Dr Vannesa Nsiah Aleosah, a dental surgeon at Tema General Hospital, urged the public, especially teenage girls, to come to the hospital immediately after being sexually abused to get evidence of the act.
“When that happens, you go straight to the hospital. They will gather evidence for you by examining the condition of your reproductive organ, to find out if it is traumatized, and also, by trying to collect the semen, and that is evidence,” she said.
Dr Aleosah, who was speaking at a mentoring and leadership seminar organized by Women, Media Change (WOMEC), added that after gathering the evidence, the report would be forwarded to the police station to enable the law to run its course against the perpetrator and to ensure that justice was served for the victim to deter others.
Dr Aleosah, who is also a child activist, warned victims of sexual assault to refrain from bathing immediately after a taint or rape as this could eliminate physical evidence that could be used to adjudicate charges brought against the authors.
“If you bathe immediately after the act, you erase the evidence, it is difficult to link the perpetrators to the crime in order to face the law,” she said.
She called on parents not to protect perpetrators of rape and defilement at the expense of the victim.
Dr. Charity Binka, executive director of WOMEC, advised teenage girls to find amicable ways to prevent rape or defilement and called on parents to refrain from dealing with rape issues at home.
She said rape or defilement is a criminal offense that must be dealt with and in accordance with the laws of the land and instructed the girls to report such cases to the police, parents, teachers, among others.
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