Teen prostitutes escape from camp

Teenage girls who were arrested by the Police in an operation to flush out child prostitutes at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle have escaped from camp.

Most of the 161 girls, some as young as 12 years old who were picked from their base at a brothel known as ‘Soldier Bar’ by a team of Policemen after weeks of intensive investigations and handed over to the Department of Social Welfare in Madina, Accra have absconded leaving only 15 girls behind.

Investigative Journalist of the Year, Anas Aremeyaw Anas who did undercover investigations and secretly video taped the girls and their clients accused the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs of negligence and failure to keep the teenagers at the camp to be rehabilitated.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Wednesday morning, Anas, who was obviously displeased with the Ministry’s handling of the issue, accused the deputy Minister, Daniel Dugan of failing to do what he and his ministry are being paid with the tax payers’ money to do.

He lamented that what he and others have endangered their lives to unravel in order to save these girls and prosecute the adults behind the activities have been allowed to go waste.

Mr. Dugan however, says the Ministry’s main target for the operation was child prostitutes and not adult prostitutes, but those arrested included adult prostitutes.

He also said the police said they did not have accommodation to keep the large number of prostitutes arrested in the swoop, just as they encountered the problem with space when they rescued teenage girls who were being trafficked out of the country some months ago.

Mr. Dugan also said a committee was set up including UNICEF and an NGO, which was to fund the operations.

The operation he said was to be kept secret, but an understanding was reached with Joy FM to allow a reporter to join the operation. But according to him when he went back to inform the committee bout the inclusion of the Joy FM reporter they objected. He insisted the committee wanted the operation to be carried out in secrecy.

Mr. Dugan said the girls were to be taken to the Social Welfare to be screened.

He said the Ministry’s role was to coordinate the operation and make sure the children among the girls; those under 18 years are taken care of and rehabilitated.

He mentioned, one Marilyn, an official on the International Desk of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs as the one who handed over the children to the Department of Social Welfare in Madina.

He said there were only a handful police officers at the camp to keep guard, and these girls who had mobile phones on them, called their pimps and male friends and probably relatives who came to assist them to escape.

Anas said the Ministry was to co-ordinate with the Social Welfare Department and the Health Ministry to provide care for these children.

Meanwhile, about 70 clients of the girls who were also arrested in the swoop have been put before court and granted bail.

MyJoyOnline