Abstract Child labour is prevalent in both developed and developing countries and has become a global concern. This is because of the negative impacts that it has not only on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of children, but on their development and health due to possible exposure to hazardous substances. This article interrogates the magnitude of the problem of child labour in the gold mines of Uganda and seeks to highlight the gaps in the existing legal framework on the protection of Ugandan children from hazardous labour. It asserts that although poverty and a failed educational system are believed to be the root causes of child labour in Uganda, weak and inefficient laws coupled with a lack of coordination between institutions responsible for protecting the child contribute equally. Thus there is need for political will by the government of Uganda to help prevent the problem.
BACKGROUND: Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a cultural practice associated with health consequences, women rights and deprivation of dignity. Despite FGM/C-related health consequences, circumcised women may encounter additional challenges while seeking interventions for reproductive health problems. Experiences of women/girls while accessing health services for reproductive health problems including FGM/C-related complications in poor, remote and hard to reach areas is poorly understood. We sought to explore barriers to care seeking among Somali women with complications related to FGM/C in public health facilities in Kenya. METHODS: We drew on qualitative data collected from purposively selected women aged 15-49 years living with FGM/C, their partners, community leaders, and health providers in Nairobi and Garissa Counties. Data were collected using in-depth interviews (n = 10), key informant interviews (n = 23) and 20 focus group discussions. Data were transcribed and analyzed thematically using NVivo version 12. RESULTS: Barriers were grouped into four thematic categories. Structural barriers to care-seeking, notably high cost of care, distance from health facilities, and lack of a referral system. Concerns regarding perceived quality of care also presented a barrier. Women questioned health professionals' and health facilities' capacity to offer culturally-sensitive FGM/C-specific care, plus ensuring confidentiality and privacy. Women faced socio-cultural barriers while seeking care particularly cultural taboos against discussing matters related to sexual health with male clinicians. Additionally, fear of legal sanctions given the anti-FGM/C law deterred women with FGM/C-related complications from seeking healthcare. CONCLUSION: Structural, socio-cultural, quality of service, and legal factors limit health seeking for reproductive health problems including FGM/C-related complications. Strengthening health system should consider integration of FGM/C-related interventions with existing maternal child health services for cost effectiveness, efficiency and quality care. The interventions should address health-related financial, physical and communication barriers, while ensuring culturally-sensitive and confidential care.
Samuel Thuo Kimani, Caroline W. Kabiru, Jacinta Khasiala Muteshi et al.
Several unique obstacles are involved in creating and enforcing laws meant to end harmful behaviors that society accepts and supports. The main components of an extensive legislative framework to promote FGM cessation are presented in this study. Additionally, it offers detailed instructions on the legislation's content and how it relates to the social change process intended to foster. Indeed, one essential step in helping to end these practices is establishing a legislative framework that makes it clear that abusive behavior is prohibited. However, the practice will continue and may be eradicated if legislation prohibiting it is adopted in situations where people engage in the activity. Therefore, the challenge is to develop, introduce, and implement legislation in a way that contributes to a social change process that ultimately leads to communities choosing to abandon using the practice. This paper argues that a human rights-based approach is fundamental in developing, enacting, implementing, and monitoring legislation on FGM, especially where there is societal support for the practice. Such an approach ensures that the legislation is a positive force in promoting the abandonment of FGM as it requires the public participation of those directly or indirectly affected by the legislation. A human rights-based approach to legislative reform promotes a transformative process by enabling people to recognize and claim their rights. This paper is intended to guide legislators, parliamentarians, jurists, lawyers, judges, ministries, government officials, human rights and children's rights advocates, policymakers, and all involved in laws, programs, and policies addressing FGM.
Antony Kabiru Wahome, Laban Musundi, Henry Obaga Were et al.
BACKGROUND: Female genital mutilation is a major issue that has considerable effect on millions of girls in Africa, including Ethiopia. Despite the state initiatives to eliminate the practice by making it illegal, many mothers continue think that it should be continued for their daughters. Therefore, we aimed determinants of the number undergoing female genital mutilation of daughters in Ethiopia. METHODS: Data for this study were obtained from the 2016 EDHS. The weighted sample included in this study was 3754 adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 years. Descriptive data were summarized using descriptive statistics and tables. A negative binomial regression model was fitted. The strength of association was assessed using AIR with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a p-value < 0.05 was reported. The deviance test was used to check the goodness of fit. RESULTS: Of the 3754 women, 1728 (46%) were aged from 25 to 34 years and 2503(66.7%) women were uneducated. Maternal age between 25 and 34 years (AIRR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.16-0.37), as well as between 35 and 44 years (AIRR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.44-0.739), living in urban areas (AIRR = 0.343, 95% CI: 0.222-0.532), having no employment (AIRR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1,1.6), not listening to the radio at all (AIRR = 2.68, 95% CI: 1.96-3.7) or listen to it less than once per weeks (AIRR = 2.39, 95% CI:2.391.68-3.38), and watching television less than once per week (AIRR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.24-3.6), along with having one to five household members(AIRR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.54,0.76), were significant predictors of daughter's FGM. CONCLUSION: In this study, factors that help protect a daughter from female genital mutilation include older maternal age, residing in urban areas, and having a smaller household size. Conversely, maternal unemployment and limited exposure to TV and radio are associated with a higher risk of female genital mutilation. Address these issue, efforts should be made to empower mothers through employment opportunities, and addressing the female genital concerns in targeted media campaigns is crucial.
