on a sensitization programme, together with the social welfare and the NCCE people. The social welfare officer made it clear from his presentation that children have the right to go to school. It is a must from the constitution that children must be in school. They gave the advice that if children are not being take to school, they may end up destroying their lives and becoming irresponsible persons in the community.” (Male child, Gomoa Denkyira community, Gomoa West district, Central Region).
Through the sensitization, teenage mothers were supported and encouraged by Social Welfare officers to go back to school:
“I was informed that Social Welfare people and Seek to Save People have brought a programme that sees to it that girls who have drop out of school because of child birth go back to school. I went and met some other girls who were already there. They met with us at CEM-Kpota. The assembly woman asked my name and wrote it down in addition to other names she had already taken down. The workers from the Social Welfare and Seek to Save Foundation went back after taking our names. They told us they will come back later. But before leaving they asked if I wanted to learn a trade or go to school. I said I would go back to school. They later came back with books, uniforms, bags and an amount of GH40.00 to buy sandals”. (Female adult, Sokpoe community, South Tongu district, Volta Region).
With regards to provisions of school facilities like buildings, a 19-year old boy told a story on how children have to travel with motorbikes to Battor to attend school:
International Needs Ghana came to the community to help the community in shaping the future of their children. International Needs Ghana, came in to construct 6-9 unit classroom block for the community and this made all of us attending school at Battor to come back to attend school in our nearby community. (Male adult, Lasivenu community, North Tongu district, Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Formation of the Community Child Protection Committee (CCPC) also helped reduce social vices in some of the communities. A participant from Gomoa West shared his experience about how his child’s life changed significantly after the intervention of International Needs’s CCPC.
“International Needs created the Community Child Protection Committee and empowered the CCPC by education whilst CCPC in turn, return the acquired knowledge to the community members in churches and community gathering and schools. When International Needs came to this community with their awareness creation, I noticed she took cues from their campaigns. Then at a point I noticed she started learning. She usually stay late studying into the night.” (Male adult Gomoa-Dunkwa community, Gomoa West district, Central Region).
A 75-year old woman confirmed from Kpotame in the South Tongu district confirmed this by sharing her experience how her grandson stopped roaming at night.
“The community watchdog activities made my grandsons stopped going out at night and has avoided bad companies and friends. This also helped to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy as well” (Female adult, Kpotame community, South Tongu district, Volta Region).
Changes (Specific Most Significant Changes) The involvement of most communities’ own actions with the government institutions and the NGOs have helped to bring some changes. The MSC stories revealed that most of the changes result from sensitization, free medication, empowerment, providing educational materials (including school facilities), and offering full scholarships for needy but highly capable girls.
The sensitization has increased the awareness of parents and children about the right of children to education. This, in turn, his has increased enrolment and regularity in school. Parents, especially women, were empowered. Some were given livelihood-support in order to provide for their children in school. The FGD revealed that clubs such as NCCE, girls’ clubs, boys’ clubs and SARA clubs were established in some of the schools. SARA clubs were in Awutu area at the Awutu Senya district in the Central region. Through the clubs, children, especially girls, were empowered with leadership skills, assertiveness, and knowledge of personal hygiene. They were encouraged to be content with the little they had so that they would not have to depend on men. School facilities were improved. This has also pulled many children back to school. There has also been improvement in the academic performance of the children. A 14 year old girl from Gomoa West shared her experience about her good performance.
“I am doing well at school now. I can read and write and I know I will be somebody in future. Not only me, but most of the girls. They are no more interest in boys or giving birth but want to go to school and become somebody in future.” (Girl child, Munford community, Gomoa West district, Central Region).
Another child (boy) shared his experience on how life has changed significantly through the intervention of school clubs. Now he knows the importance of school.
“I saw that my eyes were opened to so many things, which I didn’t know. What caught my attention most was the rights of a child. The right to education. It was on that explanation that I was awakened to the realities of my life. Though I was in school already and was enjoying Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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everything a child should enjoy, yet I didn’t really see the value of my education until that time.” (Boy child, Gomoa Denkyira community, Gomoa West district, Central Region).
The data showed that there were also changes with respect to access to education. This has increased the enrolment in school, retention and completion by the children. A 48 year old man from Ahwiam community expressed his view on how International Needs has built a school for the community.
“The change here is that, these children are regular at school and do not sell for their parents (mothers), they do not drop out of school, neither are they late to school, their health needs are being provided for.” (Male adult, Ahwian community, Ningo-Prampram district, greater Accra Region).
In Gomoa West, a CAMFED scholarship beneficiary suggests that, girls were not only given education, but were also empowered and trained to educate others on child protection issues. Others were also given livelihood-empowerment through vocational training. Observe the following extracts.
“Through CAMFED I was able to go to school again. I was able to further what my father told me to forget. I have had lots of changes in my life ever since I was enrolled on the programme. CAMFED have empowered me to be able to advocate on the effects of unprotected sex and teenage pregnancy. I am a strong lady now. Thanks to CAMFED. I have really benefitted from CAMFED.” (Female adult, Gomoa Odina community, Gomoa West district, Central Region).
“1. She was supported by CAMFED to complete her secondary education 2. She was taught how to make soap which can serve as a source of livelihood skill.” (Female adult, Gomoa Odina community, Gomoa West district Central Region).
Changes described as “most significant” relate mostly to educational achievement and good outcomes among children and young adults24. These improvements most likely will be the most significant changes in children’s lives as these will give them a brighter future, including financial security. Through interventions on many fronts, communities are recognizing the right of children to education. School- wide effects include increased enrolment, over-all improved academic performance, and increased retention and completion rates.
Institutional Involvement and Changes Actors The evidence of the data showed that two categories of institutions championed the work of bringing about these changes. They are state and non-state actors: the state institutions involved are, NCCE,25 Ghana Health Service’s Department of Community Development and Social Welfare, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Police Service and District Assemblies. All these state institutions work collaboratively together or with the NGOs to produce the various changes discussed above. Their main interventions were awareness-creation and sensitization. Other state-supported interventions were District Assembles giving scholarships to worthy students to further their education.
24 18 to 22 years old. 25 National Commission for Civic Education Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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The non-state actors also include NGOs26 and CBOs27. Unlike the state institutions that operated in specific regions and districts, some NGOs were present in both regions and districts. Challenging Heights is a typical example. They were present in many fishing communities that the teams visited. An interview with their project officer revealed they were in both Volta and Central regions freeing trafficked children and reintegrating them in schools.
Data from our findings revealed that in the Central Region, all the following NGOs and CBOs were promoting the rights of children to education: In Gomoa West, CAMFED, International Needs, Compassion International, PTA, Unit Committee members, and SMC28 were active. In Awutu Senya, Challenging Heights, Compassion International, Plan Ghana and UNESCO were active. The most active among these institutions were CAMFED, Challenging Heights and International Needs.
In the Volta region, the non-state institutions found were also NGOs and CBOs in the North and South Tongu districts. In North Tongu district, Destiny Child, International Needs, Unit Committee Members, PTA/SMC, IOM29, and CCPC were active. International Needs was the lead institution that implemented these interventions. As for South Tongu, Plan Ghana, IOM and Seek to Save Foundation30 were active. Also, the MSC stories showed that Social Welfare and IOM contributed a lot to some of the significant change stories.
With regards to Greater Accra Region, the non-state institutions identified include NGOs and CBOs. In Ningo Prampram District, Compassion International, USAID, World Vision, and PTA31 were active; however, in the Ga West district, World Vision was the only institution identified in the MSC stories related to Child Right to Education.
Other stakeholders contributing to implementing the various interventions related to children’s right to education were Assembly members, Members of Parliament, teachers, chiefs, queen mothers, pastors, and family members like parents, sisters, brothers, Aunties, uncles and guardians32.
Conclusion The stories revealed that children’s right to education became the dominant issue in both in Phase One and Phase Two of the MSC process. Though the right to education was not originally selected among the main domains of change, the analysis of the stories revealed that most of the child protection issues that affected children deprived them of their rights to education.
The prevailing issues that affected children’s right to education were financial challenges; lack of school facilities; social factors like teenage pregnancy; lack of over-all good parental care, child neglect and abuse, and child labour and work..
The MSC stories revealed the various interventions implemented by state and non-state institution include sensitization and awareness-creation, forming Community Child Protection Committees (CCPC), building educational facilities, and providing educational materials. Financial and academic support
26 Non-Governmental Organizations 27 Community Based Organizations 28 School Management Committee 29 International Organization on Migration 30 Particularly sending teenage mothers back to school 31 Parent Teacher Association 32 See annex 4 for details on the Intervention grid based on rights to education stories Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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were given to beneficiaries, and medications were also given to some. In addition, some parents were given livelihood-empowerment to help provide for their children in school. Students who had dropped out of school were given vocational training or enrolled back in school.
The analysis has established that the sensitization has increased the awareness of parents and children to know and value the right of children to education. Consequently, there has been increased enrolment and regularity in school. Parents especially women were empowered, they were given livelihood to cater for their children in school. Many children won scholarships from NGOs and attended school free. The FGDs revealed that clubs such as NCCE, girls’ clubs, boys’ clubs and SARA clubs in some of the schools, have empowered children, especially girls with leadership skills, assertiveness, good personal hygiene, and contentment.
6.9 Empowerment, Livelihood and Voice Introduction Much like Phase 1 of this project, which collected stories in the Northern sector, Phase 2 yielded a substantial number of stories in which empowerment, livelihood and voice was the central theme. A total of 22 stories was collected from all six districts: 7 from Ga West; 6 from Gomoa West; 4 from North Tongu; 3 from South Tongu; and 1 each from Ningo-Prampram and Awutu Senya. Comparison on gender basis showed that more stories were recorded from female participants (13) than male participants (9), which suggests that the problems surrounding empowerment affect women and girls more than they do boys.
In social science, “agency” is the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. By contrast, “structure” refers those factors of influence (such as social class, religion, gender, ethnicity, ability, customs, etc.) that determine or limit an agent and his or her decisions, and thus empowering or disempowering them. The term empowerment, therefore, can be defined as the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights. It also refers to the processes by which those who have been denied the ability to make choices acquire that ability; regain a positive self-esteem and confidence; and use it to achieve success for themselves. This section analyses the 22 stories collected under the domain of empowerment, livelihood and voice in discussing the problems faced by the people in the communities visited. It also describes the intervention programmes and actors which stimulated empowerment, and the changes that emerged as a result of these actions.
Pre-Intervention Situation The stories collected covered a wide range of problems faced by the community members, which included lack of confidence and courage to speak up, loss of income and source of livelihood, a general lack of knowledge about an individual’s ability to make choices and about their rights and responsibilities. This created the situation where parents, particularly mothers, were finding it difficult to provide for their children’s needs, causing neglect and leading to school dropout, child labour and unpleasant relationships between parents and children.
“Our crops are season crops which are grown once in a year because there are no means of irrigation to farm all-round the year so after the harvest season is over all the money generated from the sale of our crops is what we depend on. So when the money gets finished we go back to our poverty state. In my community Hikpo here, teenage Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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pregnancy and smoking of wee and child labour are on the increase. This is the result of parents not meeting the needs of the girls. Again some parents do not control their children, or take good care of them. Some of the children also roam in the night at wake keepings and at music and dance bars. Some of the girls have to fend for themselves so these lead them to follow boys for money hence the pregnancy. Boys are not left out either, when they cannot fend for themselves they become frustrated and drop out of school. They then join gangs who chase after girls and impregnate them” (40 year old male adult, Hikpo South Tongu, Volta Region). 1. Lack or Loss of Income Much like in the Northern part of Ghana during phase one of the MSC project, the team discovered that issues on empowerment affected women more than men. This was a result of the culture of patriarchy in most rural areas where importance and respect is not given to girls and women; thus, they are not allowed to go further with their education. This attitude led to women doing only menial jobs and taking care of their children, sometimes all alone, as the father of the children might not be present. The burden was further worsened because women were generally the nurturers of the family to whom the children went whenever they needed money. So there were major implications when the mother did not have a source of income.
In this Agorta, community life was difficult for us women and our children. We had no money to pay our children’s school fees, buy books and even given ‘chop money’ that is daily pocket money. We do not know how to relate to our children well for them to tell us their needs. We do not really meet their needs, especially the girls, hence the teenage pregnancy and the boy’s abuse drug and finally they drop out from school.”( 75 year old female adult, Agorta-Zewukope South Tongu, Volta Region)
“I was processing gari for sale and it was very difficult to get transportation to send the gari to the market and get people to buy the gari. Life was very difficult because I could not support my children and the home.”(50 year old female, Kpobi Kope, Ga West district, Greater Accra). 2. Self-esteem and Lack of knowledge Another perspective on disempowerment that emerged from the stories collected was the lack of confidence on the parts of both boys and girls, causing them to be shy and timid. Some of the children also kept problems they encountered- like harassment or abuse- to themselves because they did not understand their rights and responsibilities and did not know anything about child protection. As a result, they were not courageous enough to stand up to the perpetrators or too shy to seek help from someone else. In some cases, the lack of confidence affected academic performance.
