I have been down the rabbit hole that is all about the abuse of the girl child these past few weeks on TikTok and I am morbidly overstimulated. I’ve been consumed by a mix of searing anger and deep sadness, struggling to make sense of a world where such atrocities can occur, and often, the perpetrators walk free. It seems our overly “moral” and “religious” society is complicit in the proliferation of these crimes because we often fail to help and protect our victims, especially since the perpetrators are often our husbands, fathers, pastors, friends, teachers, and other trusted figures.

The story that opened the can of worms…

On October 1, 2025, the lower house of parliament in Somalia voted overwhelmingly to ratify the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, with 130 in favor, 10 against, and 5 abstentions. This ratification affirms Somalia as the 52nd African Union member to adopt the treaty, which sets regional standards for protecting children’s rights, including protection from abuse, access to education and healthcare, and promotion of child participation. The robust support within parliament reflects growing political will to enhance legal protections for children despite ongoing challenges. This joy was, however, short-lived, as men took to social media to spread news that this treaty threatened the essence of Islam. For clarification, here are some of the disputed clauses:

(ACRWC Article 2-Definition of a child)

For the purposes of this Charter, a child means every human being below
the age of 18 years.

Article 21

States Parties to the present Charter shall take all appropriate
measures to eliminate harmful social and cultural practices affecting
the welfare, dignity, normal growth and development of the child
and in particular:
(a) those customs and practices prejudicial to the health or life of
the child; and
(b) those customs and practices discriminatory to the child -on the
grounds of sex or other status.

Child marriage and the betrothal of girls and boys shall be prohibited
and effective action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify
the minimum age of marriage to be eighteen years and make
registration of all marriages in an official registry compulsory

ACRWC ARTICLE 21.2

I believe any right-thinking human being should be excited about such a treaty that protects children, but not the men of Somalia. One particular video that sparked this social media chaos was of a 73-year-old man crying bitterly about how this treaty was against their religion. Able-bodied men in Somalia took to the streets to protest, not for matters of economic importance to their nation. No, they protested so they could marry girls younger than age 18. On October 4, 2025, The Ministry of Family and Human Rights Development issued a statement clarifying Somalia’s stance on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, adding that provisions of the charter that contradict Islamic law will not apply in the country. Article 21, which talks about the marriage age, was among the rejected clauses. Somalia currently has no national minimum legal age of marriage law. Here are some links to relevant articles on the matter ; https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-clarifies-position-on-african-childrens-rights-charter , https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/36804-treaty-african_charter_on_rights_welfare_of_the_child.pdf

This whole issue caused a lot of uproar online as both men and women chimed in to speak for or against this act. What seemed like a national issue for the people of Somalia soon became a continental warfare as many people from the Northern parts of both Nigeria and Ghana came out to speak against the matter while others shared their very own gruesome experiences. Some were “lucky” enough to have escaped but many unlucky young girls have died as a result of child marriage. The fact that we even have to debate on why child marriage is wrong and should be shunned is just such a disgrace to humanity. Mind you, the treaty sought to protect both boys and girls from child marriage, but the people who took to the streets to protest against it were men. Therefore, let us not get confused, the child in question here is the girl child.

Another debate that came up amidst all this brouhaha was the religion aspect of it all. With Somalia citing Islamic laws as their reason for rejecting these clauses, the religion seemed to take a hit on the media while other Muslims argued that those beliefs did not reflect Islam as a religion. I am not a Muslim, so I will not attempt to explain this discourse. I, however, do believe that the evil man will so easily hide behind religion to perpetuate his animalistic deeds, be he Christian, Muslim, traditionalist, etc…

Down the rabbit hole…

What seemed like a battle against child marriage soon expanded into a conversation about the sexual abuse many young girls suffer at the hands of older men, and how these events have left them broken and traumatized because society failed to protect them. One swipe after the other, video after video, my TikTok FYP, which was once filled with various stress-relieving contents, had now become a dark web of horror stories of girls who had suffered gruesome sexual abuse, mostly at the hands of adults who were supposed to protect them. Worst of it all is that these victims had been pushed to silence, and their perpetrators were still allowed to walk freely on the surface of this earth. Here are a few stories worthy of mention:

Justice for Ochanaya

In the wake of all the sexual abuse darkness, an old story resurfaced in Nigeria, sparking a movement seeking justice for a heartbreaking case that occurred in 2018. Ochanya was just five years old when she was sent to live with her aunt and the aunt’s family in Benue State to attend school. Tragically, she was subjected to repeated sexual abuse by her aunt’s husband, Andrew Ogbuja, a polytechnic lecturer, and their son, Victor Ogbuja, from the age of eight until her devastating death.

