Violence Against Children are all forms of violence against people under 18 years, whether perpetrated by parents or caregivers; peers, romantic partners or strangers . Violence against children includes; maltreatment, bullying, youth violence, domestic violence, sexual violence and emotional/psychological violence.
Over 1 billion children ages 2 to 17 years have experienced violence in their communities, schools and homes every year yet these are the very places children should feel the most secure and safe.
Engaging communities in campaigns to end Violence Against Children calls understanding its causes and provisions in the existing legal framework. In communities, Violence Against Children is majorly caused by poverty, high population density, low social cohesion, easy access to alcohol and fire arms and high concentrations of gangs and illicit drug dealings. Article 24 of the 1995 Uganda constitution protects every person, including children, from every form of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of punishment.
In consideration of the INSPIRE strategy, Joy for children Uganda is working with communities in Uganda to end Violence Against Children. Communities are vital in the campaign to end Violence against children in Uganda because we feel, when the uniquely challenging task of raising children is supported within the community, it benefits families and society as a whole.
Activities designed for this campaign aim at providing both parents and children the opportunity to connect and work towards promoting peaceful living.
Our approach aims at enabling parents and/ caretakers move away from the perception that professionals are the only experts who determine the needs of children. In all our engagements with the community, we encourage participants to prescribe what to do to increase their quality of life and that of their children as follows:
Community dialogues
We conduct community dialogues at village levels with an aim of involving the masses in discussions centred on issues concerning the role of the community in creating a violence-free environment for children, the contribution of drug abuse to violation of children’s rights and early marriage- the common forms of violence against children and rights for children.
Home improvement campaigns
From our continued engagements with communities in matters relating to children, it is important to note that home improvement cannot be separated from the campaign to end violence against children. In this campaign, we are engaging the communities with the aim of creating a good home environment, the key to children’s development. We mainly work with the police, religious and cultural leaders, the Local Council 1 executive and Community Development Officers.
The time to act is now. At JFCU, we believe, at the core of any solution aimed at ending violence against children in Uganda, is the need to transform and repair broken relationships that lead to violence. When parents and teachers decide to use non-violent means to discipline children; when girls are valued, respected and safe from the risk of sexual abuse; when boys and girls are seen as children – not soldiers, labourers and merchandise, Violence Against Children will cease to exist in our communities to ensure girls and boys have a future free from violence, where they can grow up in safe nurturing environments, free of fear and free to fulfill their potential.
