The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Madam Lariba Zuweira Abudu, reiterated Ghana’s commitment to enhancing policies to strengthen digital rights and online safety of girls and women.
She said this at the 4th African Girls Summit at a pre-girl’s high-level side event held at the ongoing 67th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York on Wednesday.
The event, held at the permanent Observer Mission of the African Union (AU) to the United States, was themed: “Strengthening Digital Rights and Online Safety to Protect and promote Girls and Women’s Technological Empowerment.”
She indicated that the use of the internet among children, especially girls and women is on the rise and gradually becoming an intrinsic part of their daily lives.
“The internet offers girls and women several opportunities in education, health, market, entertainment and socialization by accessing information to enhance their well-being and development,” she said.
She added that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is also the AU Gender Champion, has put a robust system in place to protect the rights of girls and women online, adding that the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization has established the National Cyber Security Centre as well as appointed a National Cybersecurity Advisor to coordinate cybersecurity in the formal and informal sectors.
These actions, according to her, have contributed to the establishment of a Child Online Protection Department.
She hinted that the recently passed Cyber Security Act, 2020 (Act 1038) has provisioned for criminal online grooming of girls and women, online enticement of children for sexual abuse, sextortion and the production, viewing and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
The Minister was joined by Chief Director, Dr Afisah Zakariah, Director for the Department of Gender, Madam Faustina Acheampong and some members of Ghana’s Gender and Children’s Committee.
Priscilla Nimako, ISD
