What is it about some men that they are unable to control their libidos? The Municipal Police Command in Savelugu in the Northern Region is on the heels of a male predator whose action on an 18-year-old girl has prompted a surgical procedure to save her life.
She suffered a life-threatening hemorrhaging after her aggressor abandoned her in the bush after raping and causing cuts around the walls of her private parts. Even animals won’t be this brutal to their opposite sexes. We are appalled and call on all Ghanaians to fight the creeping incidence of rape of young girls by some irresponsible and animal-like men.
Although there is no ambiguity about how the law should deal with rapists when they are arrested, it is our take that society should start getting involved in such matters.
Leaving the subject to only the law enforcement system to manage is not enough. Like other security issues, this too is a shared responsibility between the police and members of the communities where they take place.
While some instances of rape are not reported and handled at home by so-called opinion leaders in breach of the law others are. It is important that communities are educated about the position of the law on rape especially the fact that it is beyond managing at chief’s palaces.
We are excited that the Police Commander has given the assurance that his outfit has details of the suspect already and would soon catch up with him.
We want to hear about the arrest of the suspect as soon as possible. This would go a long way in soothing the pain suffered by the young innocent girl who was pounced upon by the human-predator when she was returning from a naming ceremony.
With predatory men around, girls too should be mindful about routes they take so they are not pounced upon by such animal –like humans.
Chiefs and community leaders should wake up to their responsibilities by assisting the Police at times like this to apprehend criminals.
There is no doubt that the suspect and others of his ilk should not share the same communities with decent and civilized persons. Their place is in prison and we find it opprobrious that sometimes people with information about such animals living among us do not proffer same to the Police to assist them in their work.
It is crude and barbaric for men to turn usually young girls, some of them, pupils and students into objects of sex.
Reports a few weeks ago pointed at a rising number of teenage pregnancies among both JHS pupils and their SHS counterparts.
At a time when we expect the rate of the foregone to be dropping it is rather worryingly rising. We appear not to be dealing with the subject sufficiently hence the rising trend. Many cases are still out of police station diaries because parents decide not to report them.
While a number of factors such as smart phones and the attendant features are contributory to the rising trend, parents to some extent, should also be held accountable for the trend.
Parents should rivet more attention on their children than they are doing now. Shortcomings in this direction would exact dire consequences on the quality of children under their care one of them opening them up to predatory men lurking in the alleys.