The Upper West Regional Gender Support Network (GSN) has raised concern about the illegal mining menace, popularly known as galamsey, in some communities in the Region, which it indicated was depriving children of education. The Network also expressed worry about the rampant streetism and begging among children in the region, especially in Wa. Madam Matilda Chireh, the Upper West Regional Director of the Department of Children, raised the concern in Wa during the first quarter meeting of the GSN when she responded to a question about what the department was doing to tackle the menace. The Upper West Regional Department of Gender (DoG) convened the GSN meeting with support from Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), an international economic development organization. Other issues that came up during the meeting included the issues of streetism and begging among children as well as Gender-based Violence (GBV), which needed concerted efforts to nib in the bud. Madam Chireh explained that familie s, individuals, society, communities, and state institutions among others all have a role to play in the protection of children. She identified worrying about the attitude of some parents and guardians of children with disabilities who 'dump' their children in special schools without caring for their welfare. She entreated parents and guardians of children with special needs in schools to care properly for those children saying, 'They (parents and guardians) should not see these institutions as dumping ground for special needs children.' Madam Charity Batuure, the Upper West Regional Director of the Department of Gender, said her department would be implementing a Peace Building Fund project from UNFPA in six communities in the Sissala West and Wa West District towards ending social practices affecting women and children. She said the Network would engage in targeted community sensitisation to reduce identified gender issues as well as to address issues affecting children in the communities. Mr Sebastian Ziem, a Chief Investigator at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), said child streetism and begging were the worst forms of child labour and abuse, which needed stakeholder action to tackle. Talking about GBV, Detective Lance Corporal Habibat Seidu Abass of the Upper West Regional Domestic Violence and Victim Supports Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, said the Unit had been engaging in community sensitisation to encourage victims or witnesses of GBV to report to the police. She indicated that some people were not aware of the existence of DOVVSU or had any information about it and hence did not report cases of GBV to the Unit for justice. She thanked the Department of Gender for its continuous support to the DOVVSU in the discharge of its duties. Another issue of concern to the Network was the exorbitant charges for medical examination forms for victims of Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV), which discouraged many victims of SGBV from seeking justice. Madam Aba ss urged parents to take the protection and care of their children seriously to save them from falling victim to abuses such as defilement. Source: Ghana News Agency