Obuasi SHTS scandal: Gender Ministry moves to support students

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, said the team would engage the affected students, assess their needs and help them begin the process of recovery while protecting their identities.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Burning Issues, Dr Lartey said her ministry was working with the Ministry of the Interior and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to coordinate the response and prevent victims from being subjected to repeated interviews by different institutions.

She said the coordinated approach was intended to minimise further distress to the students while ensuring that their welfare and the investigation received the necessary attention.

The team’s assignment, she explained, went beyond gathering accounts of what had happened to the students.

It would also provide health-related assistance and psychological support, particularly in view of allegations that the former headmaster had engaged in sexual encounters with multiple students.

Dr Lartey said some of the students were reluctant to speak publicly because they feared victimisation and stigmatisation.

She said information obtained with the assistance of investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni had helped the authorities identify students who might need support, paving the way for the ministry’s team to begin engaging them.

The minister assured the students that their identities would be kept confidential and that steps would be taken to support their healing.

She said protecting the victims from further harm was an important part of the response, as the authorities worked to establish the facts surrounding the allegations.

The deployment comes amid growing public concern over the allegations at Obuasi SHTS and calls for accountability, a thorough investigation and stronger protection for students in educational institutions.

The allegations remain subject to investigation. The welfare of the students, including their privacy and access to appropriate care, remains central to the response.