Delayed Justice, a new documentary by Multiple Award-Winning Ghanaian Journalist, Regina Asamoah, premieres on Saturday, 6th August 2022 on Atinka TV at 5:00 PM GMT.
The documentary tells a story of a six-year-long legal battle to seek justice for a girl who got partially paralysed after being defiled in 2015 by her schoolmate’s father
The documentary encourages families to report defilement cases, discourages out-of-court settlement, and calls for speedy prosecution of defilement cases.
Background to the Story
On 30th July 2015, Atinka FM’s Regina Asamoah first broke a story of a 10-year-old girl who was left bedridden after being defiled twice by a man whom she alleged was her schoolmate’s father.
The girl was a class one pupil of Anyaa D/A Government School who stayed with her Aunt at Anyaa, a suburb of Accra in the Greater Accra Region.
An initial Interaction with the girl on her sick bed at the Korle-Bu Children’s Ward revealed that the suspect defiled her in a bush on 14th and 17th July 2015 respectively on her way to school.
The man known to the victim as “Jessica Papa” (Jessica’s Father) was an auto mechanic who lived in the area.
Medical Condition
Pediatricians at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital confirmed in their report at the hospital that she was bedridden due to the force penetration when she was defiled. The family later resorted to herbal medicine due to a lack of finances to continue the medication at the Teaching Hospital.
Her mother (name withheld) now deceased, in an earlier interview with Regina Asamoah in June 2019 explained that they had to resort to herbal medicine because they couldn’t raise an amount of GHC120,000 for their daughter to undergo surgery.
After several attempts, the victim can now walk but falls at the least attempt to walk fast.
Her Aunt (name withheld) said the victim has become traumatized and would not go on any errand that takes her far away from the house. The family had to relocate to psychologically help her recover from the trauma.
Ghana’s Child Protection system
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is an important agreement by countries who have promise to protect children’s rights and Ghana is not an exception to this. Article 19 talks about Protection from violence. It says Government must protect children from violence, abuse, and being neglected by anyone.
Article 34 also calls for Protection from Sexual Abuse. It charges government to protect children from sexual exploitation (being taken, advantage of) and sexual abuse, including people forcing children to have sex for money or making sexual pictures or films of teens. To achieve these victims of abuse must be guaranteed justice.
Ghana’s Children Act 1998, tasks parents and guardians to protect the child from neglect, discrimination, violence, abuse, exposure to physical and moral hazards and oppression.
This is a collective action that needs the complement of the Judiciary and Ghana Police Service to ensure speedy trial for persons who violate this right of the child.
Profile of Documentary Film Maker
Regina Asamoah is the 2019 Best Female Journalist who for the past thirteen years, has made the art of storytelling a lifestyle rather than a job.
She works as a News Editor at Atinka TV and FM.
As an editorial team leader, she plays an intrinsic part in determining content for news, besides driving her team for top-quality reportage and ethical discipline.
One of her interests has been championing women’s and children’s rights through her works. She has written thesis and done publications on these areas which have sparked public discourse in both traditional and new media
Through her reports, several defiled girls have received justice, with some being put back to school on sponsorship.
Her award-winning documentaries have generated national discourse and yielded positive results over the years. Her Documentary titled; ‘MISSING CHILDREN’ premiered in May 2021 and has helped reunite over 160 missing children with their families. At the 2022 Ghana Young Achievers Awards, she received the topmost Award – Young Achiever and Activist of the Year, for her “Missing Children” Documentary Series.
Her Documentary; ‘DEFILED AND TRAUMATISED’ received Special Recognition from Plan International Ghana for Excellent Reporting on Girls’ Issues. After six years of legal battle, the girl who was featured in the Documentary – a defilement victim, finally got justice in August 2021.
Another Documentary by her on ‘THE AGED AND COVID-19’ led to proper targeting and care for older persons at the height of COVID-19 Pandemic in Ghana.
‘HOT OIL’, a documentary that highlighted the plight of a 9-yr-old boy who had suffered severe burns, allowed him to undergo complete surgery.
She has facilitated and moderated several high-level discussions. Key among them are the US Embassy Ghana “2021 Shifting the Blame Series: The Use of Ghanaian Language in Effective Reportage of Gender-Based Violence”, and the 2019 National Dialogue on Sexual Violence and Assault against Boys and Girls by Plan International Ghana and its implementing partners.
In 2O21, the US Embassy Ghana selected her together with 14 others as “Champions of Ghana” to speak on Gender-Based Violence during the Observance of the Global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
She holds a Masters’ Degree in Development Communication from Ghana Institute Of Journalism – having finished top of her class as the Best Graduating Student with Distinction.
She is a Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA) Fellow, and also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism.
She draws strength from one of Nelson Mandela’s quotes, ‘We can change the World and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.’
