The Director of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), ACP Owusua Kyeremeh, has disclosed that some children of Ghanaian lineage have reported their parents to the UK High Commission, alleging acts of slavery.
According to her, this is because parents residing in foreign countries travel with their children to Ghana under the pretext of vacation, but leave them behind at tender ages.
“We have observed that some Ghanaian parents residing in the UK and other foreign countries deceive their children into traveling to Ghana for a holiday stay, only to leave them behind. Some parents even return to these foreign countries with their children’s passports, making it impossible for the children to return,” she said in an interview on Adom FM on Thursday, October 2, 2025.
ACP Owusua Kyeremeh explained that most children who have been raised in foreign countries are unfamiliar with traditional chores in Ghana, as compared to the lifestyle in the Western countries they are accustomed to.
As a result, they often associate doing chores with slavery.
She added that, due to the seriousness with which Westerners view slavery, they often contact DOVVSU, which then conducts investigations to uncover the truth.
“When this happens, some of the children, particularly those who are educated, reach out to the British High Commission to lodge complaints and because the issue concerns the welfare of children, the Commission then contacts DOVVSU,” she said.
“The children also send information to the Home Office in the UK, alleging slavery and ill-treatment in Ghana, which they claim affects their mental health. Westerners also regard slavery as a grave issue, so once they receive such complaints, they reach out to DOVVSU, which then conducts its own investigations to ascertain the truth,” she added.
ACP Owusua Kyeremeh added that DOVVSU, in its attempt to understand what triggers parents to take such actions, embarked on a fact-finding mission to the UK.
She intimated that most parents, in their reasoning, cited issues such as indiscipline, among others.
She added that, in order to prevent their children from going wayward, they bring them to Ghana and leave them behind.
“Some of the reasons we found were that some parents could not afford to hire babysitters, others cited indiscipline among their children, while some mentioned the need for extra attention during their children’s teenage years, among other factors,” she stated.
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