Child sacrifice in Uganda: adequacy of existing legal provision

This article highlights the various incidences of child sacrifice in the country and the legislation in place. It also argues that despite the legislation in place, the incidence of child sacrifice still thrives in Uganda's society due to various factors including failure to enforce the laws in place. The first part examines the situation of child sacrifice currently and the major causes of the practice. The paper examines the legal framework and gaps in the current laws for fighting violence against children. It also contains a brief discussion on how effective the domestic laws are in the current context

Interpretation of child labour in Uganda

Diese Studie hinterfragt die gängige Interpretation von Kinderarbeit durch die nähere Betrachtung von vorherrschenden Ansichten der Kinder und der lokalen Bevölkerung der Fischergemeinschaften im Wakiso District am Viktoriasee (Uganda). Zur Analyse stehen dabei die Kindererziehung sowie der Einfluss auf die arbeitende Kindheit, der neu aufkommende Diskurs über Kinderarbeit, Meinungen zur Schule und Arbeit sowie Meinungen zur Kinderarbeit als Teil von öffentlicher Politik. Zur Konzeptionalisierung, Datensammlung und Präsentation der Forschungsergebnisse wurden in dieser Studie unter anderen interpretative, konstruktivistische und ökologische Theorierahmen und –instrumente herangezogen. Die Forschungsergebnisse zeigen, dass ökologische Faktoren und der Erziehungsstil einen erheblichen Einfluss auf die Kindererziehung haben und die Kindheit von arbeitenden Kindern erheblich formen. Nichtsdestotrotz bestimmen Armut und Vulnerabilität die Wahrnehmung von Kinderarbeit. Kinder selbst nehmen Kinderarbeit als „erzwungene, missbrauchende und grausame Arbeit“ wahr. Für ihre Arbeitsbeteiligung machen sie vor allem Vulnerabilität, traditionelle Verantwortung und den Eigenwillen der Kinder selbst verantwortlich. Erwachsene konstruieren den Diskurs über Kinderarbeit auf folgende drei Arten: i) als traditionelle Weise der Kindererziehung; ii) als ein hegemonie-geleitetes Kulturleitbild des Westens; iii) als eine missbrauchende, gewalttätige und ausbeuterische Arbeit. Die Kinder verlangen nach einer praxisorientierten und bezahlbaren Bildung, die traditionelle und moderne Kenntnisse vermittelt, was Schulen allerdings nicht bieten können. Deshalb bevorzugen Kinder zu arbeiten anstatt zur Schule zu gehen. Die Haltung der Eltern ist gleichzeitig unrealistisch, genauso wie die meisten öffentlichen Bestimmungen in Bezug auf Kinderarbeit. Die entstehenden Diskurse stellen die allgemeine Sprachverwendung in Frage, die nicht auf lokale Interpretationen reduziert werden kann, und sie verlangen gleichzeitig nach einem Dialog, der die Entstehung von lokalen Konzepten von Kinderarbeit und Kinderrechten zulässt. Diese Diskurse zeigen die Notwendigkeit auf, Indikatoren von Missbrauch zu entwickeln, die Kinderarbeit klar festlegen. Zusätzlich müssen Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung von Kindheiten ökologische und erzieherische Faktoren berücksichtigen, welche bisher zu Fehlern in der Kinderbetreuung beigetragen haben – auf einer Mikro-, Meso-, Exo- und Makroebene. Weiters dürfen Maßnahmen zum Wohle der positiven Kindsentwicklung und zum Dialog nicht außer Acht gelassen werden.This study interrogated the interpretation of child labour basing on insider and popular perspectives of children, and local people in Uganda’s fishing communities on Lake Victoria, in Wakiso district. Analytical areas involved the context of child upbringing and how it shapes working childhoods; the emerging discourses on children’s work; views on school and work; and views on child labour in light of public policy. It was guided by among others, the interpretive, constructivist, and ecological theoretical frameworks and tools, during conceptualisation, data collection and presentation of findings. The findings reveal that ecological factors and parenting behaviour play a critical role in child upbringing, and shape working childhoods. Poverty, vulnerability and exclusion however, largely frame the interpretation of child labour. Children abstract child labour as “forced, abusive and cruel work." They underline vulnerability, traditional responsibility and children’s agency as responsible for their involvement in work. Adults’ construction of child labour reveals three discourses: i) traditional approach to child upbringing; ii) a hegemonic cultural concept of the West; iii) as abusive, violent and exploitative work. Children crave for practical and affordable learning, involving traditional and modern skills; however, the school cannot provide it. Hence, they choose work instead of school. Parents view as unrealistic, most of the provisions in public policy on child labour. The emerging discourses challenge language use that is not reducible to local interpretations and call for dialogue in generating the local equivalent for categories such as child labour and children’s rights. They suggest a need, to identify indicators of abuse that constitute child labour. In addition, interventions aiming to shape desirable childhoods ought to target ecological and parenting factors, that induce failures in the child care ecology—comprising micro, meso, exo, and macro systems; shaping positive child agency; and fostering dialogue driven interventions

