By Addae Gyimah Lawrence
The strength of any legal system is not measured by the number of laws on its books but by how effectively those laws are enforced. In Ghana, however, the gulf between legislation and implementation remains wide, and nowhere is this more evident than in the country’s child protection regime.
Ghana boasts a robust legal framework designed to safeguard children’s rights. Article 28 of the 1992 Constitution guarantees protection from exploitation, hazardous labour, and abuse, while the Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560) provides the legislative backbone for these protections. The law prohibits hazardous work for anyone under 18, bans night work for minors, and sets a minimum apprenticeship age of 15. Yet, these legal safeguards often exist only on paper. Across markets, mining sites, and fishing communities, children can still be seen carrying heavy loads late into the night, working in dangerous conditions, or trafficked into exploitative labour.
A constitutional promise unfulfilled
Ghana’s Constitution explicitly obliges the state, parents, and society to protect children’s welfare. These commitments align with international conventions, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. But the gap between law and reality is stark. According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, nearly two million children, about 28% of Ghana’s child population, are engaged in child labour, often in hazardous sectors such as agriculture, mining, fishing, and domestic work.
The reasons behind this failure are systemic. Institutions mandated to enforce child protection laws, such as the Department of Social Welfare, the Department of Children, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), face chronic underfunding, limited personnel, poor coordination, and low public awareness. These weaknesses erode the effectiveness of the legal framework and embolden those who exploit children with little fear of consequence.
The enforcement crisis
The reality is clear: Ghana’s problem is not a lack of legislation but a failure to enforce existing laws. Despite clear legal prohibitions, children under 18 continue to engage in hazardous work, while many under 15 work as apprentices or perform night shifts. Some are trafficked into forced labour on fishing boats along Lake Volta, while others migrate to cities as kayayei (female head porters), where they face sexual exploitation and abuse. These violations not only contravene domestic law but also breach Ghana’s international obligations.
Agencies like CHRAJ and DOVVSU, which are tasked with investigating abuses and offering legal recourse, often lack the resources to respond effectively. Preventive institutions such as the Department of Children and the Department of Social Welfare struggle to coordinate policies and implement child welfare programmes. As a result, the state’s protective architecture, strong on paper, fails to deliver meaningful protection in practice.
Bridging the gap between law and practice
To transform Ghana’s child protection framework from symbolic to substantive, enforcement must become a national priority. Several interventions can help close the gap:
1. Strengthen institutional capacity: Agencies responsible for child protection require adequate funding, logistics, and trained personnel. Budget allocations must reflect the scale of the problem.
2. Improve inter-agency coordination: A unified national framework should align the efforts of enforcement bodies, social welfare departments, and civil society to eliminate duplication and ensure rapid responses to violations.
3. Raise public awareness: Many families and communities are unaware that practices such as child labour and hazardous work are illegal. Public education campaigns, particularly in high-risk areas, are essential to changing attitudes and empowering communities.
4. Enforce accountability: Laws are meaningless if violators face no consequences. Courts and law enforcement must impose stricter penalties on perpetrators, while Parliament should rigorously monitor enforcement agencies to ensure compliance.
5. Strengthen partnerships: Collaboration with international partners and NGOs can bring in technical expertise, resources, and best practices to support national child protection efforts.
From rhetoric to reality
The persistence of child labour in Ghana reflects a deeper crisis in governance, one where legislation is often treated as an end rather than a means. Laws alone cannot protect children; their enforcement requires political will, institutional capacity, and societal commitment. The existence of progressive statutes should not be a source of comfort when their implementation remains weak and inconsistent.
Ghana’s future depends on its children, and protecting their rights is both a legal obligation and a moral imperative. The country’s leadership, institutions, and citizens must collectively ensure that constitutional promises translate into real protections. This means going beyond rhetoric to build a system where no child is condemned to hazardous labour, exploitation, or neglect.
The time has come for Ghana to give its laws teeth, and to wield them. Only then will the country fulfil the spirit of Article 28, uphold its international obligations, and secure a future in which every child can grow, learn, and thrive in safety and dignity.
About the author:
Addae Gyimah Lawrence is an LLB candidate (Level 400). He can be reached at larrywhyte21@gmail.com
One Response
Bro it’s good for this awareness and need to be raise more alarm
Let consider consider high dependency burden as a cause