United States Department of State

Ghana United States Department of State

The most important human rights problems included trafficking in persons; exploitative child labor, including forced child labor; and harsh and life-threatening prison conditions. Other human rights problems included use of excessive force by police that resulted in deaths and injuries; rape by police; prolonged pretrial detention; assault and harassment of journalists; corruption in all branches of government; violence against women and children, including female genital mutilation/cutting; societal discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, and persons with HIV/AIDS; societal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals; ethnic discrimination and politically motivated violence; and ethnic killings and vigilante violence. The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who committed abuses, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government, but police impunity remained a problem.