Situation analySiS

Situation analySiS of Children in uganda 2015BOx 6: u-report comments relAtinG to Adolescent preGnAncyU-report is a free SMS-based system that allows young Ugandans to speak out on what’shappening in communities across the country, and work together with other communityleaders for positive change. the following quotes have been retrieved from ugandanu-reporters relating to various components of adolescent pregnancy:I am working in a community that is 100% rural and a majority of the school going girlswho get pregnant are even below 17 years of age. The worst is that after conceiving,parents of such girls including educated parents force these girls to get married to theresponsible persons without considering circumstances of the pregnancy or giving thema second chance.Girls who get pregnant while at school should be left at school for these reasons: mostof them are mothers and if they are out of school, they will get involved into more childlabour activities eg. hazardous work like prostitution, house girl activities in order to earnher living, hence it affects their growth physically, emotionally & spiritually. When a girlgets pregnant, they drop out of school - but leaving the man to continue with his studies. Itshould be applied same to girls. For fear of dropping out of school, some commit abortionor even suicide.The high rate of teenage pregnancies and early marriages is threatening the futuredevelopment of both the youths and community. Most of them drop out of school to startthese young families. With no education, the door will be opened for unemployment,poverty, alcoholism, domestic violence, crime, high infant mortality rate, street childrenetc. I believe fighting teenage pregnancies is the first step to development of youths andcommunities in many other villages in Uganda.I know of 10 girls: 2 died during an attempt to abort, 3 died because of difficulty in delivery,5 are ok. Almost 20% of the girls whom I know got pregnant from school & probably 15% tryto abort & 5% drop out of school because of unwanted pregnancy & early marriage of whichsome of them have been forced by their parents.5.2.6 Child traffickingAlthough Uganda has not ratified the Palermo Protocol (2000) , it has a Prevention of Traffickingin Persons Act (2009) which is in harmony with the Palermo Protocol and definestrafficking as ‘the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons,by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, ofdeception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receivingof payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over anotherperson, for the purpose of exploitation’ (Walakira and Nyanzi, 2012: 69).74 thE rIGht to ProtECtIoN