In Uganda, 43% of girls are married off before their 18th birthday (Demographic Health Survey 2016). The drivers of Child marriage and teenage pregnancy are cross cutting and deeply rooted in traditions, culture and poverty. Some communities have a belief that when a young girl begins experiencing menstrual periods, it implies she is ready for child bearing.
Child marriage is one of the significant drivers of adolescent pregnancy in Uganda. 8.9 million girls aged 10–19 are at risk of harmful practices, including child marriage, teenage pregnancy and FGM This represents nearly 27% of the country’s total population of 43.7 million; and in a country with the world’s lowest median age of 15 years. A whopping 34% and 7% of girls in Uganda are married before their 18th and 15th birthdays respectively; while 6% of boys are married before their 18th birthday (UNICEF 2020) . Child brides are also at major risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV. The risk of maternal death is about 28% higher for mothers aged 15 to 19 than that of mothers aged 20 to 24 (UNFPA, 2020). COVID-19 pandemic led to closure of schools for 2 years which sparked child marriage cases, UNESCO 2021 projections showed that school closure increased the risk of child marriage by 25 per cent per annum.
According to Uganda Annual Police Crime rate report 2022, a total of 12,580 cases of defilement were reported, 4,725 cases were taken to court, 205 cases secured convictions and 4,515 cases still pending in court. Out of the 12,580 cases reported, 12,470 were female juveniles. Only a small proportion of sexual violence cases are concluded within a year approximately 5 percent every year. This is partly due to the large case backlog in courts. Such low levels of perpetrator apprehension enable impunity, allowing perpetrators to continue harmful practices and exacerbating the sexual violence faced by children.
The government of Uganda has made progress towards its Constitutional mandate on the welfare of children by developing guidelines/strategies to uphold children rights and protect them from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence for example the National Strategy to End Child marriage and teenage pregnancy 2022/23-2026/27 to which Joy for Children- Uganda supported the process for its development. Furthermore, the Ugandan Parliament has also made tremendous efforts towards addressing child marriage including passing the Sexual Offences Bill in 2021 which was not assented into law by the President. The bill is critical in preventing violence against children; it is the first legislation that fully addresses the issue of child marriage which is rampant in the country.
If passed into law, the Sexual Offences Bill will protect children against notions of capitalism that are push factors for child marriage, child prostitution, sex prostitution and teenage pregnancy which are the worst forms of child sexual abuse.
Joy for Children- Uganda is working with members of parliament most especially Uganda Parliamentary Forum for Children (UPFC) and Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) to support process for the enactment of the sexual offences bill and advocacy for implementation of the existing laws and policies to end child marriage and teenage pregnancy in Uganda. UPFC is a parliamentary lobbying group for the Ugandan Parliament that was initiated to create an avenue through which the status of Ugandan Children especially those in difficult circumstances could be addressed. The forum is dedicated to ensuring that Children enjoy their rights and fully exercise their potential to realize their aspirations, promote their rights and make meaningful contributions towards the creation of a country fit for Children and UWOPA, is a Parliament Caucus comprising of all women members of parliament but open to male members as associates with the aim of engendering the legislative process, creating awareness campaigns and encouraging lobbying and advocacy.
Goal of the Project
To enhance legislative Advocacy to end child marriage in Uganda
Objectives
- To raise awareness of the incidence of child marriage and available strategies to address it in Uganda.
- To strengthen legal and policy framework to address child marriage and other harmful traditional practices against children in Uganda
- To strengthen collaboration with MPs and CSOs on ending child marriage in Uganda
- To foster learning and knowledge sharing among actors working on ending child marriage and teenage pregnancy in Uganda
Expected Outcomes
- Awareness created on the status of child marriage in Uganda and available mechanisms to address it.
- A revised and passed sexual offences bill that takes a proper human rights approach to addressing sexual violence is presented to the president for approval
- Strengthened support and commitment to implement the national strategy to end child marriage and teenage pregnancy 2022/23-2026/27