“Before I got to know International Needs I did not know my rights and responsibilities. I could not interact with people in public, especially elders. When I came across instances of child abuse or labour I did not know what to do about it.” (14 year old male child, Ngyiresi Gomoa West district, Central Region).
“I was timid and afraid of crowd or standing before a group to talk. Even in class I don’t speak, I don’t ask questions even when I don’t understand something in the lesson. Not only could I not ask for further explanation, I could not also ask my colleagues to explain Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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anything that I did not understand because I was shy. This affected my performance. I used to be reserved and quiet everywhere, whether in school or at home I did not like speaking English because I was afraid to make a mistake and they will laugh at me.”(15 year old female, Gomoa Denkyira, Central Region).
Intervention Processes and Change Actors The intervention programmes implemented in the districts which had a significant impact on the lives of community members who had lost their agency in one way or the other included formation of school clubs, sensitization programmes on child protection and child rights, skills training for women’s groups, micro-finance groups, and provision of educational materials and financial assistance. In Ga West, Action Aid and the Department of Community Development collaborate to form clubs (Empowering Girls Club or Child Rights Club) in the schools where the members are educated and engaged in activities which encourage them to be more confident. Action Aid also organizes skills-training projects for the women to equip them with skills that they can use to generate income to take care of their families. Compassion International did the same in Ningo Prampram.
“Community Development came to educate the community on the well-being of children and their human rights and also on child defilement and its effects. Action Aid also has representatives in the community (3) who report to the office when they identify a problem. Action Aid also provides skills training to the women in soap-making, bead- making, and tie-dye”(23 year old female, Treaba Ga West, Greater Accra).
This organization supported me by paying for my medical bills. Provided me with educational materials, food and clothing, did my NHIS card for me and organized Saturday classes for us where they taught us Christian principles. They also educate us on rights and responsibilities of children and how to relate with each other as well as things that will promote our growth.
In the Central Region, and in the North Tongu district of the Volta Region, International Needs NGO was the main pioneer in sensitization programmes, collaborating with the PTA in schools to form Child Right Clubs and build the self-esteem of children while also talking to the parents and training them in ways to build better relationships with their children.
In the South Tongu district, Plan Ghana formed susu groups to help women to save money and help with their financial difficulties while International Organization for Migration educated parents on the rights of children and how to improve relations at home. Annex 7 reveals the key interventions by agencies related to voice, empowerment and livelihoods.
Most Significant Changes “They advised us that in the ancient times, it was acceptable if a woman had no job but now, as a woman you have to learn and find something to do. Now I am a change actor and try to help my community in the little way I can by passing my new found knowledge and skills to individuals who need help.” (23 year old female, Treba , Ga West, Greater Accra). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“The change is so significant to me because I now have a skill which I can also use to get money to support myself in future” (14 year old female student, Old Ningo Ningo-Prampram).
“I know where to go to for help. Some people are taken advantage of and they are unable to report because they are shy and afraid. So when you are bold as I am now you can defend yourself in so many things. I am able to encourage others and talk to my colleagues about child protection issues” (13 year old female student, Ngyiresi Gomoa West, Central Region).
It was evident from the stories collected by the research team that the programmes and interventions implemented by the various governmental and non-governmental organizations had some positive effects on the lives of community members and the communities in general. Women were overcoming their sense of powerlessness and recognizing that they had the ability to change their situations by using their resources. Mothers now had the capacity to provide for the needs of their children because they were economically empowered. Similarly, children were becoming more aware of their rights and the dangers they could face as children. They have also become more confident and bold thus enhancing participation in school and consequently improving their academic performance.
“Joining the Child Rights Club has broadened my knowledge on certain issues that affect children. I am now aware of my rights to the extent that if someone wants to come and take me to work I have the power to say NO! (14 year old male student, Hweda Gomoa West, Central Region).
“My confidence is on another level, you could see I was actively participating in the group discussion and that was impossible months ago. I am now bold, ask questions in class. I talk about child protection issues to people in the community” (15 year old female student, Gomoa Denkyira, Gomoa West).
“We were trained on how to save money for the future. Through this I have been able to build one shop and a one bedroom house. Since the year World Vision introduced the money box, my finance is now on the safer grounds.” (39 year old female, Akotoshie No.2 Ga West)
The team recorded that the depth of change effected as a result of empowerment programmes was at the levels of individual, family and community. Thus, changes that occurred were not only evident in the lives of the individuals who told their stories, but also in the lives of their families and communities. Thus, familial relations have improved considerably.
The training has also helped me to change the way I used to talk to my children and our relationship have improved. I told the chairman in the meeting that one cannot know it all. So when someone tells you something that you think can help you, you add it to what you already know” -42 year old female, Kpotame South Tongu, Volta Region
“My parents are now able to take care of my siblings. I am now able to meet with other children from other schools and have been exposed to many things” (14 year old female student, Old Ningo, Ningo-Prampram). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
104 Conclusions and Recommendations The 22 stories collected and analysed in this section under the domain of empowerment, livelihood and voice provide evidence that individuals (agents) are empowered to substantially improve their lives and even their state of mind when they are provided with means (structures) which can facilitate the process of regaining that ability. Equipping the participants with knowledge about their rights, skills for income-generation, and financial aid as well as educational materials, were the main causes of significant change in the six districts visited. This change resulted from collaborative work among both government institutions and civil service organizations. (However, in some districts, the work of the CSOs and NGOs was more prominent.) There was also an evident shift in empowerment as more girls and women were taking control of their lives and their families.
6.10 Alternative Care for Children Introduction In Phase two, a total of 325 stories of change were collected and selected of which twenty-six (26) were found to fall under the domain of Alternative Care for Children. Out of these 26 stories, 13 were recorded in Ga West district; 11 in Ningo-Prampram district; and one in North Tongu. One of the stories from a participant in the Ningo-Prampram district bordered on two domains - namely, child labour and alternative care. The Gomoa West, Awutu Senya and South Tongu districts did not record any stories on alternative care for children. There was an even distribution of the stories by gender; with 13 stories told by male children and 13 stories told by female children.
In this section, the 26 stories have been analysed in order to provide a better understanding of the problem of alternative care and of the work being done by government and non-governmental institution in the selected districts. This child protection issue revolves around children who, for various reasons, are being raised outside their nuclear family. This section aims to bring amplify the voices of children who have experienced some significant change in their lives as a result of relevant interventions, actions and programmes.
In November 2009, the UN General Assembly endorsed and adopted The Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children in honour of the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The guidelines encourage efforts to keep children with their families, where possible. However, when it is not in the best interest of the child to remain in the care of family, the guidelines state that “the State is responsible for protecting the rights of the child and ensuring appropriate alternative care: kinship care, foster care, and other forms of family-based or family-like care, residential care or supervised independent living arrangements.” This type of alternative care for children is termed “formal care” and it is in light of this that a number of institutions in the districts have made it their mandate to provide such care for children who have been found to be in need of social protection.
Pre-intervention Situation From the stories collected, the research team discovered that most of the children who are now receiving alternative care had come from “the streets”. In the year 2011, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection found that in Greater Accra alone, over 61,000 children were living or working on the streets, of whom 59% were girls. The children, however, were not on the streets of their own free will; family break-up, death of a parent, parental neglect and physical or verbal abuse were found to be push- factors behind this phenomenon. Many of the children who were interviewed by the teams Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
105 in both Ga West and Ningo-Prampram stated that they were being raised by single mothers; either because their fathers had abandoned them, divorced their mothers, or had passed away. The team also discovered that, sometimes, foster care with family members did not create better situations for the children because their relatives abused them, failed to meet their basic needs, or forced them into labour. One 15-year old female child from Hebron in the Ga West district of Greater Accra stated:
“I lost my parents at a very young age and I came to Accra to stay with my auntie who after a while wanted me to sleep with men to bring her money. When I refused, she drove me out of her house and I didn’t have anywhere to go than go sleeping on the streets of Accra” (Female Child, Old Ningo Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region)
“My father decided to give me out to his sister who lives in Accra; perhaps, my stay with his sister could make me to go to school. After my father left Accra, my auntie refused to send me to school but rather made me sell ice water on the streets of Accra” (13 year old female child. Hebron, Ga West, Greater Accra).
Family Breakup (though divorce or abandonment) In analysing the stories collected from children in the districts, it was evident that a significant number of the children mentioned their mother’s struggle to take care of them after divorce, death or abandonment by their father. This was because the man was often the breadwinner of the family while the woman only engaged in routine housework- like cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children- and was rarely engaged in income-generating work. The breakdown of some families was linked to the fact that some men reproduce with several women without necessarily performing the customary marriage rites for the women. This made it easier for a man to shirk his responsibilities. Regardless of whether women find themselves raising children alone due to divorce or abandonment, the effects are significant socially and financially. This is evident in some of the stories collected both in the Ga West and Ningo-Prampram districts.
“My father and my mother are not married anymore and we are about 3 children which affected our lives so much because it’s only my father who takes care of us” (13 year old female child. Hebron, Ga West, Greater Accra).
“I live at Adabraka with my mother who is a single with nine (9) children; I have 8 other brothers. My mother being a single mother could not take care of us; even to get money to pay fees was a problem for her. She had to stop us from going to school and be selling ice water to bring her the money for feeding” (16 year old female child, Hebron, Ga West District).
Consequently, children had to drop out of school and ended up selling on the street or begging for alms to make ends meet.
Death of a Parent(s) Another major factor that put a child’s protection and welfare at risk was the death of a parent or both parents. The selected stories show that the death of a parent - in most cases, of the father, had adverse effects on the financial status and stability of the family because the father was the main breadwinner of the home. His death, therefore, left the mother and children destitute and incapacitated.
“As a child my family and I were living happily but my father died and everything changed to worst. My two sisters were taken to Accra to live with my auntie. Finally, I was taken to Accra from Kumasi to join my sisters. At times we will have to sell pure water to fend for Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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ourselves; by then I was just a little boy about eight or nine years old”- (22 year old male adult, Prampram, Ningo-Prampram, Greater Accra).
“5 years ago, I was staying with my mother and 4 of my siblings in Swedru (in the Eastern Region). My father was dead and my mother was finding it difficult to take care of us. So every vacation I will go out with one of our neighbours to sell yoghurt and make money for myself and my mother. One day I took my own decision and set off to Accra to try my business without informing my mother or any other person. Later my mother died and her friend who was an assembly man shared me and my siblings among some people to be taken care of.” (Male Child, Prampram Community, Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
Parental Neglect and Financial Difficulties These two “push” (risk) factors were inter-related, such that financial difficulties led to some parents leaving their children alone at home or with a neighbour, relative or friend; or abandoning them. In most cases, they promised the child they would come back but never did. Financial difficulties also led some parents to neglect the protection of their children; with the imperative of needing money to support the family, they allowed them to engage in dangerous forms of work.
“My mother did not do any work and so I was not attending school. We were poor and life was difficult. I don’t know where my father is, he left when I was about 5 years old. One day my mother left home saying she would be back soon and she never came back. She left me with my younger sibling who was still a breastfeeding baby”- (15 year old female child. Hebron, Ga West, Greater Accra).
“Due to the fact that his parents could not afford his school fees since the fees was getting higher, he stayed home for some time while he went for fishing with his father but later separated from his father and started to go on his own”(12 year old male child, Prampram, Ningo-Prampram, Greater Accra).
Child Abuse Unfortunately, some of the children faced abuse – both verbal and physical, from people they trusted to care for them and love them. This pushed them to run away from home to seek, what to them would be, a “free” environment. Here is an example:
“My dad loved me so much and my mother on the other hated me, and I didn’t know why. She always maltreated anytime my father was away from home (either he has gone to work or travelled). One day, whiles my father was away, (still at the age of 5) my mother poured hot water all over me. The pain was so unbearable that I had to leave the house without informing anyone. I found myself wondering on the street” (19 year old female child, Prampram, Ningo-Prampram, Greater Accra). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
107 Intervention Process and Change Actors In the Ga West district, the team interacted with children in the Chance for Children home who had been taken from life on the streets or inappropriate family conditions. An interview with a social worker for Chance for Children revealed that the organization worked closely with the Department of Social Welfare to identify cases requiring the need for alternative care. The organization monitors street children in the Ga West district over periods of time before determining the action to take.
