THE SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS OF IMPLEMENTING CHILD RIGHTS LEGISLATION IN THE BONGO DISTRICT, GHANA

Abstract

Children's rights have been comprehensively outlined in a number of international treaties that Ghana has ratified, in the Constitution and various national laws, fundamentally among which is the Children's Act. While the government and its development partners have continued to put the necessary policies and structures in place to implement these laws over the years, child rights violations are still on the increase in Ghana, particularly in rural communities. Prevailing socio-cultural practices are largely blamed for the current state of affairs. This study examined the socio-cultural implications of implementing child rights laws by taking a critical look of the complementary role of traditional (informal) structures towards implementation of the Children's Act. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out involving 120 respondents in four communities of the Bongo District, Upper East Region. The results show that majority (over 90%) of respondents indicated that children rights were necessary and should be safeguarded, however, responses on the specific rights that should be accorded children were varied. Regrettably, fewer respondents (22%) thought safeguarding the rights of the child at the community level was the joint responsibility of the family and community as a whole. Almost half (45%) of respondents were likely to think that protecting and promoting child rights is the sole responsibility of the family. Sixty-seven (67%) reported that traditional structures were still very effective in child rights protection, though they may be under pressure to relinquish their roles to modem day institutions. Knowledge of child rights laws was very poor, a little more than half (53%) of respondents did not know of any formal child rights law, while only 37% have heard of the Children's Act. In conclusion, for the implementation of child rights laws to be effective the role of traditional structures, like the Traditional Councils, should be consciously recognized and these institutions strengthened to complement activities for formal child rights institutions.