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

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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
It was recognized during the formative research that if thedefinition advanced by WHO was to be adopted for thestudy, much of what adults considered ‘punishment’ mustbe understood as violence against children. For exampleduring the formative part of the research, some adultsargued against including acts such as shouting, threateningand glaring as examples of violence. Furthermore, asignificant number of adults, in informal conversationsasserted that even acts such as caning and slapping werenot violent, unless administered in excess.IMPLICATIONS FOR THE STUDYHowever it was also recognized during formative researchthat asking adults if they were violent towards childrenwould elicit an inauthentic response. Clearly very fewadults are likely to respond honestly to such a contentiousquestion. Thus a practical compromise was necessary toelicit a response that was representative of the reality.For the dialogue with adults, the concept of ‘punishingchildren’ was used instead of ‘violence against children.’The questions were phrased with the intention ofascertaining the nature, frequency, and the motivation forthe ‘acts’ as opposed to what it meant to the perpetratorof the act. Towards the end of each engagement, theboundary as perceived by the respondent, betweenpunishment (the acceptable behaviour) and mistreatment(the excess ‘acts’) was explored.Clearly this strategy has an associated cost. It couldappear to tacitly condone the ‘punishment’ and may evenmisdirect the respondent to talk only about a limited rangeof interactions with the children instead of the deeperfeelings, if the act was named as violence. However, thiswas weighed against findings from the pre-tests of researchtools where it was clear that adults were not engaginghonestly in conversations that labelled their actions asviolence, and that began by threatening the very basisof their relationships with children. The language of thequestions posed in the adult part of the report has to beunderstood within the context of this compromise.Part One Research Design 13
Page 1 and 2: ViolenceAgainstChildrenThe Voices o
Page 3 and 4: ViolenceAgainstChildrenThe Voices o
Page 5 and 6: DedicationThis work is dedicated to
Page 7 and 8: TABLES1.1 Children consulted throug
Page 9 and 10: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis study examine
Page 11 and 12: a new dimension to the adult-child
Page 13 and 14: PART ONEResearch DesignPURPOSE OF S
Page 15 and 16: PARTICIPANTSA total of 1406 childre
Page 17 and 18: METHODOLOGYData CollectionThe resea
Page 19 and 20: Through this process, two interesti
Page 21 and 22: Children’s VoicesWhat do you unde
Page 23: esearch.Children’s Conception of
Page 28 and 29: QUESTION 1Have you experienced viol
Page 30 and 31: QUESTION 2Have you experienced phys
Page 32 and 33: Children’s VoicesHave you experie
Page 34 and 35: QUESTION 3Have you experienced emot
Page 38 and 39: QUESTION 4Have you experienced sexu
Page 42 and 43: QUESTION 5Have you experienced econ
Page 46 and 47: QUESTION 6Who commits violence agai
Page 48 and 49: Children’s VoicesKey Informant In
Page 50 and 51: QUESTION 7How do you feel when viol
Page 52 and 53: Children’s VoicesHow do you feel
Page 54 and 55: Children’s VoicesYou feel ashamed
Page 56 and 57: QUESTION 8What do you do when viole
Page 58 and 59: Children’s VoicesWhat do you do w
Page 60 and 61: QUESTION 9What, if anything, should
Page 62 and 63: Children’s VoicesWhat, if anythin
Page 64 and 65: Children’s VoicesSensitize elders
Page 66 and 67: KEY FINDINGSMore than 90 percent of
Page 69 and 70: PART THREEAdults’ Rationale for V
Page 71 and 72: QUESTION 1Are children punished in
Page 73 and 74: Adults’ VoicesCulturally, we watc
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of being reported to higher authori
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QUESTION 3How often do you punish c
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Adults’ VoicesHow often do you pu
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In what ways do you punish children
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Adults’ VoicesIn what ways do you
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In interviews, many teachers admitt
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Adults’ Voicestimes, I feel happy
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I know beating her has not changed
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QUESTION 7Are there ways in which a
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Adults’ VoicesAre there ways in w
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QUESTION 8What should be done when
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Adults’ VoicesWhat should be done
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6. Adults believe in a hierarchy of
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PART FOURRecommendationsWHAT WOULD
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violence. The legislation should in
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3.6 RESEARCHCommission research tha
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5.9 COMMUNITY SENSITISATIONIntroduc
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Part Four Recommendations101
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Graphic Publishers Ltd, Plot 19A Na
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