Some of the children had also ended up in the Chance for Children home due to recommendations from other social workers or a “good Samaritan.” The social worker stated:
“We don’t put on any fancy clothes; we try as much as possible to be at par with them. When these children see you as higher than them, they will not open up and lower than them too, they won’t open up.”
The decision to receive help from the organization was mainly left to the children and sometimes involved the parents if they were available. The usual intervention experienced by the children at Kinder Paradise in Ningo-Prampram was of being rescued from the streets by the police or a “good Samaritan,” then being referred to Social Welfare or the “shelter” in Osu, and then later being sent to Kinder Paradise. The children rescued by both Chance for Children and Kinder Paradise received psychological therapy and regular sensitization to help them adjust to their new environment. When they are successfully reintegrated into new foster families, The Department of Social Welfare regularly visits and tracks the children, to see if they are adjusting well. Table 13 presents a list of the organizations that work directly on alternative care for children in selected districts, as well as some changes brought about as a result of the interventions. Table 13: Intervention grid based on Alternative care stories
District Organisations Activities Change Stories Ga West Chance for ¡¡ Chance for Children ¡¡ “My happiest moment is, Children (CFC), provides food, shelter and now I can go to school education for the children so that I also become Department of rescued from the streets. somebody in future. The Social Welfare Chance for Children (DSW), ¡¡ Social Welfare works in partnership with CFC to home has really changed Ghana Health help identify children on the my life.” Service (GHS) streets who are in need of ¡¡ “Social Welfare came and protection. They also track took me from the Police children who are being station and sent me to integrated into families Chance for Children who ¡¡ GHS provides sensitization took me in. They provided on safe health practices at me with food and shelter the home. and also sent me to school.” Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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District Organisations Activities Change Stories Ningo- Kinder Paradise, ¡¡ Main mandate in the District ¡¡ “Kinder Paradise gave me Prampram is to provide residential an education; teachers Department of home care to orphaned, counselled me to think of Social Welfare, vulnerable and street good things about myself, Ghana Police children. inspired and motivated Service, ¡¡ The police usually report me not to lose hope.” cases to the Social Welfare ¡¡ “I was rescued from child SHELTER at Osu Department, which in turn labour and brought back works to find alternative to school and I can now care for these children. read, write and speak ¡¡ SHELTER is reportedly a good English and there is temporary place for children hope for my future.” to stay whilst organizations work to find them homes. North Tongu International ¡¡ International Needs ¡¡ “Their support towards Needs provides educational my education has support in the form of changed my mind about books, school bags and school. Now I have uniforms to children who are great interest in learning in need. because I get the books ¡¡ It organises sensitization and other things I need programmes in schools on for me to be able to child protection issues study. I am also regular and participate in class because I pay my fees every term.”
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories Research through this project demonstrates that the interventions of the various governmental and non-governmental organisations mentioned brought a number of significant changes in the lives of many children. The provision of shelter, a family care environment, food, education and materials for school went a long way to improve the children’s lives. The change was found, in some cases, to extend past the individuals to their families.
“This has helped relief my mum off my educational needs. Now, my mother only focuses on taking care of my other siblings. Also the little money we make through farming and selling is almost sufficient for the family because my sibling demands are less”. (13 year old male child, Morklipe, North Tongu, Volta Region)
The main changes reported were (i) enhanced participation in school and (ii) enhanced achievement in school. It was also evident that some of the children had had a change in attitude and their general outlook on life was more positive now. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“I have noticed that I am doing well in school and that is something I am proud of. I believe I can put in effort in my education and get through to the university level. The most significant change to me again is my positive attitude toward education and behaviour as a child. I have education which can help me build a better future”- (13 year old male child, Morklipe, North Tongu, Volta Region).
“Now I am staying with foster parents who are giving me parental care and also at an international school where I am studying to become a doctor in future. I have been at a foster home and no more on the street. I have been put in a very good private school to better my life. I can now speak English and interact with my foster parents, friends and my teachers at school.” .”(Female Child, Hebron Community, GA West, Greater Accra Region).
“Before I was brought to CFC home, I could insult people who came my way and fighting was like water and food to me. But now I’ve changed a lot, I don’t fight with people like I used to. I am gentle now and although other children annoy me, I don’t fight them but report them to our foster mothers”- (16 year old girl, Hebron, Ga West, Greater Accra).
Conclusion From a sociological point of view, the family is the primary agent of socialization for any individual. A family environment which is loving, supportive and protective lays the foundation for a child to develop his/her full potential. A child loses this safe environment when there is neglect from one or both parents, the death of one or both parents, family breakup or abuse. All these risk factors were found to be interrelated in the districts and appeared to be worsened by poverty. However, it is apparent from the 26 stories selected that the interventions from the Department of Social Welfare, Chance for Children and Kinder Paradise, the police and other organisations and services were having a positive effect on the lives and welfare of children in the Greater Accra region.
The team discovered that the most significant change experienced across the districts was the provision of shelter, education and food. Most of the children had had to drop out of school or had never even had the opportunity to enrol in school, so they were very happy to be enrolled in school. Now they can enjoy the luxury of three meals a day and have a renewed sense of purpose in life. Information collected from the interviews and stories confirms that the collaborative efforts of the government agencies and services such as the police and Social Welfare, and the non-governmental organisations have made a huge impact in many children’s lives in the Ga West District, Ningo Prampram and North Tongu.
6.10 Multiple Domain Category of Child Protection Issues Introduction Analysis of Most Significant Change stories reveals that a child may have experiences to share in one domain of child protection. However, there are others who have experiences to share that encompass two or three interwoven domains, as illustrated by ten (10) stories collected from four districts (Gomoa West, Awutu-Senya in the Central Region, Ningo-Prampram in the Greater Accra Region, and South Tongu in the Volta Region) .
The Most Significant Change stories in the Multiple Domain category can be grouped into six types. Type One stories deal with child trafficking and child labour. Type Two stories cover child trafficking and child abuse. Type Three stories deal with child labour and child abuse/neglect. Type Four stories show Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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links between child labour and alternative care. Type Five stories deal with child labour and a child’s right to education. Finally, Type Six stories deal with child abuse and neglect resulting in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues.
Of the ten Multiple Domain stories, four belong to Type Five; two belong to Type Two; and the other types (One, Two, Four and Six) have one story each. South Tongu has a greater number of Type 5 stories-- numbering four. Awutu-Senya district has three stories: two Type Two stories and one Type 1. Gomoa West and Ningo-Prampram have one Type One story and one Type Four story respectively.
In all the four districts, children have undergone complex and bizarre experiences under the supervision of parents and communities. These experiences have had negative impacts on their schooling and academic performance. The stories attribute this trend to poor parental supervision, poverty and family disintegration.
Pre-Intervention Situation Most Significant Change story data reveals that in all the four districts mentioned above, there are various types of child protection issues. Children are denied their right to formal education and in some cases made to work at the expense of their education. Irresponsible parenting has also left some of the children to take care of themselves, leading to all kinds of vices including sexual abuse or exploitation and child labour. As a result of poverty, poor parental supervision and care coupled with family disintegration, some families do not have the capacity to adequately take care of their children. Most of the stories involve children staying outside their families either with their grandmothers, aunts, uncles or friends of parents. Children are left to provide for themselves. Some of the children abandon schooling to work. In the process they are subjected to physical abuse and sexual exploitation, as narrated by one by the story tellers:
“She gave me to an uncle whose wife was beating me and I had to stop school. One day during Easter I returned to my grandma and I returned to school and placed in class 1 but later jumped to class 4. She stopped giving me money so I started selling onions and through that I met a guy who became my boyfriend. I got pregnant”. (Female, Sokpoe Community, South Tongu District, Volta Region)
Other stories revealed similar abusive treatment by care-givers:
“I was taken to Akosombo by my grandmother. I was not going to school regularly. This was because I stay home to work or sometimes on the way to school I would stop and play with my friends small, then by the time you realize, the school has closed. So she took me to Akosombo when we reached there, I was accompanied by my grandfather and uncle for fishing. I was not going to school at that place every day. Early in the morning, I have to get ready and have the boat ready to go out to sea. Sometimes we come back late. So by the time I get to lie on my mat it is already reaching morning.” (Male, Agave Dzebetato Community, South Tongu District, Volta Region).
“My father does not care about our welfare. For this reason my mother gave me out to Madam Abotsi. When I was with her, things were difficult for me. I sometimes skipped school to sell to help maintain the house. I often did not eat before going to school. I stopped going to school when I was in class five.” (Female, Sokpoe Community, South Tongu District, Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“He was 14 years attending school when he has to stop at class 5 due to the fact that his parents could not afford his school fees. So he stayed at home for sometimes while he goes for fishing with his father. Parents were of the view that children are supposed to assist them taking care of the house so they did not encourage them to go to school”. (Male, Prampram, Community, Ningo Prampram District, Greater Accra Region).
“I told my father that I needed school uniform but he told me he had no uniform issues with me so I should get it myself, since children of my age are working to provide for their school needs. I told my mother that I wanted to go to Yeji to work so that I can get money to buy my school uniform, books, sandals and bag. She agreed to my decision. So I joined my friend to Yeji where I worked for a man. The nature of the work was such that we were fishing even at night. In spite of all these difficulties and danger, I still endured it because I needed money to buy my school needs and go back to school to join my colleagues.” (Male, Hweda Community, Gomoa West District, Central).
Intervention Process Problems highlighted above involve child trafficking, child labour, sexual exploitation, child neglect and incidents of school drop-outs due to poor supervision and care, poverty and family disintegration, as well as parental and community apathy. Analysis of Most Significant Change story data suggests that various attempts are being made to address these child protection issues.
Community Level Interventions Ten communities in Awutu-Senya have established community child protection committees (CCPC) to address the issue of child trafficking. Various social groups have been urged to report anyone found involved in child trafficking to the committee for necessary action. Unit Committees are deeply involved in such exercises. The following excerpt from a child’s story attests to this:
“At almost every corner of the community there is a member of the CCPC. We have market women, school children, and unit committee members to monitor and report on incidence or cases of child protection, especially child trafficking” (Petty Trader, Egyaa Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central).
Non-State Actors Non-state actors deeply involved in rectifying anti-social conduct and behaviour of children and parents in the four districts are Challenging Heights, International Needs, Kinder Paradise, Seek to Save Foundation and Plan Ghana. Their interventions are described below.
Challenging Heights In Gomoa West and Awutu-Senya districts there is a notable incidence of child trafficking (particularly of boys) and child labour resulting in ending children’s formal education. The victims are searched for, rescued and rehabilitated by NGO personnel. The organization collaborates with CCPC and has established a search team to rescue children trafficked to Yeji. Those identified are rescued and rehabilitated at its centre in Agona and sent to school. Children who escape and return home are also identified and supported to go to school. Attention is also paid to girls likely to drop out of school, particularly teenage mothers. This is evidenced in a testimony of one of the children interviewed: Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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“Challenging Heights had supported my cousin’s schooling. The NGO interviewed me and decided to assist me. They gave me GH¢50.00 for my examination fees and other school expenses”. (Female Student, Senya Community, Awutu-Senya District, Central).
International Needs International Needs operates in Gomoa West. The organization targets children of school-going age who have been victims of trafficking or child labour, and who have shown an interest in returning to school with support. The following gives a glimpse of what the organization has been doing.
“They asked me the reason why I went to Yeji to work and for how long. After that they asked me if I really wanted to go back to school to which I answered YES. They told me that they were going to assist me to go to school. I learned that the people are called International Needs. As promised they took me back to school and above all paid all my fees, gave me new school uniforms, textbooks, pens, and school bag. (Male Student, Hweda Community, Gomoa West, Central).
Kinder Paradise Another civil society organisation (CSO) engaged in child protection is Kinder Paradise which operates in the Ningo-Prampram District. It also targets out-of-school children engaged in fishing and farming or activities deemed to be child labour. The CSO liaises with Social Welfare to keep the children rescued in its orphanage and to prepare them to attend schools they have established. A story of a child bears testimony to this:
“My friend and his friends worked for a while on the sea when one day Kinder Paradise went on rescuing mission and came across my friend Timothy Tetteh and other boys who were supposed to be in school but was on the sea fishing. Kinder Paradise sent them to Social Welfare. They were given clothes, food and other things: Kinder Paradise together with Social Welfare kept the children for 3 days to record their background information before they were brought to the Kinder Paradise Orphanage. (Male, Prampram Community, Ningo Prampram, Greater Accra Region).
International Organization for Migration (IOM) The Most Significant Change stories indicate the presence and operation of International Organization for Migration in South Tongu. Its mission is to rescue children in distress or caught in child trafficking and support them to go back to school as well as to reintegrate them into their families with the collaboration of Social Welfare Department. Stories from South Tongu give a glimpse into the operation of the organization.
