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

QUESTION 7How do you feel when violence is committed against you?Children’s response to this question was overwhelming. The question elicited powerful and animatedresponses and revealed reactions to violence that spanned a broad spectrum of emotions including fury, rage,bitterness and resignation. Many children felt that adults did not give due weight to the depth of their feelingsand felt frustrated by how seldom anyone would understand their reaction. Most of the time, children seemedunresolved about what to do with their feelings.I feel like my heart will explode if I start saying how I feel about her. She treats me worse than ananimal and there is nothing I can do about it. I feel like running away and becoming a prostitute.14-year-old girl, KaseseMost children (66.7 percent) reported feeling “anger.” In focus group discussions, many children talked aboutfeeling indignation followed by despair regarding the powerless situation in which they found themselves.Children often reported that they did not understand or accept the logic of the punishment, that adultsignored their pleas to be taken seriously, to engage in a dialogue, or to receive an explanation as to why theywere being treated in that manner. Many children learned from such transactions that a person with morepower does not have to be accountable.The second most common response (65.9 percent) was “fear.” Many children reported that they lived inperpetual fear of the adults around them. They learned that fearing adults was the safest way of avoidingviolence, and, as a result, theycreated relationships of complianceand obedience rather than mutualaffection. A higher percentageof older and in-school childrenreported fearing adults aroundthem, compared to their youngerand out-of-school counterparts. Thisdifference could suggest that adultsuse fear as a tool for asserting theirauthority, especially in schools orin situations where they feel theircontrol over children could beundermined.Figure 2.15 Types of feelings children have when experiencingviolenceAngry at the personScared of the personAshamed of myselfWant to take revengeOther (ignore, forgive)Don’t know0 2040 6080% of respondents38 Part Two Children’s Experiences