Ghana’s Interior Minister, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has described defilement as the country’s most worrying crime, warning that hundreds of young girls continue to suffer trauma despite efforts to reduce reported cases.
Speaking in an interview with Kwasi Pratt Jnr on Pan Africa TV monitored by Kumasi Mail, the minister said the government was preparing a nationwide awareness campaign to educate children on defilement and reporting mechanisms.
“In the country today, yesterday I was briefing the president. It’s defilement,” Mr Mubarak said when asked about the most pressing crime issue confronting the country.
He said discussions were already underway with the Gender Ministry to develop what he described as a “massive campaign” aimed at reaching at least two million students across Ghana.
“So I’ve been talking to my colleague, the Gender Minister, and we are planning to come up with a strategy of a massive campaign,” he said. “Our hope is to be able to reach out to at least two million students across the country so that they know what defilement is and how to report it.”
The Interior Minister cited police statistics which, according to him, showed persistently high numbers of reported cases over the past five years.
He said reported cases stood at more than 1,400 in 2021 before dropping to about 1,380 in 2022. The figure further declined to around 1,325 in 2023 and approximately 1,280 in 2024.
According to him, reported cases reduced to nearly 1,000 last year following intensified interventions by the authorities.
However, he expressed concern that the first quarter of this year alone had already recorded about 250 cases.
“For me, it is not the numbers. It’s not just the statistics,” he said. “It is telling me that under our watch, young girls numbering between January and March — about 258 — have been traumatised and they have to live with this trauma for the rest of their lives.”
Mr Mubarak said the government intended to strengthen preventive measures and victim support systems as part of broader efforts to combat sexual abuse against minors.
He acknowledged that dealing with defilement cases remained difficult because many incidents go unreported or are mishandled within communities.