“Some officers from Social Welfare and International Organization for Migration came to our house with my mother. I was later called and told that I should start preparing to go and live with my mother.” (Female, Sokpoe Community, South Tongu, Volta Region).
“With the help of International Organisation for Migration, Emmanuel’s education is now on the go.” (Male, Agorta Community, South Tongu Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
113 Plan Ghana This organization operates in Awutu-Senya and South Tongu Districts. It has established micro-finance schemes, susu or loan groups in communities. Members or contributors are allowed to take loans to expand their businesses. Most Significant Change story data indicates that some women members who have financial problems in providing for their children have benefitted from the scheme to expand their petty trading. They have been financially empowered to manage their families as indicated below:
“I have benefitted at least six times. I took this loan to expand my petty trade (ONIONS). Profit from the business I divided into two for the welfare and education of my children and the other part for maintaining the house”. (Female (Parent) Atsieve Community, South Tongu, Volta Region).
Seek to Save Foundation Seek to Save Foundation operates in South Tongu district. Its objective is to search for and identify children in distress—particularly teenage mothers—for support to go back to school. Girls enrolled in schools are provided with material support. This initiative has encouraged teenage mothers who would have ended up as school drop-outs to be back in school.
The testimony of a victim of teenage pregnancy gives a glimpse into her experience:
“Social Welfare and representatives of Seek to Save Foundation came to write down the names of teenage mothers who are school drop-outs and later gave us school uniforms and books. I do not want to be left out because of teenage pregnancy. I was to go to schools to secure a future for myself and my child.” (Female, Sokpoe Community, South Tongu District, Volta Region).
State Change Actors State actors involved in rectifying or addressing anti-social behaviour in various communities in the four districts where multiple domain stories were captured are Social Welfare, (SW) and the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE). Social Welfare normally liaises with CSOs intending to initiate an intervention programme in a district to address child protection issues. NCCE often initiates sensitization programmes on child rights and responsibilities, teenage pregnancy, negative effect of child marriage, constitution and the law, good citizenship, parental responsibilities, and other topics. They have established clubs in the schools to serve as study groups to debate and discuss issues of child protection. These initiatives are to empower children cognitively to enable them to grapple with their particular problems. In the four districts of the Multiple Domain stories, NCCE has been very active in South Tongu talking to parents about how to take care of their children, in order improve parental child supervision and care.
A parent provides a glimpse of the benefit she received from NCCE.
“NCCE has provided us with education on how to take good care of our children that is our duties and responsibilities”. (Female Parent, Atsieve Community, South Tongu, District, Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Analysis of MSC story data suggests that interventions of state and non-state actors of change have been fruitful in the short term, affecting attitudes and behaviour of children caught in anti-social activities or dropping out of school. Table 15 in annex 10 presents more detailed information on interventions which were addressing the multiple domain category. It also gives an overview of the operations of change agents and the impact experienced across the MSC districts.
Post Intervention (Significant Change) Analysis of MSC story data reveals that the interventions initiated by state and non-state actors positively impacted the attitudes and behaviours of both parents and children, although their sustainability over the long term depends on the depth of change, and the extent of external support.
Most of MSC stories under Multiple Domain deal with children who have dropped out of school as a result of irresponsible parentage, poverty and unemployment. In these stories, children live away from their families. They are either fostered or stay with aunts, uncles or grandmothers whose economic situation is not better than that of their biological parents. Interventions in schools and communities enable children to assess the value of what they are engaged in. NCCE school clubs have empowered the children to question the basis of their predicament and effect attitudinal and behavioural change. Child right clubs in schools have made children aware of their responsibilities at home, in their communities, and in their schools. The importance of school education, as emphasized by CSOs, has been successful in helping children (including teenage mothers) realize the importance of formal education. Improved rates of school attendance coupled with gradual improvements in academic performance have also been noted. The following excerpts attest to the attitudinal and behavioural change in the four districts under reference:
“The support given me by International Needs has helped me greatly. I got all the things I needed to be in school. I started doing well in class because I have books to read and also do my exercises and homework. I have also joined the child right club in the school. I learned that fishing is dangerous to children and so we should not engage in it. We were taught about our rights and responsibilities as children in home school and community”. (Male, Hweda Community, Gomoa West, Central).
“He went through trauma but he is alright now so I am happy”. (Female (Parent), Eyaa Community, Awo-Senya District, Central).
“I am very grateful for the kind assistance from my benefactors to enable me realize my dream of becoming a nurse. Through education I can become a great woman in future I take my lessons seriously and go to school regularly because I appreciate the profit I will derive from schooling.” (Female, Senya Community, Awutu-Senya District).
“All I dream of is to go to school and become like them one day. I am confident that the change will be forever because, if there is anything that I know, it is the fact that I will never allow myself to be a school drop-out because of unplanned pregnancy. They also provided us with books, pens, uniform for school”. (Female, Sokpoe Community, South Tongu, Volta Region).
“I had the chance to be enrolled in school. I will have a future.” (Male, Agave Dzebeta Community, South Tongu, Volta Region). Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
115 Conclusion Most Significant Change stories in Multiple Domain category depict complex, inter-related child protection issues which need careful planning to address. Both state and non-state actors of change have mounted various programmes to address these challenges, as outlined in the table entitled “State and Non-State Interventions by District and Impact.”
Analysis of MSC story data suggests that there has been attitudinal and behavioural change in some communities among children and parents. However, as a result of various sensitization programmes in schools, the school children appear to be more enlightened on child protection issues than the adult population. Interventions have enticed drop-outs back to school. Children and parents now appreciate the importance and value of school education as the key to realizing the children’s ambitions. However, complementary community initiatives are absent or minimal.
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117 7.0 Analytical Discussion of Selected MSC Stories
A deeper analysis of the data from the 325 selected MSC stories allowed the research team to identify trends of change due to interventions. The focus was on the depth of change and the types of change-- including societal and cultural change. This section will present these findings as well as the factors that brought about these changes
Depth of Change Based on storytellers’ description, changes occurred either at individual, family and/or community levels. Analysis of the data showed that there was an almost equal number of stories at each of these three levels, although Individual changes were slightly higher, at 35.7 percent of total selected MSC stories. Table 8 shows the distribution of stories based on the depth of change across the six research districts.
Characteristically, a significant majority of the MSC stories have impact on Individual and Individual/ Family levels. This is with the exception of Gomoa West that has an equal number of stories that show changes at the individual plus individual/family levels, compared to changes at Individual/Family/ Community level.
Some of these stories include positive changes on individual lives that had a multiplier effect on his/her family and also the whole community. In such cases, the enhanced qualities of the individual included ability to transfer positive lessons to others in his family and members of the community, often with the changed individual being seen as a role-model. There are also cases where awareness raising and empowerment from an intervention had many recipients in the community. Table 14: Depth of Change Due to Interventions from Selected MSC Stories
Central/R Greater Accra/R Volta R Depth of Change Gomoa Awutu Ga Ningo North South Total West Senya West Prampram Tongu Tongu Individual 24 18 18 30 11 15 116 (35.7%) Individual/Family 6 23 11 14 36 14 104 (32.0%) Individual/Family/ 30 4 16 13 18 16 103 Community (31.7%)
Total 60 45 45 65 65 45 325
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 The possible explanation of this data may be rooted in the type of intervention introduced in these districts. It’s very characteristic that across all the 6 research districts, the majority of the interventions Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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were delivered by NGOs that provided services/benefits to individual children. Some of these NGOs have service packages that include rescue, rehabilitation, and integration of trafficked or abused children. Some provide scholarships and schooling materials, and some provide scholarships and basic needs, including shelter. Stories told by beneficiaries of these types of interventions would necessarily talk about changes in their lives and with some of them also the effects on their respective families. These NGOs have been identified in the following districts:
Gomoa West: International Needs, CAMFED Awutu Senya: Challenging Heights, Cheerful Hearts Foundation Ga West: Chance for Children Ningo-Prampram: Kinder Paradise, Osu Shelter for Children, Compassion International North Tongu: International Needs, International on Migration, Destiny Child South Tongu: Seek to Save Foundation, International Organization Migration, Plan Ghana
A closer examination of the stories that reported positive changes across the other intervening organization(s) that delivered the interventions facilitating the change. Table 15 shows the distribution of stories with maximum depth of change produced by their intervening organizations. Only the top organizations are highlighted in the Table. The rest of the organizations were mentioned to have this depth of change less than 10 times. Table 15: Frequency of Mention of Intervening Organizations in Stories that have Depth of Change Reaching the Rest of the Community (n=103) by District
Central/R Greater Accra/R Volta R Intervening Total % of 103 Organization Gomoa Awutu Ga Ningo North South West Senya West Prampram Tongu Tongu International Needs 25 - - - 19 - 44 42.7 DDCSW 4 1 5 9 4 5 28 27.2 Plan Ghana - - - - 1 9 19 18.4 NCCE 3 3 3 3 - 6 18 17.5 World Vision - - 6 3 - - 9 8.7 IOM - - - - 3 5 8 7.8 GHS - - 3 3 - - 6 5.8 DA Anti Child - - - 6 - - 6 5.8 Trafficking Action Aid - - 6 - - - 6 5.8 CAMFED 4 - - - - - 4 3.9 Compassion Int’l 1 - - 3 - - 4 3.9 Seek to Save - - - - - 3 3 2.9 Challenging Heights 2 - - - - - 2 1.9 GES - - 1 - - - 1 1.0 Cheerful Hearts 1 - - - - - 1 1.0 Ark Foundation - 1 - - - - 1 1.0 Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
119 Types of Change The varying description of change in the selected MSC stories was placed under eleven (11) categories; each story was assigned a category as appropriate. Stories can reflect changes consisting of more than one of these categories due to the dynamic nature of human reaction to inputs and change itself.
Table 16 lists the number of stories that reflected the various types of change. Data shows a high rate of success of the various interventions in terms of bringing about change related to child protection: Enhanced School Participation and Achievement (92.3%), Enhanced Knowledge and Awareness (88.3.8%), Attitudinal and Behavioural Change (84.3%), Safer Environment (35.4%) Participants overwhelmingly attested to the positive impact of awareness-raising campaigns that government and non-government programmes had brought to their lives. These apply to both adults and children participating in the story-collection. This confirms the previous the lack of knowledge and awareness on the harmful effects of practices that subject children to labour, abuse, neglect and others that deprive them of their education and health. For these southern districts, it would seem, the set of interventions have high successes in enhancing children’s participation and achievement in school.
Based on 8.9% of the stories, there were achievements in bringing about social and cultural change. The changes reflect cessation of harmful practices at the family, community and leadership levels as described by the participants. Table 17 shows the area of impact of these social and cultural changes. Table 16: Number of Stories Reflecting Types of Changes Due to Child
Type of Change No. of Stories % of 325 Enhanced School Participation and Achievement 300 92.3 Enhanced Knowledge and Awareness 287 88.3 Attitudinal and Behavioural Change 274 84.3 Safer Environment 115 35.4 Enhanced Health 64 19.7 Acquisition of Skills 33 10.2 Enhanced Self-Confidence 28 8.6 Enhanced Income 28 8.6 Ability to Influence Others 21 6.5 Social and Cultural Change (Beliefs and Practice) 29 8.9 Negative Change 1 0.3
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Table 17: Selected MSC Stories that Include Social and Cultural Change
Type of Change No. of Stories % Teenage Pregnancy 12 41.4 Child Trafficking 8 27.6 Child Labour 4 13.8 Child Delinquency 2 6.9 Child Abuse 2 6.9 Retention of Teenage Pregnant Mothers in School 1 3.4 Total 29 100
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Out of the 29 stories that reflected social and cultural change, 8 (27.6%) came from Gomoa West, 6 (20.7%) came from Ningo Prampram and 4 (13.8%) came from Ga West. In terms of intervening organizations and their programmes, 10 (34.5%) of these stories of impact were brought about by the DCDSW in partnership with others, while 9 (31.0%) were brought about by intervention by International Needs. The rest of the communities that were experiencing social change were partnered with NCCE, Action Aid, World Vision, IOM, Ningo-Prampram Anti Child Trafficking Team and the Ark Foundation.
Factors Facilitating Change The majority of the stories describe positive changes in the lives of the children owing to the sensitization on children’s rights, family life, and sexual and reproductive health rights. This sensitization was addressed to both parents and children. In many stories, programme interventions had been facilitated through the cooperation and participation of chiefs, traditional rulers, and opinion leaders. Their roles include establishing by-laws prohibiting certain practices such as late night jams, gambling, and participation of children in funerals and festivals. These leaders also take part in warning parents against withholding the children from attending school. Among the formal structures at the community level, the Parents- Teachers Association/School Management Committees (PTA/SMC) had been recorded as actively supporting programmes on child protection. There is a potential to mobilize these groups for sustained child protection programming especially if their capacities to implement their roles can be enhanced.
