Violence against children, the voices of Ugandan ... - Raising Voices

A higher percentage of women (63.1 percent)compared to men (53.1 percent) said that adultsshould be held accountable. However, thesenumbers by themselves may be misleading. Indiscussions and interviews, a significant minority ofparticipants felt deeply opposed to any concessionsregarding the accountability of adults on howthey treat children, and many of these participantswere women. Ultimately what may matter morethan mere numbers for those wanting to preventviolence against children is the willingness toengage with this entrenched and influential minorityin a deeper discussion of why they hold such apunitive stance.48 percent of community leaders, 42 percentof parents and 28.4 percent of teachers said noaction should be taken against adults who mistreatchildren. Considering that other adults often actas the first layer of response in cases of violenceagainst children, this is a discouraging finding.In focus group discussions, adults emphasizedthat prosecuting or arresting adults should be thefinal option exercised for persistent offenders orthose who sexually abuse children. The preferredresponses to adults mistreating children includedan intervention by respected neighbours or elders,counselling from religious leaders or trainedcommunity members, and the ongoing sensitisationof the entire community.88 Part Three Adults’ Rationale