The Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has led a high-level ministerial delegation to Obuasi to meet directly with students affected by the recent sexual assault scandal at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS).
During the visit, the Minister uncovered harrowing testimonies from young victims detailing systemic abuse, followed by sustained campaigns of online doxxing, harassment, and open intimidation aimed at silencing them and their families.
Speaking after closed-door engagements with affected students, parents, and school management in Obuasi, Dr. Naa Momo Lartey revealed that perpetrators and their sympathizers have weaponized social media platforms to expose the full names, photos, and personal details of the victims.
The targeted leaks, described as an orchestrated attempt to force survivors into withdrawing their complaints, have triggered widespread distress. Several families are reportedly considering relocating from the municipality due to intense social stigma and safety concerns.
“The level of hostility and calculated intimidation targeted at these young victims and their families is deeply disturbing,” the Gender Minister stated. “We cannot—and will not—allow perpetrators and their enforcers to use fear, public shaming, and digital abuse to obstruct justice.”
To counter the escalating threats, the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection is activating a comprehensive, three-pronged inter-agency framework combining digital defense, law enforcement, and victim welfare.
In the digital domain, the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) is taking the lead on digital containment by coordinating directly with national telecom providers, social media platforms, and online content moderators to carry out emergency content takedowns. Their immediate priority centers on systematically sweeping public feeds and messaging channels to remove all identifying posts, full names, photos, and sensitive material related to the victims.
On the law enforcement front, National Security agents are collaborating closely with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service. This joint force is deploying digital forensics to trace IP addresses, burner accounts, and online user profiles involved in issuing threats or leaking sensitive student profiles, with a clear mandate to apprehend perpetrators and establish physical security measures for targeted families.
Concurrently, the Department of Social Welfare is spearheading the psychosocial and safeguarding response. Social Welfare officers and counseling specialists are providing structured mental health care, trauma-informed counseling, and legal guidance to the affected students and their parents, while also facilitating temporary relocation assistance for families facing active security risks.
The Minister issued a stern warning to media outlets, bloggers, online administrators, and the general public, reminding all parties that exposing the identities of minors or sexual violence survivors is illegal under Ghana’s Children’s Act and cybersecurity regulations.
She warned that anyone found re-sharing, republishing, or creating content that identifies the victims will face swift prosecution.
“Protection of these students’ identity is paramount to preserving their dignity and ensuring the integrity of the ongoing criminal investigation,” Dr. Lartey emphasized. “The state will exercise its full legal authority to bring all individuals threatening these children to book.”
The Ministry has assured parents and the general public that the government remains fully committed to prosecuting all culprits involved in the primary sexual assault offenses as well as the subsequent harassment campaign.
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