For the southern districts, interventions that help children to be in safer environments, retain their attendance in school or receive vocational training have proven life changing. Interventions that support the income-generating capacities of their parents are complementary and have also been life- changing. A significant number of the stories revealed children who had been exposed to dangerous labour such as fishing and cattle herding, those who were engaged in heavy domestic work, and those who had run away from difficult home situations. In these cases, too, direct interventions --such as rescue, rehabilitation and integration into either their actual family or foster homes-- were the turning points to these children’s lives. 8.0 Key Findings and Lessons Learned from Phase 2 of the MSC Assessment
8.1 Lessons Learned The MSC study revealed various interventions put in place to address child protection issues in all the six sampled districts have yielded some fruitful results. As a result of sensitization programmes of both the state and non-state change actors’ influence, the mind-set of children, (and of parents) in some communities has been positively influenced, leading to attitudinal and behavioural change. This was particularly true for the following areas of child protection: child trafficking and child labour. Children and parents are more enlightened on some of the key risks related to child protection and how to mitigate these risks. However, analysis of Most Significant Change story data suggests that there are weaknesses and significant challenges in the operations and initiatives of some of the key change agents.
Community Involvement
Communities are expected to be the focal point of addressing child protection issues because children and parents are part and parcel of the communities they live in. Despite various initiatives by change agents to tackle child protection issues, review of Most Significant Change stories indicates community apathy towards child protection issues in most of the sampled districts. Most of the districts do not have functional community child protection committees (CCPC). Currently four out of six sampled districts have CCPC in place. However, their efficiency and effectiveness have not been clearly indicated in most of the most significant change stories collected. Districts with CCPCs have trained their members. Communities are expected to play a complementary role to support the initiatives of change agents since it is their responsibility to protect their own children. In the thick of interventions by various change agents, complementary initiatives in many communities are either absent or minimal. It is expected that the communities will take the centre stage for complementary initiatives from the CSOs and Government departments.
Some of the districts have been able to pass by-laws to deal with deviant and delinquent behaviour of children such as gambling business, loitering at night, jam sessions at night during funerals among others, but they are not rigidly enforced. Enactment and execution of laws are not given the necessary priority to protect children. This research shows that as a result of sensitization programmes in schools, the children seemed to be more enlightened on child protection issues than the adult population. Therefore, the research team recommends that there be continuous community sensitization programmes on child protection issues to dissolve apathy and to raise the consciousness of adult community members on the need to protect their children. Communities should be given the same attention as the schools and be inspired to take serious action.
The research team further recommends that community sensitization should take the form of durbars to which District Chief Executives, Members of Parliament, chiefs and opinion leaders will be invited to share their thoughts and mount pressure on the District Assemblies and Unit Committee members to enact and enforce laws to protect children. It is expected that the Community Development Department and Social Welfare can team up to organize such durbars with the support of the District Chief Executive. Strategic Change Most Significant Change story data indicates that state actors have played a leading role in enlightening communities and school children on child protection issues. NCCE is very much involved in organizing sensitization programmes in schools and sometimes in some communities. The Community Development Department also concentrates on sensitization programmes in communities and sometimes in schools. Invariably, the subjects they deal with during their programme are virtually the same; the difference is the emphasis given. Thus, the research team recommends that the two departments coordinate their efforts to come out with a plan and strategy to address child protection issues which have been their major concern.
In connection with this, there should be a well-structured and organized community awareness drive to educate the citizenry about the effect and impact of anti-social behaviour or conduct. Clubs which have been established in schools by NCCE can be replicated in the communities. Study groups with patrons can be established to discuss openly the concerns of the communities with respect to child protection issues. Unit committees can serve as a platform for the establishment of study groups. Findings can be made available to the Assembly for an open debate to facilitate enactment of by-laws. Tackling child protection issues should not be the sole responsibility of individual state or non-state actors alone. The initiative should come from the communities themselves, to be supported by state departments and/or civil society organizations.
Programmes being deployed on the field vary in terms of strategy but their content is similar. The CSOs operate independently of each other. The research team suggests that there should be a strong coordination of efforts to tackle the problems common to all in order to avoid duplication of effort and to ensure effective and efficient resource utilization. It is observed that NCCE, Social Welfare Department and Community Development Department have actively been involved in dealing with child deviant and delinquent behaviour which breaches the laws of the nation or the community. It appears that educating children to behave in conformity with the laws and regulations has been relegated to the state actors. Thus, this study recommends that the CSOs should demonstrate more interest in juvenile justice issues in order to complete the child’s cycle of protection. Programme Sustainability Analysis of the most significant change stories indicate a noticeable impact made on the lives of children and some parents. Behavioural change can be immediate, depending on direct benefits coming instantly, but its sustainability may be short when benefits are exhausted or not forthcoming. On the other hand, attitude formed by a mind-set built on intrinsic human values has long sustainability. In most of the significant change stories, the change of consciousness is immediate because enlightenment reveals to the children the hazard or risks of their current behaviour or attitude within a short, medium or long term. In most of the stories, children drop out of school as a result of poverty, poor child parental supervision and care and neglect. They have returned to school because they appreciate the importance and value of formal education in order to realize of their lifetime ambitions. The problem is sustainability of the recorded change. This research study recommends that the strategy of various interventions should focus on change of attitude which will result in acceptable behaviour. Financial and material support being given to children in distress and parents, particularly mothers, should be sustained if behaviour relapse is to be avoided particularly in poverty-endemic districts and communities. Concentration should be on livelihood empowerment to ensure parents, particularly women, are economically self- dependent to enable them take care of their children. Challenging Heights, and Plan Ghana have economically empowered poor parents to support their families. Challenging Heights provides support to mothers to engage in petty trading whilst Plan Ghana has micro-finance schemes where “susu” contributors in a group have access to soft loans to expand their business. These strategies should be adopted across poverty-endemic districts to ensure sustainability of change.
8.2 MSC II Recommendations across key Domains Child Trafficking 1. There is the need to sustain the sensitization and awareness-creation activities of the organizations since there is evidence of it yielding positive results; 2. There is the need to establish CCPC and CLS in the communities, while strengthening existing ones since they guarantee programme sustainability; 3. Rescued trafficked children and their parents should be enrolled on the LEAP programme, while stronger effort is put in place to get funding for the victims through the Human Trafficking Fund; 4. UNICEF should continue its line of support to NGOs and the state institutions involved in curbing child trafficking and related challenges; 5. There is the need to ensure that all persons, including parents and family members who traffic their children are prosecuted and punished severely according to the law; 6. There is the need to ensure that children who are reintegrated are regularly monitored and supported in all aspects. This is to ensure that such children do not suffer further abuse and violations at home or school which may result in re-trafficking. Child Labour and Child Work 1. To end the issue of child labour in Ghanaian communities, there is the need for government to support parents, especially women, with income-generating activities so they can support their children and families. This will help prevent the trafficking of children for monetary gains by parents; 2. The DCD should improve the frequency of its community sensitization and education activities on child protection in the communities. The department should adopt the strategy of IOM and International Needs by training community volunteers on child protection so that they can carry out continuous sensitization. Sexual Reproductive Health rights 1. The distributions of sanitary pads by some NGO’s is commendable but the approach adopted by International Needs in Gomoa West by teaching children how to make their own sanitary pad is more sustainable than its distribution. This approach should be implemented in other districts as well; 2. Over time, efforts should be made to assist communities in better diagnosing the roots of social issues confronting them—for example, not assuming that issues such as teenage pregnancy have single causes such as poverty, bad friends, or bad music; 3. Also, communities should be assisted to create by-laws and related operational bodies that will not be (i) liable to be overturned by the courts, and are (ii) not vulnerable to accusations of abuse of power. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
124 Children in Conflict with the Law and Child Delinquency 1. Most Significant Change story data indicates that state actors have played a leading role in enlightening communities and school children on child protection issues. NCCE is very much involved in organizing sensitization programmes in schools and sometimes in communities. The Community Development Department also concentrates on sensitization programmes in communities and sometimes in schools. Invariably the subjects they deal with during their programme are virtually the same and the difference is the emphasis. The research team recommends that the two Departments should coordinate their efforts to come out with a plan and strategy to address child protection issues which have been of most concern; 2. It is also being recommended that there should be well-organized and structured community awareness drives to educate the citizenry about the short and long term effects of anti-social behaviour or conduct. Clubs which have been established in schools by NCCE can be replicated in the communities. Study groups with patrons can be established to discuss openly concerns of the community with respect to child protection issues. Unit Committees can serve as platforms for the establishment of study groups. Findings can be made available to the Assembly for an open debate to facilitate enactment of bylaws. Tackling child protection issues should not be the responsibility of individual state or non-state actors alone. Initiative should come from communities, and be supported by departments or civil society organizations. Programmes being deployed in the field will vary in terms of strategy but their content is similar; 3. The civil society organizations (CSOs) operate independently of each other. It is recommended that a strong coordination of efforts to tackle the problem common to all be encouraged to avoid duplication and to ensure effective and efficient use of resources; 4. Behavioural change can be immediate if benefits are direct, but positive impacts may be short- lived if benefits are not forthcoming. Financial and material support being received by pupils in distress and parents should be sustained if behaviour relapse is to be avoided, particularly in poverty endemic districts and communities. Concentration should be on livelihood empowerment to ensure parents, particularly women, are economically self-dependent to enable them take care of their children; 5. Evidence of attitudinal change offers hope for sustainability. It is observed that NCCE, Social Welfare and Community Development Department have actively been involved in dealing with child deviant and delinquent behaviour or conduct which breaches the law of the nation or the community. It appears that raising the consciousness of people to behave in conformity to the laid down laws and regulations has been relegated to the state actors. The research team recommends that the CSOs should demonstrate more interest in Juvenile Justice issue to complete the child’s cycle of protection; Child Abuse and Neglect 1. There should be a continuous education and sensitization by community child protection committee on child abuse and neglects, specifically targeting the fathers so as to sustain the change in behaviours and attitudes. 2. There is the need for punitive action to be taken against adults who subject children to abuse, especially sexual abuse, to serve as deterrent. Children should also be encouraged to report cases of sexual abuse. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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3. Parents, especially women, should be supported with income-generating activities to serve as a source of livelihood to support the upkeep of their children. This will help solve the cases of child neglect, which is largely attributed to parents’ poor economic situation. Rights to Education 1. Donors should conduct more follow-ups and monitor educational support projects being implemented to ensure that target groups are being supplied. 2. Since most of the projects solely rely on NGOs, donors should involve community leaders and government officials for the sustainability of the projects. Empowerment, Livelihood and Voice ¡¡ The government institutions should be more involved in the interventions on the provision of educational materials and skills training for the community members. The team observed that once an NGO’s project ended, the activities became dormant; ¡¡ As the main problems faced in the rural communities are tied to financial difficulties, the intervention programmes should be more focused on skill- training that can provide a sustainable means of income, for women in particular, over a long period of time so that even after the organization has left the community, they can continue to provide for their families; ¡¡ The change actors (organizations) can go back to check on the progress of the individuals and families who experienced a change of attitude and/or or behaviour to encourage them to keep it up. Alternative Care for Children 1. Since financial constraints are evidently one of the major reasons for children ending up on the streets, parents, especially women in the communities, should be provided with skills training and be empowered to engage in income-generating business. This will help them to be capable of taking care of their children without much support from someone else; 2. The social workers in the Ga West district, particularly, noted that some of the children rescued ended back in the streets as attitude and behaviours are often hard to change. The agencies therefore, need to pay more attention to the children and schedule regular educational programmes to allow the children to know the dangers they are open to on the streets without appropriate support; 3. There is a need for financial resources and support from the government and civil service organizations in order to effectively carry out sensitization and education events in the homes and the communities as well; 4. Despite all the great work being done, there were some challenges and constraints facing the various organisations and services working on providing alternative care. On one hand, the police and social welfare agencies are more focused on response than prevention and are often times restricted by a general lack of human resources. Therefore, funds need to be available to recruit some of the human resources from the District (who speak the local dialect) to help make communication with the children easier and help them better understand their situations. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
