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Summary: This study examines the stories and opinions
of 1406 children and 1093 adults from five
diverse districts in Uganda.
Five complementary research methods including questionnaires, focus
group discussions, narrative role plays, key informant interviews, and
journal writing served to engage a broad range of individuals in sharing
their experiences and perspectives on violence against children. Children
were asked about their experiences of the violence used against them:
how the violence manifests, how often it occurs, who commits it, how
it makes them feel, how they react, and what they believe should be done
to prevent it.
Adults were asked about their perspective of violence against children:
how they understand the term “violence against children,” how adults in
their communities punish children, how they themselves punish children,
how they rationalize the types of punishment they use, and what they
believe should be done to prevent violence against children.
In overwhelming numbers, children described the rampant use of violence
against them. More than 98 percent of children reported experiencing
physical or emotional violence, 75.8 percent reported experiencing sexual
violence, and 74.4 percent reported experiencing economic violence. For
each form of violence, a signi. cant percentage of children reported
experiencing the violence at least once a week or more.
Children described violence occurring at home, as well as at school. At
home, the father and stepmother perpetrated the violence most often,
whereas at school older students and teachers were named most
frequently. While almost all children experienced common forms of violence
(e.g., caning and slapping), the predominant manifestation of the violence
depended on the sex, age, and social status of the child. For example,
of all the children consulted in this study, older boys were more likely to
experience severe physical violence, and older girls were more likely to
experience sexual violence.
Children expressed feeling intense anger (66.7 percent), fear (65.9
percent), and shame (56.6 percent) when violence was committed
against them. A considerable number of children shared transitional
thoughts of suicide and revenge, or admitted to displacing their anger
on younger children. Many children reported that their experiences of
violence shaped their beliefs about themselves and some children
discussed how experiencing violence undermined their trust in adults and
con. dence in themselves. However, these feelings did not render children
passive, as many became active protagonists seeking a resolution to their
situation.
Owner: Dipak Nakerpdf: www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/violence/Voices_from_Uganda.pdf