Experiences and ways PLWHA deal with their lives

The issue of HIV and AIDS and people living with HIV and AIDS is very sensitive which needs great attention. The population of infected individuals seems not to seek help and health services due to their illness. The barriers which prevent this population experience the meaning of social construction of their illness. The main objective of this study is to understand the day-to-day lives and the ways PLWHA deals with their lives. Qualitative method and participatory action research were used to gather information. The study found out that PLWHA have much to fight for in the complex and frightening areas of HIV research and treatment. Though there have been lacking scientific skills, all PLWHA can bring unique experiences and perspectives to an open discussion. The study concluded that facing the challenges of working with HIV and AIDS–individuals; consider the participatory research approach because it can reach out to individuals, groups and organizations.It was recommended that the ultimate goals of AIDS treatment and research activism are to accelerate scientific research knowledge that contributes towards cure, and to win an early widespread access to treatment for everyone infected with HIV. Developing a well-designed research can help PLWHA learn how to ask themselves different questions and ask if the medical and research establishments will address their concerns. Keywords: Health Services;, seeking behavior; persons living with HIV

Violence against children perpetrated by peers: A cross-sectional school-based survey in Uganda.

Violence against children by peers is a global public health problem. We aimed to assess factors associated with peer violence victimization among primary school children in Uganda. We conducted multilevel multivariable logistic regression analyses of cross-sectional data from 3706 primary students in 42 Ugandan primary schools. Among primary school students, 29% and 34% had ever experienced physical and emotional violence perpetrated by their peers, respectively. Factors strongly associated with both physical and emotional violence were similar and overlapping, and included exposure to interparental violence, having an attitude supportive of violence against children from school staff, not living with biological parents, working for payment, and higher SDQ score. However, we found that younger age, sharing sleeping area with an adult and achieving a higher educational performance score, were specifically associated with physical violence. On the other hand, being female, walking to school, reporting disability and eating one meal on the previous day, were particularly associated with emotional violence. Interventions to reduce peer violence should focus on family contexts, school environments and those with poor socio-economic status may need extra support

Child-focused evaluation: Involving children as their own respondents

Background: Undertaking child-focused evaluations using a participatory approach has received recognition in recent years. Such an approach is critical not only to build capacity amongst children and youth but also to increase the rigour, validity and usefulness of evaluation findings. Objectives: The current paper builds on the methods used in a longitudinal evaluation of a parenting programme on reintegration outcomes of children, ages 1–13 years, living in residential care facilities in Uganda. The procedures used to select and modify measures to enable 8–13-year-old children to self-report on their own outcomes are described. Method: Using a grounded theory of child development, the authors describe the data collection protocols and child-friendly measures used as well as the piloting work that was done by engaging children in the feedback process. Results: The study underscored the importance of adapting hybrid methods to the local context of a child-focused evaluation, especially in collecting data from young children on sensitive topics across a variety of situations. Conclusion: The process described in this article can be replicated for designing and conducting evaluations that are child centric and have children as informants of their own well-being. Contribution: The article contributes to a growing body of knowledge on child-focused evaluations by building on a study conducted in Uganda that focused on developing child-centric measures and data collection procedures. This study shows how to involve children as respondents and assists evaluators to design studies that are ethical, safe, and sensitive to the needs of the children

