By Richard Buabeng
Introduction
Ghana has recorded cases of sodomy and violence against women and children in the last 5 years. On November 15, 2021, a 23-year-old barber from Atawase in the Kwahu West Municipality was convicted and sentenced to 114 years by a judge at the Mpraeso circuit court after pleading guilty to sodomising 12 pupils, a misdemeanour under article 104 (b) of the Ghanaian Criminal Code (Act 29), “unnatural carnal knowledge”.
Health researchers seek to find and understand the science that explains the actions and mental states of perpetrators and whether or not the justice system considers mental health evaluations as basis and prerequisites in trials.
The involvement of mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) in the criminal justice system (CJS) is currently a major public health concern. (Adjorlolo et al, 2016) while some Ghanaians raise the superstitious argument and so on. These issues must be carefully evaluated using empirical research data based on critical scientific analysis. To advance my perspective, let us look at key definitions and analyse some reports on sodomy.
Definitions
The legal definition of sodomy is “the crime of oral or anal sexual contact or penetration between a person and an animal especially: the crime of forcing another person to perform oral or anal sex”. (Merriam-Webster)
Mental disorder any condition characterized by cognitive and emotional disturbances, abnormal behaviours, impaired functioning, or any combination of these. Such disorders cannot be accounted for solely by environmental circumstances and may involve physiological, genetic, chemical, social, and other factors (APA Dictionary of Psychology).
Overrepresentation is defined “as the representation of a group in a category that exceeds our expectations for that group, or differs substantially from the representation of others in that category” (Skiba et al., 2008: 266)
Analysis of Reported Cases
Over the last 5 to 10 years, the media in Ghana has reported many cases of sodomy. The following are some cases: Kwahu West: Barber sentenced 114 years for sodomising 12 children”, by Citinewsroom, November 16, 2021; “Man, 38, jailed 20 years for attempting to have anal sex with 16-year-old boy”, by Ghanaweb, October 20, 2021; “Sodomy teacher is a Pentecost Elder”, by Vida Essel-Lamptey, GHANA PLUS, October 1, 2021; “Man, 60, bribes girl, 14, with GHS5 for two rounds of s3x”, by MYNEWSGHANA, February 8, 2021; “Student held over Sodomy freed”, by GHANA NEWS AGENCY, December 6, 2020; “2 Arrested for sodomy”, by Dotsey Koblah Aklorbortu, GRAPHIC ONLINE February 2, 2018; “Househelp sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for Sodomy”, November 18, 2017 by F. Kyeremateng/GhanaJustice; “Ghana: Nigerian Caged 20 Years for Sodomy”, by Maame Agyeiwaa Agyei, CHRONICLE NEWSPAPER, July 2, 2015
An analysis of these reports does not indicate interest in the interrogation of the mental health component that surrounds this social problem. The Mental Health Act 846, Section 76 (1)) makes provision for people who have mental health problems who have interaction with law enforcement but the overrepresentation of individuals with mental illness in the criminal justice system is a major challenge facing criminal justice and mental health professionals and policy makers. (Adjorlolo, 2016). For instance, in the Amponsah vs Attorney General, evidence or request for mental health evaluation/examination may have been ignored by counsels or the court itself in order to advance prosecution or otherwise of the cases. Regarding fitness to stand trial, it is evident that the Ghanaian legislation does not contain discrete fitness indicators, relative to, for instance, Canada. (Adjorlolo et al, 2016). So, are accused persons well represented? What is the influence of a guilty plea on such cases? How sure are we it would not continue at our “unsafe” prisons? Is it important to establish the mental state of accused persons and victims before, during and after the crime or not? Two possible contributing factors include the non-existence of systematic routine mental illness screenings at court and in prison and criminal justice officers’ bias against offenders with mental illness (Adjorlolo, 2016). The outcome of a psychiatry evaluation can enrich a judges’ ruling and help advance science and legal jurisprudence.
Mental Health Interventions
The Mental Health Act 846, 2012 supports prioritising the mental health and wellbeing of all persons facing the criminal justice system. Thus, in a worthy effort to fulfil the law and deliver holistic healthcare to the 12 pupils who suffered sodomy at Atawase, on 6th December a team of mental health professionals and social welfare officers led by the Director of Health Services, Ms Celestine Asante at Kwahu West Municipality went to offer psychosocial support and counselling to the victims and family.
At a durbar of the chief and people of Atawase, the health director admonished the parents to care, pay attention and show love to their children. She added that, parents must do their best to provide the needs of their children. Every member of the community must endeavor to promote inclusion and not discriminate them which can affect the community’s wellbeing.
Conclusion
Over the years, Ghana and Africa have invested very little to research. One will ask whether or not the answers and solutions we seek to our many developmental problems can ever be realised. Mental Health permeates every aspect of our lives and must be prioritised by because there cannot be total health without mental health.
The writer is a Senior Staff (Psych.) at Ghana Health Service
