A gender advocate, Awal Ahmed Kariama wants government to prosecute men who impregnate girls under 16 years.

The Executive Director of RISE-Ghana, an NGO in Northern Ghana that seeks the rights of vulnerable women, is worried society has for a long time made defilement an issue that should be resolved at home though it is a criminal offence.

Awal Kariama said we need to bring back the age-specific comprehensive sexuality education so our Imams, Pastors and Traditional Authorities can create an enabling environment where young people can open up and talk about sex dispassionately provided it is age-specific."

The Gender Advocate who was speaking on JoyNews AM Show Tuesday bemoaned the alarming surge in teenage pregnancy across the country.

He said the situation where society feels sexual abuse and defilement cases should be treated at home should not be entertained.

"We have communities which protect each other but we have failed to protect our children especially minors. When minors are defiled, the whole community rallies around and says we are one people. Let's not wash our dirty linen in public. But the UN charter says the interest of the child is paramount."

He cautioned chiefs and traditional authorities to stop adjudicating criminal cases like rape and defilement.

"You'd see influential people coming in to say let's not make it public. Let's resolve it. But this is criminal. Let's stop that," he said.

He ended by asking stakeholders to put rape, defilement and teenage pregnancy cases at the centre of the discussions so a lasting solution is found.