The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has disclosed that 842 victims of trafficking were rescued in 2021.
The rescue was made possible through a collaboration between law enforcement officers, social workers, and some non-governmental organizations.
The Deputy Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Hajia Lariba Abudu, made this known on Thursday at the commissioning of the Human Trafficking Secretariat and the Trauma-Informed Care Center in Accra.
She said out of the 842, 812 have successfully been reintegrated into society after getting comprehensive trauma care.
She added that 276 adult females and children have been sheltered at the ministry’s adult shelter and children’s shelter, which have been in operation since February 2019 and August 2022 respectively.
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“In collaboration with our law enforcement officers, Social Workers, and NGOs, Ghana in 2021 rescued 842 victims, gave comprehensive trauma-informed care, and we have reintegrated 812 of them. On the 1st of February 2019, the adult shelter was operationalized and 178 adult female victims of trafficking have been cared for, and we are still receiving and caring for victims at the shelter even at this moment. The Children Shelter also was fully operationalized in August 2020, and has cared for 98 child victims,” she said.
“In all, 108 cases were reported and investigated; 42 cases being sex trafficking, 60 for labour trafficking, and 6 being other related cases that started as human trafficking offenses. Thirty–four (34) cases were sent to court for prosecution, out of those, 22 cases were prosecuted involving 37 defendants, and we have gained 17 convictions for the country,” she added.
Hajia Abudu said among other things, that the government and its partners including the UNFPA have commissioned the Orange Support Center and the Boame App, which receives complaints and gives assistance to trafficked individuals and persons suffering domestic violence.
She said despite the impressive work, there is still more that needs to be done to address the issue of trafficking in Ghana.
