When trust betrays: Why Ghana’s girls face the highest risk of sexual violence around Age 15

New findings from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), based on the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey, confirm a disturbing truth: although only 2.2% of young women aged 18–29 report ever experiencing forced sex, a staggering 81.9% of these incidents happened before age 18.

The risk peaks at age 15, where more than 16% of victims encountered forced sex for the first time.

The most dangerous moment in a Ghanaian girl’s life may therefore come long before anyone realises she is at risk. Not at adulthood. Not at independence. But at age 15, a year meant for school, friendships, and exploring the future. And the person most likely to violate her is not a stranger.

Notwithstanding, a more troubling issue lies in who is committing these acts. According to the GSS, 61.2% of perpetrators are familiar faces: neighbours, acquaintances, partners, and sometimes trusted adults. Only 29.3% are strangers.

This combination of early-age vulnerability, familiar-face perpetrators, and regional and household risk patterns paints a troubling national picture. It means sexual violence is not only widespread but rooted in the very places girls are meant to feel safest.

The data says that 12 regions recorded more than 2% of girls experiencing forced sex before age 18, proof that childhood sexual violence is not confined to a few hotspots.

Some of the regions with the highest early-age risk include:

• Ahafo – 5.7%
• Eastern – 5.6%
• Volta – 5.4%
• Greater Accra – 5.0%
• Ashanti – 4.8%
• Central – 4.1%
• Western – 4.3%
• Oti – 4.2%

 

These are not marginal figures. They represent thousands of girls navigating abuse before they even enter adulthood. Rural communities remain the most affected: 85.4% of rural survivors experienced forced sex before 18, compared to smaller proportions in urban centres. The narrative shifts after age 18, where young women in cities face more incidents, a reflection of changing social dynamics, independence, and exposure.

These regional disparities match media reports. In the Upper East and Eastern regions, where childhood abuse rates are high, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) recently warned of rising sexual harassment in schools, revealing that over half of female SHS students surveyed between 2019–2021 had encountered sexual assault often from classmates, teachers or community members.

 

When Trust Becomes a Weapon

Public discussions often assume sexual predators lurk outside the home, beyond the school gates, or in the shadows of anonymous places. But real-world Ghanaian cases suggest otherwise.

In November 2025, former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo warned that the traditional “stranger danger” narrative is no longer sufficient. Her comments followed reports involving schoolgirls assaulted by people entrenched in their everyday lives.

The challenges is when perpetrators are known:

 

• Reporting becomes rare
• Families settle cases quietly
• Victims fear blame or disbelief
• Communities prioritise reputation over justice

This is why many cases never reach institutions like DOVVSU, even though recent viral domestic violence incidents have triggered national condemnation by the Gender Ministry. The problem is not lack of laws. It is lack of courage and systems to confront abuse within families and communities.

Perhaps the most counterintuitive finding in the GSS report is that education does not shield girls from sexual violence.

Among women with secondary or higher education: 76.8% experienced forced sex before age 18 and 76.2% experienced forced sex at 18 or older.

These numbers prove that most abuse occurs long before girls reach higher levels of education, meaning schooling comes too late to protect them. So, education does not dismantle harmful norms or power imbalances that enable coercion, especially when the perpetrators are trusted individuals.

This aligns with recent warnings from former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, who argued that Ghana must confront the moral and cultural roots of abuse, not just rely on legal punishment or schooling.

Another striking finding is that more than half of all victims of forced sex grew up in female-headed households. This challenges assumptions that women-led homes automatically offer safer environments.

 

GSS suggests several reasons:

• Female household heads often single mothers may work longer hours, leaving girls in the care of neighbours or relatives
• Economic and social pressures may expose girls to older partners or exploitative relationships
• Household gender does not erase community-level risks, especially in rural areas

In other words, girls in female-headed homes are often overexposed to external care systems, many of which lack protective oversight.

It’s not the household structure alone, it’s the environment surrounding it.

 

What Must Change To Effect Change

This crisis is structural, not marginal, and it affects children across homes, schools, and communities in Ghana. Addressing it requires strong detection systems, strengthened child protection units, youth-friendly reporting channels, training for teachers and community leaders, targeted programs for vulnerable girls, and strict law enforcement. Social norms must also change through community dialogue.

The evidence is clear: data, media, and advocates have sounded the alarm. Now, Ghana must act before more childhoods are stolen in silence.

 

Source: Citi  Newsroom

Editor’s note: Views expressed in this article do not represent that of The Chronicle

The post When trust betrays: Why Ghana’s girls face the highest risk of sexual violence around Age 15 appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.

Read Full Story