Sexual harassment continues to have a field day in spaces and places meant to be safe—our schools, homes, and at work. More often, victims are rendered helpless by indifference, inaction or the dilly-dally approach in handling complaints by even authorities who are supposed to be protecting the victims.
A personal account of surviving sexual abuse by a senior housemaster during SHS, highlighting the challenges faced and the journey toward healing
In the case of a female victim, it could be worse if that figure of authority is a woman who should understand the plight of the female victim.
Even victims can be made to feel like it was their fault.
Women and girls are the majority victims of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV).
Research has shown that women and girls are disproportionately targeted and more vulnerable to SGBV.
Many dreams have been cut short, many lives dimmed, and the self-worth of many victims shattered.
My name is Rita Agbenyo, and I have been a victim of Sexual and Gender Based violence during my SHS days.
I choose to share my story on the occasion of this year’s 16 Days of Activism against sexual and gender based violence.
A promising beginning
In 2013, I gained admission into a Senior High School (SHS) in the Central Region of Ghana.
I stepped onto the campus filled with excitement and purpose. Through hard work and dedication, I earned opportunities to serve in leadership positions.
Everything changed when I got to form two…
When innocence meets abuse
A senior housemaster—someone entrusted with the care of students—decided to take advantage of me.
He orchestrated to have me alone with him in the staff office and forced himself upon me, rubbing his manhood against me in my uniform until he ejaculated.
After, he threatened me not to utter a word about the ordeal to anybody. This happened more than once.
“Who do I talk to?” “Where do I go?”, “Will anyone believe me?”, “Will speaking up make things worse?”
I was scared, confused, and helpless, and all excitement about the school died within me.
My parents noticed that my excitement and bright outlook had waned whenever we spoke on the phone after my ordeal.
I was suffering silently and alone, but after much coercing, I eventually mustered the courage to open up to my mum.
Unsatisfactory; victim further victimised
So mum came to the school and accompanied me to report my abuser to the headmistress.
“Mummy, your daughter is very bold. We’ve suspected this man for a long time, but none of his victims were courageous enough to speak.
Now that she has, we will take immediate action,” Was the unsettling response from her.
Okay, madam headmistress, one ‘bold’ victim finally reported, and what did you do about what you have always suspected?
Unsatisfactory
Whatever she did, the sexual abuse ceased, but the perpetrator walked free and had his job intact, untouched.
The sexual abuse metamorphosed into the verbal and emotional type.
The alienation that followed was overwhelming, and I almost dropped out of SHS.
College: A new environment, old problem
One would expect tertiary education to be different, but harassment follows no campus rules.
At the College of Education, two lecturers connived to get one of them to attempt to have his way with me.
He didn’t succeed even when he threatened me with low grades in my courses if I refused to give in.
Unsuccessful in his quest, he tagged me as disrespectful and tried to mar my cordial relationship with other lecturers.
I was the SRC Vice President then, and that didn’t shield me from abuse.
Even years after college, when I went back to my school to seek support for my NUGS Secretary for Education bid, this abusive lecturer didn’t have anything good to say about me.
A national reality
My story is not an isolated case.
Across Ghana, sexual harassment in our educational and work institutions is a painful, persistent reality.
We must stop treating it with indifference and inaction.
Questions we can no longer avoid
- How many more stories must be silenced before we act?
- How many girls must carry invisible scars into adulthood?
- Why are institutions quicker to protect perpetrators than students?
- What kind of future are we shaping if schools become hunting grounds instead of learning grounds?
Conclusion: A call for change
The time has come for people in positions of influence—school authorities, policymakers, parents, alumni, and community leaders—to rise.
We need systems that:
- Hold perpetrators fully accountable,
- Protect victims without shame,
- Encourage reporting without fear, and
- Create truly safe learning environments.
Harassment is not normal. It is not a rite of passage.
And it must never be the price a girl pays for education, a job or any other help.
Hashtag: 16 days of activism
Hashtag: End SGBV
By RITA AGGENYO
