Teachers have been named among people who are likely to sexually abuse teenage girls, a survey conducted by Afrikids Ghana, a child friendly organization headquartered in the Upper East Region has found.
According to findings of the survey which was conducted in the Bolgatanga and Builsa North Municipalities, 7.14 percent of girls are certain that someone either a male adult or a boy will touch them in an inappropriate manner or sexually abuse them in the next 1 year.
Teachers, the findings indicate, are among the greatest majority of people who are likely to inappropriately touch or sexually abuse these teenage girls within the next 1 year, making up 11.22 percent of the number of potential abusers.
Others who could potentially harass or abuse teenage girls sexually in the next 1 year include male peers (41.84%), non-relatives (38.78%), boyfriends/partners (24.49%) and family friends (13.27%).
The survey which forms part of Afrikids Ghana’s Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR) 1 year project targeting 500 adolescents girls in the two Municipalities also discovered that 70.4 percent of girls have little information and confidence to be safe from child marriage, forced marriage and sexual abuse.
25.51 percent find it extremely difficult to say an outright no to sex while 20.41 percent are undecided about their sex lives.
Another 32.65%, according to the survey, find it difficult to talk to their boyfriends/partners about delaying sex or using contraception. It also emerged that 10% of adolescents who were covered as respondents say they have been pressured to get married.
Projector Coordinator of Afrikids Ghana’s Adolescents Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, Cecilia Awiah , who spoke to dreamzfmonline.com, stated that while some girls are influenced by their peers to engage in sexual activities, others deliberately engage in such activities with the sole aim of getting pregnant so as to marry their lovers.
“One other thing that causes teenage pregnancy is influence from female friends. Some say their friends ask them why they cannot get certain things for themselves so they lure them into sexual relationship with boys to get some of those items. Some girls also deliberately get pregnant in order to marry the boys they think they love,” she said.
