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

ADULTS’ CONCEPTION OF VIOLENCEThe topic of violence against children aroused controversy among many adults. They understood violence asan occasional act and described it as an incident (rather than within the nature of the adult-child relationship).They did not emphasise the impact of violence on their relationships with children or to the resultant feelingsfor the child or adult. When the concept of violence was explored through different methods, the followingideas consistently emerged:1. Violence is an excess of otherwise acceptable acts. Many adults described violence as excessivepunishment rather than the punishment itself.Two strokes [of the cane] for a child who is misbehaving is not bad. Twenty strokes however fora simple mistake is mistreatment of the child.female, parent, Apac2. Adults feel reluctant to use the word “violence.” Many adults felt reluctant to describe anyadult interaction with a child as violence. For obviously egregious acts, many chose the description“mistreatment” to imply a temporary aberration and discount the seriousness of the act. For othercontentious transactions, many adults preferred the term “punishment” to imply an intention to guidechildren rather than abuse power.Sometimes I see a mother hit her child badly. She doesn’t mean harm. Yes she is mistreating, butwith a good heart.female, community leader, Apac3. Punishment must involve physical or emotional pain. Many adults felt that for punishment to beeffective it was necessary to inflict physical or emotional pain. Adults considered a moderate amount ofpain, or severe pain over a short period of time, a useful tool for training children to avoid the perceivedmisbehaviour. They did not categorize the infliction of this pain as violence.If the child feels no pain, he will just laugh and learn nothing.male, community leader, Kasese4. Adults know the difference between punishment and mistreatment. Adults asserted that, by virtue ofbeing immersed in the Ugandan culture and cognizant of local sensibility, most adults developed a reliablesense of the boundary between the legitimate punishment of children and the mistreatment of children.We all grew up here. We know what is right and wrong when it comes to punishing children.female, community leader, Iganga5. Punishing children is a duty. Many adults felt it their duty to punish children in order to guide them onhow to behave.If you as a parent don’t punish your children, you are not their real parent.male, parent, Nakapiripirit12Part One Research Design