126 Multiple Domains 1. Analysis of MSC story data suggests that there are short-comings in the operations or initiatives of non-state change actors. International Needs, Challenging Heights, Kinder Paradise and International Organization for Migration and Seek to Save Foundation operate independently of each other even though they share similar objectives. Their modus operandi also differ. Therefore, the research team recommends that their efforts be coordinated, in order to make the best use of scarce resources and to improve the outcomes; 2. Similarly, it is observed that state actors of change NCCE and CDD organize programmes to educate and enlighten people on child protection issues in an uncoordinated fashion: while NCCE targets schools and sometimes drifts into communities’ work, CDD does the opposite. Ideally, their operations will be coordinated; 3. MSC stories of change indicate the impact intervention programmes have made on people’s lives. In most cases, the change is immediate because the hazards and risks associated with their pre-intervention situations have become evident to them. Therefore, children returning to school appreciate the importance and value of formal education. Sustainability may be an issue, however, if support given to children from poor families’ ceases. For this reason, CSOs such as Challenging Heights and Plan Ghana have worked to economically empower poor parents. Their strategies should be adopted across poverty endemic districts to help ensure sustainability of change; 4. MSC story data indicates that community apathy towards child protection issues exists in most of the districts. Community sensitization on child protection issues should be intensified. Four of the districts do not have functional community child protection committees (CCPC) in place. Continuous community sensitization programmes will help to drive away apathy and to awaken community members to the need to protect their children. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
127 REFERENCES
Associates for Change (2017): Most Significant Change Stories and Assessment Phase 1: Northern and Upper East regions (UNICEF Commissioned research) Associates for Change (2017): Inception Report on Most Significant Change Assessment: (UNICEF Commissioned Research) Davies, R. and J. Dart (2005): The ‘Most Significant Change’ (MSC) Technique; A Guide to Its Use. Lennie, J. (2011): The Most Significant Change technique: A manual for M&E staff and others at Equal Access. USAID, University of Adelaide, Equal Access and Queensland University of Technology. Pufaa, E. D. (2013): Reintegrating Rescued Trafficked Children into Basic Schools in Effutu Municipality. Unpublished MPhil. Thesis, University of Education, Winneba. Ministry Gender, Children and Social Protection (2014): Child Protection Baseline Research Report. UNICEF Ghana and Ministry of Gender, Children and Social protection. Ministry Gender, Children and Social Protection (2014). Child Protection Baseline Research Report. Greater Accra Regional Profile. UNICEF Ghana and Ministry of Gender, Children and Social protection. Ministry Gender, Children and Social Protection (2014). Child Protection Baseline Research Report. Central Regional Profile. UNICEF Ghana and Ministry of Gender, Children and Social protection. Ministry Gender, Children and Social Protection (2014). Child Protection Baseline Research Report. Volta Regional Profile. UNICEF Ghana and Ministry of Gender, Children and Social protection. Sertich, M. and Heemskerk, M. (2011). Ghana’s Human Trafficking Act: Successes and Shortcomings in Six Years of Implementation. Human Rights Brief 19(1) 2-7. UNICEF (2015): Really Simple STATS: The UNICEF Ghana Internal Statistical Bulletin: Issue 4 (July, 2015). UNICEF (2015) “Building a national child protection system in Ghana: From evidence to policy and practice” UNICEF and Global Affairs of Canada. UNICEF (2011): Strengthening Child Protection Systems. https://www.unicef.org/ghana/protection.html UNICEF (2011) “Situation of Children in Ghana. Accessed from: https://www.unicef.org/ghana/about_7587.html UNICEF (2008) “UNICEF Child Protection Strategy”. Annual Session.3-5 June, 2008. United Nations Economic and Social Council. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
128 ANNEXES
Annex 1: Final MSC II Team Composition
SN Name Institution Designation 1. Mrs. Marian Tadefa-Kubabon Associates for Change (AFC) Consultant and Team Leader 2. Dr Leslie Casely-Hayford Associates for Change (AFC) Research Director, and Child Protection Specialist
Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region 1. Rose Assan DCD Team Leader 2. Ayeley Foli AfC Researcher 3. Gifty J. Fomena AfC Researcher 4. Selina Azumah DCD/SW Researcher 5. Angelina S. Agbedanu DCD/SW Researcher 6. Francis Atta-Fordjour DCD/SW Researcher
Ga West District, Greater Accra Region 1. Charity Bukari AfC Team Leader 2. Mona Darko AfC Researcher 3. Virginia Wilhelmina Hesse AfC Researcher 4. Amooba Emmanuel DCD-National Researcher 5. Eric Kofi Afrifa-Amoah DCD/SW Researcher 6. Dorkeno Janet DCD/SW Researcher
Gomoa West District, Central Region 1. Enock Pufaa AfC Team Leader 2. Humu-Heira Issifu AfC Researcher 3. Emmanuel Quaye DCD/SW Researcher 4. Robert Nyarkoh DCD/SW Researcher Awutu-Senya District, Central Region 1. Thomas Quansah AfC Researcher 2. Alhassan Habiba AfC Researcher 3. Gertrude Akuffo AfC Researcher 4. Albert Mensah DCD/SW Researcher 5. Elizabeth Pardikie Pardie DCD/SW Researcher Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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6. Daniel Mensah DCD/SW Researcher South Tongu District, Volta Region 1. Imranah Adams Mahama AfC Regional supervisor 2. Madam Rhoda Mahama AfC Team Leader 3. Ida Sokode Assem AfC Researcher 4. Madam Agnes Dzifa Agbo AfC Researcher 5. Kwapong H. Mavis DCD/SW Researcher 6. Dey Wisdom DCD/SW Researcher
North Tongu District, Volta Region 1. Aminu Akparibo AfC Team Leader 2. Bernice Alorgbe AfC Researcher 3. Delight Osei Ohene-Asi AfC Researcher 4. Loh Linda Kafui DCD/SW Researcher 5. Alima Rashid DCD/SW Researcher 6. Amooba Emmanuel DCD Researcher
Annex 2: List of Participants at District level MSC Story Selection
SN Name Institution Designation Ningo-Prampram District, Greater Accra Region 1. Elizabeth Tehoda DCD/SW S.D.A 2. Abigail Amankwah NiPDA Gender Desk Officer 3. Felicity M. Adoboe G.E.S Girls’ Education Officer 4. Simon Kpormego G.E.S District Welfare Officer 5. Isaac Kwadwo DCD/SW Social Development Officer
Facilitators 1. Marian Tadefa-Kubabom AfC MSC Specialist 2. Rose Assan DCD Regional Director 3. Ayeley Foli AfC Researcher
Ga West District, Greater Accra Region 1. Evelyn Dogbatse G.E.S M.G.E.O 2. Louis F. Abuga Dep. of Births and Deaths Registration Officer 3. Rebecca Awo District Assembly Planning Officer 4. Tanko Dabre DCD/SW Unit Head 5. George De-Graft Assan DCD/SW District Director 6. Lartey Joseph CHRAJ Service Personnel Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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7. Philip Sarpong NCCE CEO 8. Yaa Nkansah Asamoah-Aning GWMA ADIIA
Facilitators 1. Mohammed Awal Iddrisu AfC Research Officer 2. Charity Bukari AfC Researcher 3. Amooba Emmanuel DCD-National CDO
Gomoa West District, Central Region 1. M. Ben Norh DCD/SW Social Welfare Officer 2. Georgina Yeboah NCCE District Director 3. Rexford Ewudie CHRAJ District Officer 4. Anthony Mensah DCD/SW CDO 5. Albertha Bruce GES District Girls’ Education Officer 6. Sophia A. Graham GWDA Gender Desk Officer Facilitators 1. Enock Pufaa AfC Research Officer 2. Humu-Heira Issifu AfC Researcher
Awutu-Senya District, Central Region 1. Andrews O. Larbi NCCE District Director 2. Oscar K. Agbatse DCD/SW District Director 3. Mildred A. Wunoo GES District Girls’ Education Officer 4. Ebenezer Amponsah Births and Deaths Registry District Registrar 5. Philip Montford DCD/SW District Director
Facilitators 1. Enock Pufaa AfC Research Officer 2. Thomas Quansah AfC Researcher 3. Alhassan Habiba AfC Researcher South Tongu District, Volta Region 1. Raphael Suglo CHRAJ Snr. Prin. Investigator 2. Konutse Killian CHRAJ Investigator 3. Edward Holley Woyome DCD/SW Assistant CDO 4. Veronica Akliku GES District Girls’ Education Officer 5. Helen Dzide STDA Gender Desk Officer 6. Moses Kakaw DCD/SW District Director Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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Facilitators 1. Imranah Adams Mahama AfC Research Manager 2. Ida Sokode Assem AfC Researcher
North Tongu District, Volta Region 1. Carlos Quaye CHRAJ District Director 2. Florence Ashiagbor GES DGEO 3. Dzigbordi Folikumah Births & Deaths Registry District Officer 4. Emmanuel Martey DCD/SW Social Development Officer 5. Richard Siameh NCCE District Director 6. Babuh Eric DCD/SW Social Development Officer
Facilitators 1. Aminu Akparibo AfC Researcher 2. Bernice Alorgbe AFC Researcher
Annex 3: Key steps in Most Significant Change Technique Step 1: Starting and raising interest This step involved the introduction of the MSC method to various stakeholders and their representatives at National and regional levels; this stage took the Department for Community Development and key stakeholders from the regional child protection teams through a familiarization process of what MSC was about and the objectives of the child protection MSC assessment. The aim is to encourage participants to be fully involved in the process.
This step is vital as it can be used as an opportunity to engage stakeholders in the identification of key focal persons/organizations that can constitute core committees at the national, regional and district levels. These core committees can assist in the vetting of employed processes and the collection of quality MSC stories. This role can be supported to serve as an anchor in the sustained promotion of the MSC approach as a tool for programme monitoring and evaluation. Stakeholder engagements can refine the sampling methodology including the criteria for selecting communities/groups and individuals who will tell their change stories, the criteria for selecting who will collect the change stories as well as the process of collecting and selecting the Significant Change (SC) stories. Stakeholder consensus on the methodology will ensure greater understanding of the findings and recommendations from the MSC process.
Step 2: Defining domains of change In the context of MSC, domains are broad categories of possible SC stories that are by nature indistinct or vague since they are based on the interpretations of different individuals as to what constitutes change. Defining the domains of change as a key step thus implies the setting of the parameters against which change can be measured. In most cases, the domain of change is defined based on the project objectives. Although it is not one of the fundamental steps of the MSC, Davies and Dart noted that the use of “domains of change has immediate practical value. It helps organisations to group a Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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large number of SC stories into more manageable lots, which can each be analysed in turn. A benefit of determining the domains in advance is that they can provide some guidance to the people collecting stories concerning the kind of changes they need to be searching for without being too prescriptive” (Davies and Dart, 2005: 18).
Davies and Dart (2005) recommend between 3 and 5 domains of change when conducting MSC. Domains of change can be identified in two ways: top-down or bottom-up. By top-down, senior managers of the implementing organisation identify the domains of change based on their programme objectives, while in the bottom-up approach, programme beneficiaries and stakeholders are made to define what they perceived to be the domains of change. Domains of change can be identified before the Significant Change (SC) stories are collected or afterwards by sorting SC stories into meaningful groups. However, this depends on the extent to which the organisation wants to be open to new experiences rather than continuing to be guided by past experiences. As in other monitoring and evaluation approaches, domains of change should reflect the consequences of negative stories and unexpected results, to generate more holistic pictures of social change and provide indications of gaps in and/or suggestions for programme implementation.
Step 3: Defining the reporting period According to Lennie (2011), the step of defining the reporting period during an MSC involves deciding how often the process of monitoring the changes that are taking place should happen. The definition of the reporting period is based on a number of factors, the most significant being resource availability. In most cases, however, MSC stories should be collected and analysed once per month or quarterly, and collated annually. Davies and Dart (2005) noted that a low reporting period such as yearly reporting runs the risk of staff and key project participants forgetting how the MSC process works, or why it is being used. In terms of higher frequency reporting period Davies and Dart (2005) cautions that frequent reporting will soon lead to the exhaustion of known cases of longer-term significant change and a focus on the shorter-term significant changes that can be identified. Frequent reporting will also increase the cost of the process in terms of the amount of participants’ time taken up by the process. Eventually, the determination of the MSC reporting period will depend on the need of organizations and must be integral to the development of an M&E plan, either for a programme or for the whole organization. The aim is to gather stories of short-term as well as long-term changes.
Step 4: Collecting significant change stories This step involves eliciting stories about significant change from stakeholders who are directly involved in a programme, such as participants and field staff. According to Davies and Dart (2005) “the SC story itself should be documented as it is told. The description of the change identified as the most significant should include factual information that makes it clear who was involved, what happened, where and when. Where possible, a story should be written as a simple narrative, describing the sequence of events that took place” (p.25). Thus, the collection of MSC stories should cover three main sub-themes: i. Information about who collected the story and when the events occurred; ii. Description of the story itself – what happened, when, why, how and who were involved; and iii. Significance (to the storyteller) of events described in the story – what changed significantly and for whom. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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There is a need to ensure that appropriate capacities are in place to adequately facilitate the process of collecting the stories. As much as there are advantages in giving freedom to target individuals/groups to relate their stories according to their experiential perspectives, preparation of indicative guidelines for them to cover in their narration will help in the selection and analysis phases. Collectors or enumerators need to have the skill and the proper behaviour to facilitate this story generation, including the ability to take down notes from informants who do not have literacy skills. The resources to support varied approaches for story-collection should also be assured. This may include fees for interpreters, voice recorders, and logistics for focus group discussions, among others.
