Situation analySiS

Situation analySiS of Children in uganda 2015regulations, services, capacities, monitoring, and oversight) organised around the goal ofpreventing and responding to protection risks such as abuse, abandonment, exploitation,and neglect’ (MoGLSD, 2013a: 1). The system’s new approach to child protection entails ashift from vertical silo-based programming focusing on specific categories of children (e.g.street children, sexually abused children and working children) to integrated programmingapproaches that protect all children, greater linkages between sectors (social welfare,education, health and justice), and greater linkages between levels (national, sub-nationaland local).This strategy aims to deliver benefits for all at-risk children, instead of only specific groupsthat have been identified or assumed to be vulnerable. Where the scale of response issufficient to reach all children in need of support, or a good proportion of them, thismay significantly increase impact. Moreover, a systems approach can be used to preventprotection problems arising, helping to reduce economic burdens for the country. Finally, bystrengthening existing child protection processes and structures through their emergencyresponse, higher levels of efficiency can be reached.Factors that restrict supply include the availability of adequately staffed services, facilitiesand information. Lack of a structured database in the protection sector is linked to the limitedissuance of birth certificates. This is a key challenge, as different protection services andprogrammes need to be measured over reliable and functional databases, which aggregateup-to-date data.Domestic violence and other forms of abuse aimed at children are a result of more serious,systemic elements including, but not limited to: complex and poor law enforcement; lackof trained personnel to handle cases of violence; barriers in accessing care; and the lackof coordination among sectors and civil society responsible for child protection. Lack ofaccess to basic social services, including health, sanitation and education, contributes tochild protection violations. Safe school environments need to be made a priority and moreawareness needs to be fostered to empower children in making informed decisions.On the demand side, parents and communities do not fully appreciate and demand childprotection services. Children themselves lack information about the available services andhow to access them. Probation and social welfare officers are also limited in the kind ofservices they can deliver. In most cases, available services are largely provided by NGOs.There is also a general lack of awareness of what constitutes child abuse or dangerous work,including by many children themselves. Some children are exploited by hazardous workbecause of the traditional value placed on child labour, e.g. in peasant farming communitiesparents often withdraw children from school during planting and harvesting seasons.Direct, indirect and opportunity costs are also important barriers preventing poor familiesand those living in hard-to-reach areas from demanding services, even when they mightbe available. Evidence suggests that the main cause of children’s involvement in hazardous80 thE rIGht to ProtECtIoN