The Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection (MoGCSP) has strongly condemned a disturbing video circulating on social media showing a group of men forcing a child to smoke a cigarette.
The Ministry issued a statement on Friday, November 21, 2025, expressing outrage over the incident and emphasizing that exposing children to harmful substances constitutes child endangerment and violates the child’s rights and dignity.
According to the statement, the act contravenes Ghana’s Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), which mandates protection of children from physical, psychological, and moral harm.
The Ministry has forwarded the video to the Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for immediate action and urged the police to expedite arrests and prosecution of the perpetrators.
In light of the incident and with the 16 Days of Activism against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence underway, the MoGCSP is calling on stakeholders to intensify efforts to prevent violence against vulnerable groups, especially women and children.
The Ministry stresses that protecting children’s rights and dignity is a collective responsibility.
The statement was issued by the Public Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection.
