Training Children leaders on prevention of Violence Against Children in Schools in Kibito Town Council

To ensure the school environment is safe for children, RIC-NET has trained teachers of primary schools within Kibito Town Council on Safe School environments including alternative ways of disciplining children instead of corporal punishment. About 48 (M-22 and F-26) children leaders in schools were trained for 6 days spread within the term.  The trained children will provide support to the 12 (6M, 6F) trained focal teachers in their respective schools. The teachers and children leaders will conduct Weekly sessions with their peers in their respective schools of Yerya, St. Adolf, Mozet etc. 

Violence against children is on the rise within homes, communities and schools in Uganda. This includes sexual, physical, and emotional violence, from which children have little or no protection at the current time, and which has direct negative effects on their growth and development. The 2018 Violence Against Children Nationwide Survey revealed three out of four Ugandans experienced violence in their childhood. Among 18-24-year-olds interviewed, one in three girls and one in six boys reported experiencing sexual violence during their childhood. The report further illustrates that more than half of all children in Uganda have experienced physical abuse. While every child has the right to safety in schools to ensure that learning is fulfilling, 60% of children regularly experience violence at school. 

The teacher explains to Pupil's relationship

Violence and abuse in schools defeats the purpose of education and force children to drop out, perform poorly and fail to succeed in their lives. Violence against children in schools has adverse effects on children including undermining their right to access quality education. Child victims of violence can suffer a wide range of negative effects including maiming, teenage pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, dropping out of school, and death. Violence against children is also cyclical in nature, with children who have suffered violence more likely to experience violence as adults or become violent themselves.

A 2020 Save the Children report found that children were increasingly vulnerable and at risk from an increase in violence and abuse, stress, poverty, and hazardous coping strategies such as child labour and marriage. Sixteen-year-old Noeline, shared in a 2020 World Vision study that: “Family disputes amongst parents force children to leave home and enter into marriage”. Similarly, in a 2020 Joining Forces survey,40% of caregivers surveyed said they expect an increase in teenage pregnancy during lockdown. The surge of teenage pregnancies and child marriages highlighted in various reports in Uganda today is a testament to this prediction.

RIC-NET acknowledges the protective environment schools provide to learners; however, research reveals that schools in Uganda are not entirely violence-free.  In the 2018 Violence Against Children survey, 94% of girls and 86% of boys who have experienced physical violence first suffered it at the hands of a teacher.