The Minister of Gender, Child and Social Protection, Mrs Cynthia Morrison, has condemned all forms of sexual harassment in Ghana.

In her view, sexual harassment has become prevalent in schools and other professional environments.

Her condemnation comes in the wake of the decision by the University of Ghana (UG) to interdict two of its lecturers – Prof Ransford Gyampo and Dr Paul Kwame Butakor – following the airing of a BBC documentary titled ‘Sex for grades’ in which the two were caught on video in compromising situations with female reporters who posed as students.

The undercover exposé has sparked a conversation about the need for stringent frameworks in schools and workplaces to guard against the unacceptable act. 

At a press briefing on Wednesday, 9 October 2019, Mrs Morrison said it is bad for anyone to have a sexual interest in a woman or young girl against the person’s will.

“We all know it is not a good thing for both boys and girls, not only in the universities. A man shakes you and scratches your palm; what does that mean? He sees you and hits your butt, what does that mean?" she questioned.

She continued: “We cannot do that to men when we meet them. Everywhere it happens whether it’s in the classroom, whether in the office, whether at home or anywhere, it’s wrong.”

“So, I will not only concentrate on what is happening in the universities, even in the media, if you are here and you are a man and you have hit somebody’s butt before, it is wrong. If you scratch somebody’s hand, it is wrong. If you are interested in a girl, propose to her; if she likes it, she will accept; if she doesn’t like it, she goes away and you also go your way.”