Context of Violence in Adolescence Cohort (CoVAC) study: protocol for a mixed methods longitudinal study in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Violence exposure in adolescence is associated with a range of poor health and social outcomes, including both the perpetration and experience of violence in later intimate relationships. However, there is little longitudinal evidence on how both individual and contextual characteristics encourage or interrupt these associations. We designed the Contexts of Violence in Adolescence Cohort study (CoVAC) to provide evidence on these pathways for Ugandan adolescents, with the aim of providing information to improve the design of violence prevention interventions for adolescents and young adults. METHODS: CoVAC is a mixed-methods prospective cohort study with three parallel strands. Between 2014 and 2022, the study comprises three waves of quantitative survey data collection; qualitative data from five time points; and a series of workshops to facilitate direct use of emerging findings by intervention developers at Uganda-based NGO Raising Voices in their ongoing work to prevent violence. 3431 adolescents participated in a survey in 2014 when the majority were aged 11-14 years, and agreed to be re-contacted for a Wave 2 survey in 2018 (aged about 15-18 years); and again in 2021 (aged 18-21 years). 36 young people from Wave 1 survey sample will be invited to participate in longitudinal qualitative data collection. Adolescents aged 18 years and over will provide informed consent; for those under age 18 years, adolescents will be invited to assent, except in cases where caregivers, following notification, have opted not to consent to their adolescent's participation. Quantitative and qualitative data will be analysed iteratively, and triangulation will be used to confirm, clarify and deepen our interpretation of findings. We will hold regular structured meetings so that emerging findings can be integrated into intervention development. DISCUSSION: This will be the first longitudinal study on the aetiology of violence over adolescence in sub-Saharan Africa which will enable examination of pathways using mixed methods at multiple time points. Quantitative mediation analysis, and annual qualitative fieldwork will provide detailed insights into how adolescents' violence-related experiences, perspectives and practices relate to their social contexts and how these change over time. Results will feed directly into intervention development to reduce violence and harmful sequelae. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is a long-term follow up of participants in the Good Schools Study (NCT01678846, clinicaltrials.gov). This protocol is for cohort follow-up only; we have a separate protocol paper describing an evaluation of the long-term effects of the Good School Toolkit (In preparation)

Implementation of the Good School Toolkit in Uganda: a quantitative process evaluation of a successful violence prevention program.

BACKGROUND: The Good School Toolkit, a complex behavioural intervention designed by Raising Voices a Ugandan NGO, reduced past week physical violence from school staff to primary students by an average of 42% in a recent randomised controlled trial. This process evaluation quantitatively examines what was implemented across the twenty-one intervention schools, variations in school prevalence of violence after the intervention, factors that influence exposure to the intervention and factors associated with students' experience of physical violence from staff at study endline. METHODS: Implementation measures were captured prospectively in the twenty-one intervention schools over four school terms from 2012 to 2014 and Toolkit exposure captured in the student (n = 1921) and staff (n = 286) endline cross-sectional surveys in 2014. Implementation measures and the prevalence of violence are summarised across schools and are assessed for correlation using Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient. Regression models are used to explore individual factors associated with Toolkit exposure and with physical violence at endline. RESULTS: School prevalence of past week physical violence from staff against students ranged from 7% to 65% across schools at endline. Schools with higher mean levels of teacher Toolkit exposure had larger decreases in violence during the study. Students in schools categorised as implementing a 'low' number of program school-led activities reported less exposure to the Toolkit. Higher student Toolkit exposure was associated with decreased odds of experiencing physical violence from staff (OR: 0.76, 95%CI: 0.67-0.86, p-value< 0.001). Girls, students reporting poorer mental health and students in a lower grade were less exposed to the toolkit. After the intervention, and when adjusting for individual Toolkit exposure, some students remained at increased risk of experiencing violence from staff, including, girls, students reporting poorer mental health, students who experienced other violence and those reporting difficulty with self-care. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that increasing students and teachers exposure to the Good School Toolkit within schools has the potential to bring about further reductions in violence. Effectiveness of the Toolkit may be increased by further targeting and supporting teachers' engagement with girls and students with mental health difficulties. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov , NCT01678846, August 24th 2012

The Good School Toolkit for reducing physical violence from school staff to primary school students: a cluster-randomised controlled trial in Uganda

