Some of the cases included, neglect of parental duties, defilement, child stealing, forced marriage, causing unlawful damage, assault, rape, exposing child to harm and criminal abortion. The Central Regional Coordinator of DOVVSU, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) George Appiah-Sakyi told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Monday that 199 of the reported cases were rape, defilement, sexual harassment and incest related.

He said assault cases topped the list with 797 cases followed by non-maintenance with 651 cases, 180 for threat of death and 138 being defilement cases. He said records available to the Unit for the past five years showed that assault cases, which hitherto placed second topped the list.

He said the Unit recorded 131 abduction cases compared to 71 in 2015 while kidnapping cases increased drastically from two in 2015 to 38 in the year under review. He indicated that majority of the cases came from Cape Coast and its immediate settlements, including Elmina, Mankessim, Kasoa, Agona Swedru and Assin Fosu.

DSP Appiah-Sakyi blamed the high number of non-maintenance cases on broken homes, large family sizes, poverty and unwanted pregnancies. He advised that family planning be embraced while individuals lived resourceful and productive lives as well. He observed that the Unit was recording significant reductions in the number of cases in every five years since its establishment in 2002 but could not identify the factors accounting for that trend.

The Unit in collaboration with United Nations Population Fund and some Non-Governmental Organizations organized a number of sensitization workshops to help stop gender and sexual based violence. The DOVVSU Boss however said sensitization activities and education on the need to end domestic violence for a healthy family and society would be intensified across the Region in the coming years.