A three-year-old girl is battling for her life at the Trauma and Specialist Hospital in Winneba after her stepmother allegedly poured hot water on her private parts as punishment for bedwetting.

According to the child’s mother, the girl had travelled from Swedru to Winneba to spend the vacation with her father. She claims the stepmother, identified only as Akaima, a Liberian national, inflicted the horrific injuries.

“When I went to pick her up, I realised she couldn’t walk properly. When I examined her, I saw the burns. She told me her stepmother poured hot water on her for wetting her bed,” the mother recounted in an interview with Citi News.

Doctors at the Trauma and Specialist Hospital have confirmed that the injuries are severe and will require complex medical procedures.

Child rights NGO, Challenging Heights, has stepped in to support the family with medical care. Its Mother and Child Rescue Unit is demanding swift justice.

In a statement, Challenging Heights called on government to strengthen key institutions such as the Department of Social Welfare, the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service to ensure better protection for children.