Her family eventually discovered her condition, and she was hospitalized, but she died from complications, including Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF), a result of the trauma she endured. Andrew Ogbuja was acquitted and discharged of all charges, while Felicia Ogbuja, Ochanya’s aunt, was convicted of negligence and sentenced to five months in jail. Victor Ogbuja, the key suspect, has been at large since 2018, and recent social media posts showing him living freely in Lagos have rekindled public anger and a renewed demand for his arrest and prosecution. Poor Ochanya’s life was cut short and her only crime was what existed between her legs.

The case of Samuel Armah…

On October 22, 2025, a most insane and rather horrific news story reached us all the way from Mudford, a suburb of Apam in the Central Region. Forty-nine-year-old Samuel Armah, a.k.a. Kofi Nyan, sexually assaulted a thirteen-year-old girl for allegedly stealing his Ghc 800.00. As if the story on its own was not preposterous enough, there was an actual video of the act circulating on social media. How was this video taken, who took it, and why did the person not rather intervene and stop this crime from happening in the first place? I hope these questions run through your mind too. Can you believe that this unthinkable act actually had an audience? There were bystanders watching this disgusting pervert of a man sexually violate this child, and in the video, these men could be heard cheering him on. Samuel Armah intended to abuse this girl for four full hours; he claimed that each hour would equal Ghc 200.00, and since the amount in question was Ghc 800.00, the poor girl would have had to endure this filthy man for four hours.

We really do have depraved beings living among us, because I cannot fathom how people could cheer anyone on to commit such an act. This makes me believe that sexual abuse is most likely very common in this particular town, which is why Samuel Armah was confident enough to commit such a heinous crime in front of people and still had his audience cheering him on. Men like him, and whoever stood by watching this, do not deserve to roam freely on this earth. I was filled with so much anger when I heard this news and yet I could not come up with a punishment painful enough to fit the crime. Even death seemed like a form of mercy. On October 29, 2025, Samuel Armah pleaded guilty to all charges against him and was sentenced to ten years in prison with hard labour. Not nearly enough years, but I guess we’ll take what we can get for now. I’m still wondering what the law can do about his cheerleaders.

Justise for Ransford…

Once you dive into the dark web of sexual abuse, it seems there’s no time to pause and catch your breath. I somehow scrolled my way into another campaign seeking justice for a victim whose perpetrator seemed to have gotten away. Ransford Owusu Ansah was a 16-year-old promising footballer at the Saino Soccer Academy in Ghana who was allegedly subjected to prolonged sexual abuse by his coach, Ibrahim Anyass, over a period of three years while at the academy. Ransford’s health deteriorated, leading to his hospitalization at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in early 2025, where he later passed away. The case was initially reported by his mother on the Aunty Naa show, and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) took it up. However, nothing more was heard of the case until citizens discovered the accused coach was back at the same football academy, coaching children. This led to the online outrage that is now seeking justice once again.

Coach Ibrahim was called by the police for questioning, and he denied all allegations against him. However, this denial did not last long because videos started circulating on TikTok of him half-naked with another young boy, where he was being overly touchy and inappropriate with the boy, who looked obviously uncomfortable. This goes to show that Ransford was not the only victim of Coach Ibrahim and that all those young kids in that academy are either victims or yet to be victims. The MoGCSP has since received heavy backlash from the Ghanaian youth for failing to deliver justice the first time this news broke out. The ministry has come out once again to declare its intention to deliver justice this time around. We will be watching keenly.

A much needed break

To protect my own sanity, I decided to stay away from idly scrolling on TikTok for some time. I couldn’t bear to hear any more stories. For an act that is so heinous and evil, there are just too many victims, too many stories. Our society has been complicit in enabling the increasing number of abuse cases because we hardly hold the perpetrators accountable. If a girl is raped, we ask what she was wearing. If a child is abused, we ask “Where was the mother?” If a boy is abused, it even becomes an abomination to talk about it.

You report a case to the police and family members want to discuss the case at home. When a case finally makes it to court, the punishment hardly ever fits the crime. Too many victims are walking on the streets, dealing with a trauma they cannot escape because the society that was supposed to protect them failed them.

We need to do better as humans; we need to do better as a society. We may have failed in the past, but I sincerely hope that we can do better and provide a safer space for the next generation. Until then, everyone stay safe out there. Warm hugs and love to every victim out there trying to survive.

xoxo

Yarh