Background Violence against children from school staff is widespread in various settings, but few interventions address this. We tested whether the Good School Toolkit—a complex behavioural intervention designed by Ugandan not-forprofi t organisation Raising Voices—could reduce physical violence from school staff to Ugandan primary school children. Methods We randomly selected 42 primary schools (clusters) from 151 schools in Luwero District, Uganda, with more than 40 primary 5 students and no existing governance interventions. All schools agreed to be enrolled. All students in primary 5, 6, and 7 (approximate ages 11–14 years) and all staff members who spoke either English or Luganda and could provide informed consent were eligible for participation in cross-sectional baseline and endline surveys in June–July 2012 and 2014, respectively. We randomly assigned 21 schools to receive the Good School Toolkit and 21 to a waitlisted control group in September, 2012. The intervention was implemented from September, 2012, to April, 2014. Owing to the nature of the intervention, it was not possible to mask assignment. The primary outcome, assessed in 2014, was past week physical violence from school staff , measured by students’ self-reports using the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Child Abuse Screening Tool—Child Institutional. Analyses were by intention to treat, and are adjusted for clustering within schools and for baseline school-level means of continuous outcomes. The trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01678846. Findings No schools left the study. At 18-month follow-up, 3820 (92·4%) of 4138 randomly sampled students participated in a cross-sectional survey. Prevalence of past week physical violence was lower in the intervention schools (595/1921, 31·0%) than in the control schools (924/1899, 48·7%; odds ratio 0·40, 95% CI 0·26–0·64, p<0·0001). No adverse events related to the intervention were detected, but 434 children were referred to child protective services because of what they disclosed in the follow-up survey. Interpretation The Good School Toolkit is an eff ective intervention to reduce violence against children from school staff in Ugandan primary schools

Effect of the good school toolkit on school staff mental health, sense of job satisfaction and perceptions of school climate: Secondary analysis of a cluster randomised trial.

The Good School Toolkit, a complex behavioural intervention delivered in Ugandan primary schools, has been shown to reduce school staff-perpetrated physical violence against students. We aimed to assess the effect of this intervention on staff members' mental health, sense of job satisfaction and perception of school climate. We analysed data from a cluster-randomised trial administered in 42 primary schools in Luwero district, Uganda. The trial was comprised of cross-sectional baseline (June/July 2012) and endline (June/July 2014) surveys among staff and students. Twenty-one schools were randomly selected to receive the Toolkit, whilst 21 schools constituted a wait-listed control group. We generated composite measures to assess staff members' perceptions of the school climate and job satisfaction. The trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01678846). No schools dropped out of the study and all 591 staff members who completed the endline survey were included in the analysis. Staff in schools receiving the Toolkit had more positive perspectives of their school climate compared to staff in control schools (difference in mean scores 2.19, 95% Confidence Interval 0.92, 3.39). We did not find any significant differences for job satisfaction and mental health. In conclusion, interventions like the Good School Toolkit that reduce physical violence by school staff against students can improve staff perceptions of the school climate, and could help to build more positive working and learning environments in Ugandan schools

Violence against primary school children with disabilities in Uganda: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: 150 million children live with disabilities globally, and a recent systematic review found 3 to 4 times the levels of violence versus non-disabled children in high income countries. However, almost nothing is known about violence against disabled children in lower income countries. We aim to explore the prevalence, patterns and risk factors for physical, sexual and emotional violence among disabled children attending primary school in Luwero District, Uganda. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of data from the baseline survey of the Good Schools Study. 3706 children and young adolescents aged 11-14 were randomly sampled from 42 primary schools. Descriptive statistics were computed and logistic regression models fitted. RESULTS: 8.8% of boys and 7.6% of girls reported a disability. Levels of violence against both disabled and non-disabled children were extremely high. Disabled girls report slightly more physical (99.1% vs 94.6%, p = 0.010) and considerably more sexual violence (23.6% vs 12.3%, p = 0.002) than non-disabled girls; for disabled and non-disabled boys, levels are not statistically different. The school environment is one of the main venues at which violence is occurring, but patterns differ by sex. Risk factors for violence are similar between disabled and non-disabled students. CONCLUSIONS: In Uganda, disabled girls are at particular risk of violence, notably sexual violence. Schools may be a promising venue for intervention delivery. Further research on the epidemiology and prevention of violence against disabled and non-disabled children in low income countries is urgently needed