Step 5: Selecting the most significant change stories The selection of stories usually involves a group of people who sit collectively to consider documented stories that may or may not be assigned to domains, with the main aim of reducing the pile of stories per domain to one. For each domain, the group will select a story that they believe represents the most significant change of all. If the stories have not been assigned to domains, this is one of the first jobs to be done by the group. The guiding processes in the selection of MSC stories, as identified by Davies and Dart (2005), include the following: i. everybody in the group reads the stories; ii. the group holds an in-depth conversation about which stories should be chosen; iii. the group decides which stories are considered to be most significant; and iv. the group documents its reasons for the choice(s) of story and the selection criteria. Davies and Dart (2005) have identified the following as the methods for the selection of MSC stories: ¡¡ Majority rule: Group to read the stories, make sure everyone understands them, and then vote by show of hands. ¡¡ Iterative voting: After a first vote, group members discuss why they voted as they did. This is followed by a second then a third vote ideally with some movement towards consensus. ¡¡ Scoring: Participants can rate the value of a SC story. The ratings for each of the stories are then aggregated and the story with the highest rating is selected as the most significant. ¡¡ Pre-scoring: Participants are asked to read SC stories and rate their significance. These ratings are summarized in a table and presented to the participants when they meet face-to-face. ¡¡ Secret ballot: Each person writes their choice of SC story on a paper, and then the total votes are presented, followed by an open discussion of the reasons for the choices. The Most Significant Change stories shared by the stakeholders and participants were analysed, thematically filtered and reviewed at the district level by the heads of key child protection institutions. The review of the shared MSC stories was to make explicit what the value as significant change in the context of child protection interventions, measures and practices. The review process serves to broaden individual views towards a more unified understanding of significant change in the context of child protection. Furthermore, the review process is useful in synthesizing common themes and/or elements of significant change as contained in the stories shared by the participants and stakeholders. The process is also a potential source of additional evaluation information. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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The significance of the story selection stage in the whole MSC process cannot be overemphasized. The level of facilitation skill required to maximize the learning from the selection stage is critical. However, the observance of the hierarchical approach depends on several factors including the socio-cultural context within which child protection stories are shared. Concerns such as privacy and security risks to children should be seriously weighed. Limitations in institutional resources have to be considered in determining the scope and depth not only of the selection process but also the collection of stories.
Step 6: Feeding back the results of the selection process This step involves relaying information on the selection of the MSC stories to the individuals and stakeholders who provided the stories. According to Davies and Dart (2005), the feedback at the very least should explain which story was selected as most significant and why. Lennie (2011) comprehensively described the feedback step of conducting MSC in the following context:
“After MSC has been used for a period of time (say a year), a document is produced that includes all the stories selected at the highest level over that period of time in each domain of change. The reasons for selecting the stories are attached to each story. Donors can then be asked to assess the stories in this document and to select those that best represent the kind of outcomes they want to fund. They also document the reasons for their choice. This information is fed back to programme managers and those who provided the stories, using various methods such as verbal feedback, newsletters or formal reports. Knowing that a particular type of change is valued can lead to further searches for similar changes in that area” (Lennie, 2011: 12).
Thus, each level of stakeholders was given feedback on which stories have been selected and which have not been selected, explaining the reasons adduced for the selection or otherwise of an MSC story. Providing such feedback about why an MSC in child protection was selected will help in expanding participants’ views of what is significant, while offering them an opportunity to challenge or express dissenting views. The feedback provided about the selection process of the MSC would invariably assist participants to assess the quality of the collective judgments that were made. The feedback process creates an on-going dialogue between the participants and stakeholders about what is significant change.
Step 7: Verification of stories This entails the accurate and proper scrutiny of the significant change stories that have been reviewed and selected at each level. This will ensure that the stories selected have been reported accurately and honestly. Importantly, the verification process serves as an opportunity for the gathering of some vital information on the selected significant stories. The verification process was very useful to the research team in its quest to come out with the most significant change story. The verification helped identify and do away with stories found to be deliberate fictional accounts, designed to save time or gain recognition and social desirability, and stories that exaggerate the significance of events. The verification process helped in describing real events that have been misunderstood in context or construction. However, care was taken in the verification process in order not to create the impression that we do not trust the significant change stories shared by the stakeholders. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
135 Step 8: Quantification of the stories Although the Most Significant Change is qualitative in approach, there is an opportunity to include some quantitative data. This data can include the number of people involved, how many activities took place and, most importantly, the number of times a particular change is recorded.
It should be recognised, however, that when faced with large numbers of stories, one had to be realistic about the expectations regarding quantification of information. The quantification was be carried out based on the number of child protection stories collected across different categories at a community level along with the number of thematic areas emerging based on attitudinal and behaviour change.
Step 9: Conducting secondary analysis of the stories According to Davies and Dart (2005), “secondary analysis involves the examination, classification and analysis of the content (or themes) across a set of SC stories, whereas meta-monitoring will focus more on the attributes of the stories”. This process should lead to the identification of emerging themes and factors, analytically derived constructs, and differences in opinions of change in relation to child protection as shared by the stakeholders. The analysis of the significant change stories facilitated the possible theorization of change in the perspective of the stakeholders within the framework of child protection.
Aside from highlighting the causes and effect of change, analysis focused on citations of individual and community aspirations, isolating the emerging constraints as well as facilitating factors in realizing these aspirations. The identified constraining and facilitating factors added information for programming.
Step 10: Revising the methodology system Lennie (2011) identified that evaluating and revising the system in an MSC involves reviewing the design of the MSC system and then making any changes to the system that will make it work better, based on what has been learned as a result of using the MSC technique. This step should benefit not only from the actual implementation of MSC collection and selection process, but also taking lessons from all the preliminary consultations, training of story collectors or recorders and key stakeholders’ review. In other words, deliberate measures should be taken to note how the MSC technique is able to respond to the needs of assessment while identifying the gaps and areas for improvement. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
136 Annex 4: Distribution of Collected Stories by Child Protection Domains and Districts
Child Protection District Total Domain Gomoa Awutu- Ga Ningo- South North West Senya West Prampram Tongu Tongu 9 7 4 13 3 2 38 Child Abuse and Neglect 23.7% 18.4% 10.5% 34.2% 7.9% 5.3% 100.0% 10 16 2 3 8 13 52 Child Labour 19.2% 30.8% 3.8% 5.8% 15.4% 25.0% 100.0% 0 1 1 0 1 0 3 Child Marriage 0.0% 33.3% 33.3% 0.0% 33.3% 0.0% 100.0% Alternative Care for 0 0 13 11 0 1 25 Children 0.0% 0.0% 52.0% 44.0% 0.0% 4.0% 100.0% Automated Birth 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Registration 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 100.0% 18 8 3 10 5 20 64 Rights to Education 28.1% 12.5% 4.7% 15.6% 7.8% 31.2% 100.0% Children in Conflict 0 4 4 12 3 0 23 with the Law and Child Delinquency 0.0% 17.4% 17.4% 52.2% 13.0% 0.0% 100.0% 9 5 0 9 3 25 51 Child Trafficking 17.6% 9.8% 0.0% 17.6% 5.9% 49.0% 100.0% Sexual and Reproductive 11 4 15 8 17 1 56 Health Rights 19.6% 7.1% 26.8% 14.3% 30.4% 1.8% 100.0% Empowerment, 6 1 7 1 4 5 24 Livelihood and Voice 25.0% 4.2% 29.2% 4.2% 16.7% 20.8% 100.0% 2 3 0 1 5 0 11 Multiple Domains 18.2% 27.3% 0.0% 9.1% 45.5% 0.0% 100.0% 65 49 49 68 49 68 348 Total 18.7% 14.1% 14.1% 19.5% 14.1% 19.5% 100.0%
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
137 Annex 5: Child Trafficking Story, Central region
I travelled to Yeji some years ago when I was about 11 or 12 years to engage in fishing activities. Before I travelled to Yeji I was attending school here at a point in time, I needed school uniform because the one I had was badly torn so I told my father that I needed school uniform but he told he had no uniform issues with me so I should get it myself since children of my age were working to provide for their school needs. I then decided to go to my mother for her to help me with the uniform and thankfully she was able to provide me with a new set of uniform I used the uniform for more than one year and that uniform got torn again. I went back to my mother to help me get another uniform but she could not because she had no money… as for my father he told me that he had a serious funeral and was seriously looking for money. When my father and mother failed to get me the uniform I decided to do something for myself. During one of the festival celebrations, I met one boy who came from Yeji he told me that he was working there with someone who is a fisherman. According to him, although the work is difficult he is able to get some money which he uses to buy his personal belongings I became interested and so I asked if I could go with him to Yeji after the festival and he said yes. I told my mother that I wanted to go to Yeji to work so that I can get money to buy my school uniform, books, sandals and bags and she agreed to my decision. I joined my friend to Yeji and where I worked for a man by name Bra Kojo the nature of the work was such that we went fishing even at night I was made to toe and untie the boat whenever we wanted to stop or move and whenever the boat got stacked I was made to go into the water to free the boat. At this time I was 12 years and although I was young they never had mercy on me I am someone who naturally likes working, that work was really hard for me even when you feel tired or sleepy you cannot sleep and if you try sleeping, they will slap you with the canoe paddle. The water too was full of tree stamps and this could injure you when you dive into the water I saw some boys who lost one of their eyes when they went into the water, as for me I was lucky I had only bruises and sores on my shin. And even with that my master never gave me any medicine or take me to the hospital in spite of all these difficulties and danger I still endured it simply because I needed to make some money to buy my schooling needs and go back to school Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
138 Annex 6: MSC Story on Child Labour from Central Region My name is Auntie Regina. I am from Gomoa Mamford and a member of the Community Child Protection Committee. One day I had a call from someone in the community. You know a lot of people are now aware of the work we do as Community Child Protection Committee. The fellow informed me that she has seen a young girl carrying a very heavy load of sugar cane which she is selling and that the sugar cane was so heavy that the girl was struggling to carry the load. According to the informant, the girl has been doing this for some time and they have noticed that anytime she gets to their area she would sleep there for some time before continuing to sell her sugarcane. The fellow also said that the girl was not given food by the woman she lived with and also was not allowed to use part of the money to buy. The girl was also told by the woman not to go home if she fails to sell all the load of sugar cane she had carried out for sale. Whenever she went home without selling out all her sugar cane, the woman will subject her to severe beating and molestation. So when I got this information, I decided to track the girl and verify things for myself. So I left a message that if anyone sees her they should quickly inform me about it so I can talk to her. So I was there when I got a call that the said girl has come around again with her usual heavy sugar cane load. So I went to her, sat her down and asked her who she is and who she lives with. She told me that her name is Maabena, and she comes from a town in Northern Ghana (name of town or region not known) and that a certain lady by name Araba Nyame came for her under the pretext of sending her to school. According to her, her mother was not aware when the woman was training her. However, upon arrival, the lady (Araba Nyame) refused to take her to school, and rather made her to sell sugar cane. She narrated that Araba Nyame maltreated her severely. Anytime she fails to sell all her sugarcane, the woman will beat her mercilessly. She said that, one day she was selling water and felt thirsty and so decided to drink one sachet of water. When she went home, Araba Nyame beat her to the extent that her face was swollen and her body left with bruises. In the process of our discussion, Maabena said that because of the maltreatment, and the inability of Araba Nyame to send her to school or even enrol her in a vocational training programme, she wants to go back home but she does not know her hometown; she doesn’t know how to get to her home town. I asked her again for conformation if she truly wants to go back home and she said yes. So from there I brought the matter to the knowledge of the Community Child Protection Committee (CCPC). The Community Child Protection Committee after sitting on the matter decided to inform Mr. Kangah (the Field Officer of International Needs) that this is the case we have encountered in our community so that they support us. Mr. Kangah came here with the Department of Social Welfare Officer and we (the CCPC) took them to the woman (Araba Nyame). When we got there we introduced ourselves to them and engaged them in a conversation so that the woman will not know that the girl has come to make a complaint to us. So during the conversation we inquired about the background of the girl and she said she is from Northern Ghana. So we ask the woman what girl was doing with her but she told us to rather ask the girl and that she has been asking the girl what she wants to do but she refuses to give her any answer. So then we informed her that we wanted to send the girl to school but to our surprise she said no! She did not want to Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
139
go to school, she would rather want to go back to her home town. This then gave us enough grounds to take the woman on. We asked her how she got the girl to come and live with her. Araba Nyame told us that she is not the one who brought Maabena here, rather it was one of her children who brought her to sell for her but now her business has gone down so she was brought to her. At that point we introduced ourselves to her as members of the CCPC. This made her angry and she started abusing us, then Mr. Narh introduced himself as the District Social Welfare Director, making her to calm down a bit. We asked for Maabena’s real mothers phone number, but Araba Nyame said she did not have her contact, although she initially told us that she spoke to her early in the morning. After our visit, I saw the girl passing and I asked her what has transpired after our coming and she said the woman has been abusing and insulting her and accusing her that she has gone to report her to “her Police, Lawyers and judges”. I encouraged her to remain calm, and assured her that once the case has come to our notice and also in the hands of the Social Welfare Department, she will be ok. I explained to her that there is the need for the Officers to follow a process and obtain all the necessary documentations. Araba Nyame’s mother (a Pastor) came to me asking me to plead on her behalf to be pardoned and be allowed time to send the girl back herself next month. I told her that because the case is now in the case of government, it will have to follow through the process. Meanwhile, the girl (Maabena) is also demanding that Araba Nyame should compensate her before sending her back since she has not been able to purchase anything after all the service rendered to Araba Nyame. So this is how far the story of Maabena has travelled and we are now waiting for the Social Welfare Department for their final decision. They have been here again to meet the woman and girl. The changes we have seen is that because we intervened, the woman (Araba Nymme) is now afraid to maltreat Maabena again. The girl (Maabena) has now got some hope and you can even see that now she is making some demands from the woman before going back home. This was not the case before as she used to keep everything to herself. Now when you see her, she appears happy and puts on smiles. She will call us by our names and great us whenever she meets us. This, to us is the most significant change that has occurred. Apart from the work of we the CCPC, the informant who gave us this information was very instrumental in bringing about the change. The Department of Social Welfare and Mr. Kangah and his people (International Needs) have contributed and are still working to Maabena out of her current situation. We have learned from Maabena’s story that, a lot of such cases may still be existing without our knowledge and so we as CCPC and community members need to look out for such cases and bring it to the attention of the Social Welfare Officers. 140
Annex 7: Voice, Empowerment and Livelihoods—interventions Ghana) (Southern II Phase Ghana: in Protection Child on Stories Change Significant table with change actors in the MSC districts:
District Organisations Activities Change Stories Ga West Action Aid, ¡¡ Provides skills training for women in soap making, ¡¡ I have had this opportunity to change beads making, interior decoration etc. my life, make some money for myself World Vision, ¡¡ World Vision forms micro-finance groups to help and try to educate other people, Department of Community community members save money ¡¡ My daughter is now comfortable and Development (DCD), ¡¡ DCD collaborates with the NGOs to organize confident to tell me anything that is sensitization programmes for the schools and bothering her because I have drawn Ghana Health Service (GHS) communities her closer and I’m building a good National Commission for ¡¡ NCCE educates the students on their rights and relationship with her. responsibilities and child protection issues Civic Education (NCCE), ¡¡ PTA works with DCD and NGOs to educate the Parent and Teachers children Association(PTA) Ningo- Compassion International ¡¡ Provision of educational materials and ¡¡ My parents are now able to take care of Prampram education of the students on their rights and my siblings. I am now able to meet with responsibilities other children from other schools and have been exposed to many things. Now I know how to talk to people because I was formerly a shy person Gomoa International Needs ¡¡ Formed Child Rights club in schools to educate ¡¡ Because I now know my rights as a West the children on their rights and responsibilities as child and if someone wants to take me Compassion International well as child protection issues somewhere to go and work for him I can say no even if my parents agree to it. Parents and Teacher ¡¡ Compassion has opened a school and admits children without taking or charging fees. They ¡¡ “I am now bold, ask questions in Association also even provide the children with the school class. I talk about child protection (PTA) uniforms and books issues to people in the community. My ¡¡ The PTA and the Chief and elders work with performance was very bad at school all Chief and Elders the NGOs to educate the community and the because I used not to ask for clarification or even compare notes with my mates. children in the schools But now it is for better. Last term I was the 3rd best student in my class and it is all thanks to Child Rights Club.” Awutu Plan Ghana ¡¡ Micro-finance assistance for women groups ¡¡ “This is a significant change because my Senya mother is financially empowered. We don’t lack many things in school and we now eat what we want both at school and in the house. Therefore we have sound minds to study.” North International Needs ¡¡ Formation of Child rights clubs in schools to ¡¡ “The teachings of the club have in a Tongu educate the children on child protection and their very great way changed my behaviour Destiny Child rights and responsibilities but above all, I have growing interest in ¡¡ Sponsor the education of children by supply becoming an academically excellent items with school uniforms and materials child.” including school fees South International Organization ¡¡ Formation of Child rights clubs in schools to ¡¡ “This is significant to me because the Tongu for Migration (IOM) educate the children on child protection and their intervention provided by international rights and responsibilities needs and destiny kids has empowered Plan Ghana the pupils to overcome their vulnerability by reporting people who want to victimize them. This way their future cannot easily be jeopardized.”
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection Protection Child on Stories Change Significant in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana) (Southern II Phase Ghana: in 141 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
142 Annex 8: Intervention grid based on Child Neglect stories
District Organisation/ Activities Changes Institution Awutu-Senya Challenging Heights Community sensitization on Attitudinal change; child protection enhanced school participation and achievement NCCE Community sensitization on Improved academic child protection performance Gomoa West International Needs Formation of Rhema Attitudinal change; Health Children’s Club in improved school the schools; community attendance and academic sensitization and education performance on family values Challenging Heights Community sensitization on Attitudinal change; child protection enhanced school participation and achievement NCCE Community sensitization on Attitudinal change child protection DSW Community sensitization on Attitudinal change child protection Ga West Action Aid Education of children on Knowledge acquisition on sexual and reproductive reproductive health health Ningo Kinder Paradise Provision of shelter Improved academic Prampram performance DCD Community sensitization on Attitudinal and behavioural child protection change NCCE Sensitization on child Attitudinal and behavioural protection change South Togu DSW Community sensitization on Acquisition of skills child protection North Tongu International Needs Educational talks on child Increase enrolment in protection and provision school of teaching and learning materials to pupils Destiny Child Educational sponsorship Increase enrolment in school
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
143 Annex 9: Intervention grid based on Right to Education stories
District NGOs Activities Changes Awutu Senya Challenging ¡¡ Plan Ghana provided micro- ¡¡ Children went back Heights, plus for parents to provide for to school, girls are Compassion their children in school. empowered through International, ¡¡ Challenging Heights kept the SARA clubs Plan Ghana and trafficked children back to UNINESCO schools, gave livelihood to parents to provide for their children, enrolled needy children back to school. ¡¡ Compassion International gave free extra classes for needy children and educational needs. ¡¡ UNESCO provided SARA clubs. Gomoa West Camfed Ghana, ¡¡ CAMFED provided children ¡¡ CAMFED supported International with educational support to be children to complete Needs, able to complete Senior High SHS education Compassion School. successfully. International ¡¡ International Needs has ¡¡ International needs provided tool kit for community helped parents and level structure from which they children to know the refer which serves as a guide importance of child to the member of the CLS. right to education. ¡¡ They also created the ¡¡ Compassion gave community child protection financial support committee and empowered to needy children. the CCPC by education Therefore needy whilst CCPC intern return children have a the acquired knowledge to sound mind to study. the community members in churches and community gathering and school. Ga- West World Vision ¡¡ World vision Provision of school ¡¡ Now children have materials like bags, books, a set school educational of school uniform etc. materials e.g. uniforms books bags to attend school freely without hindrance Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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District NGOs Activities Changes Ningo- Compassion ¡¡ Compassion International ¡¡ Enhanced School Prampram International, provided educational Participation and USAID, World materials, food and clothing Achievement and Vision and paid the medical bills of enhanced access to the children. health service. ¡¡ USAID sensitized the ¡¡ Enhanced School children on the importance Participation and of education, impact of Achievement, Ability child labour on his future, to Influence Others. the negative effect of child ¡¡ Enhanced school trafficking. participation and achievement. North Tongu Destiny Child, ¡¡ International needs provided ¡¡ IOM Enhanced International schools, water, church, toilet school participation Needs, IOM facilities, free lunch, health and achievement, care and the like. Period Social and Cultural -over 10 years. Living children Change (Beliefs and after school education thus Perceptions). especially for the school drop outs. They are given afternoon classes in their mother-tongue ¡¡ Destiny Child Sponsored children by paying their school fees and giving them medical support, they also gave uniforms, books, stationaries and drawing boards. ¡¡ IOM helped stop child trafficking and send them back to school and pay their school fees, provide them with books and school bags. They educate the youth and elder on the effect of child protection issues. Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
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District NGOs Activities Changes South Tongu Plan Ghana, IOM ¡¡ Seek to Save foundation; ¡¡ Enhanced School and Seek to Safe wrote down the names of Participation and Foundation teenage mothers who are Achievement. school drop outs and later Teenage girls are gave them school uniforms now conscious and books and asked them to and wouldn’t get go back to school. pregnant. ¡¡ IOM trained about four ¡¡ Enhanced School key respected community Participation and members as volunteers Achievements to enable them sensitize ¡¡ Financial community members and form empowerment and a watch dog to tackle issues good participation in of child trafficking and child school labour other issues of child protection, such as neglect and lack of maintenance is also been tackle. This is implemented in collaboration with community stakeholder. IOM also gave sponsorship to children to attend school free. ¡¡ Plan Ghana gave full scholarships to bright students who passed their exams. They also introduced the credit and loan scheme for parents to take good care of their children.
Source: Field Data, November, 2017 146
Annex 10: Child Protection Interventions in Child Labour and Child Ghana) (Southern II Phase Ghana: in Protection Child on Stories Change Significant Trafficking by State and Non-State Institutions
District Change Child Protection Issue Intervention Change Significance Agent
Gomoa International ¡¡ Child trafficking ¡¡ Identifying children ¡¡ Children enrolled ¡¡ Appreciate school West Needs ¡¡ Children going to returnees for assistance in schools and enrolment to help Yeji to fish at the ¡¡ Sending them back to provided with their them pursue lifelong expense of their school. school needs. ambition. education. ¡¡ Provision of their ¡¡ Children ¡¡ Improved academic ¡¡ Children in distress education needs (books, participating in performance. not in school. pens, bags, uniforms). school activities. ¡¡ Payment of School Fees. ¡¡ Improvement Provision education in academic on rights of children in performance. schools. ¡¡ Search, rescue and ¡¡ Child returnees ¡¡ Children saved from rehabilitation of trafficked enrolled in trauma. Awutu- Challenging ¡¡ Child Trafficking children schools. ¡¡ Enrolment and Senya Heights ¡¡ Provide children with ¡¡ Regular school support to realize education and skills. attendance. lifelong ambition ¡¡ Support the needy particularly girls back to school. South International ¡¡ Incidence of school ¡¡ Support to children in ¡¡ Enrolled out-of- ¡¡ Attainment of future Tongu Organization drop-out. distress. Back to school. school children in ambition. for Migration ¡¡ Family ¡¡ Support to integrate school. ¡¡ Improved academic disintegration. children with their performance. ¡¡ Teenage families. pregnancies, Child ¡¡ Provision of school needs labour, Child rights. to children in distress. District Change Child Protection Issue Intervention Change Significance Agent
South Seek ¡¡ Teenage pregnancy ¡¡ Identification and ¡¡ Enrolled in school ¡¡ Education a way to Tongu and Save and school drop- registration of teenage secure future Foundation outs mothers. ¡¡ Provision of school needs and send them back to school. South Plan Ghana ¡¡ Inadequate child ¡¡ Micro-finance scheme: ¡¡ Benefited from ¡¡ Able to cater for Tongu care and support, Establishment of loans to expand needs of children in incidence of school susu group: member/ petty trade. school. drop-out. contributors given loans to expand business. An opportunity for women to take loans. ¡¡ Teenage Pregnancy ¡¡ Educate pupils on how ¡¡ Good behaviour to take good care of South NCCE ¡¡ Teenage Pregnancy ¡¡ Academic children. improvement Tongu ¡¡ Provision of counselling to children. ¡¡ Coordinates with other
agencies and CSOs to Protection Child on Stories Change Significant cater for educational needs of teenage ¡¡ Appreciation of value ¡¡ Enrolled in school Ghana) (Southern II Phase Ghana: in mothers in school. of formal education to ¡¡ Provides educations secure future. to children on teenage Social pregnancy, child labour, Welfare child rights.
Source: Field Data, November 2017 147 Significant Change Stories on Child Protection in Ghana: Phase II (Southern Ghana)
148