Background: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) often has lifelong negative consequences for a woman’s physical and mental health but is still practiced in some parts of Kenya including Kajiado County. We aimed to estimate the current prevalence as well as the socio-cultural beliefs and power relations that are in favor of or against the practice in Kajiado, Kenya. Methods: A mixed method cross-sectional study was conducted in Kajiado County. The study targeted: women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years); community health volunteers (CHVs); opinion leaders; health care workers; officials from the ministries of Education, Health, Culture, Gender and Social Services; Community Health Assistants (CHAs); Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs); teachers; morans and adolescent boys and girls aged 10 to 24 years. Data were collected both quantitatively through a household questionnaire and qualitatively through the focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Factors influencing Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) were classified as either social, cultural beliefs or economic. Results: From the study, quantitative results revealed that the prevalence of FGM/C in Kajiado County was 91%, with most of them (96.7%) practicing type 2 (excision) circumcisions. From the interviews, girls undergo the cut as a rite of passage to womanhood and thus a prerequisite for marriage. It is also believed that girls who are uncircumcised cannot be helped by TBAs in delivery. It is believed that their blood is poisonous and can cause bad omen to whoever comes in contact with dirty blood. Additionally, it is believed that girls go through the cut to avoid conflict and natural phenomena; for instance, drought and outbreaks of diseases that kill many people. Finally, it is a practice that earns respect for the parents of the girls and incentives as dowry to the father of the girl. TBAs that perform FGM/C get paid in cash and kind. Conclusion: Female genital mutilation/cutting practice in Kajiado County is still high. Efforts to end the practice will need to have an integrated approach to include all the players. Suggested alternatives to the cut must, therefore, be inclusive so as to address the myths/beliefs, misconceptions, socio-cultural and economic factors in favor of the vice. The alternatives must be inclusive for the beneficiaries, supporters, and practitioners.
Bernard Mbogo, Sarah Karanja, Kennedy Omwaka et al.
PURPOSE: To explore the patterning, practices, and drivers of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Ethiopia's Afar region. METHODS: This article draws on mixed-methods research conducted in 2022 in 18 rural communities in three districts of Ethiopia's Afar region. Survey data were collected from 1,022 adolescents and their caregivers. Qualitative interviews were conducted with approximately 270 adults and adolescents. RESULTS: The survey found that FGM remains practically universal (97% of sampled adolescent girls), and infibulation remains the norm (87% of girls). Most adolescent girls and caregivers reported that FGM is required by religion and should continue. When queried about the main reason for FGM, however, most cited culture rather than religion. Female caregivers and adolescent girls were more likely to report that FGM has benefits than risks; the reverse was true for male caregivers. Qualitative evidence suggests that even girls who are not reported as infibulated generally, and that the social benefits of FGM--especially regarding controlling girls' sexuality and facilitating their marriageability--are perceived to outweigh health risks. Where there are shifts in type of FGM, it is largely due to efforts of religious leaders who preach against infibulation and for "milder" types--and the growing scope of fathers to input into mothers' FGM decision-making and advocate for less invasive types. DISCUSSION: Eliminating FGM requires focusing on contexts where the practice is most invasive and progress is not yet visible. Given complex intrahousehold and intragenerational dynamics, this will necessitate engaging whole communities with sustained multipronged approaches to shift social norms.
Elizabeth Presler‐Marshall, Kefyalew Endale, Nicola Jones et al.
This paper examined the strategies for preventing and responding to sexual violence against children in Rombo district, Tanzania. Sexual violence against children (SVAC) remains a major concern in many countries across the globe and in developing countries such as Tanzania. The SVAC encompasses a range of offenses such as completed non-consensual sex acts such as rape, attempted non-consensual sex acts, abusive sexual contacts such as unwanted sexual touching and non-contact sexual abuse. Studies have been conducted to assess strategies to prevent and respond to sexual violence against children. However, studies that focus on examining the strategies and how they are used by Community Based Child Protection Mechanisms (CBCPMs) are still limited in Tanzania. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the strategies used by CB-CPMs to prevent and respond to sexual violence against children in Rombo District, Tanzania. A mixed methods study was conducted involving 158 members of CBCPMs. A total of 108 responded to a questionnaire, 4 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted involving 40 members of CBCPMs and 10 Key Informant Interviews(KIIs) were conducted to complement data collected through questionnaire. Descriptive data analysis was conducted with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 23. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic content analysis. The study concludes that awareness raising, provision of advice, communication, identification of children, referral of abused children, mapping and monitoring of children had effects on combating SVAC. The study revealed that CBCPMs have improved situation of SVAC and child protection environment in Rombo district. Therefore, study recommends that, the government should support CBCPMs through funding, monitoring and capacity building in order to strengthen their skills to combat SVAC. The study also recommends that more awareness raising should be carried out to the community in order to address sexual violence against children.
INTRODUCTION: National data on children affected by violence are critical in preventing violence against children. Rwanda conducted its first cross-sectional national survey on violence against children in 2015. This study used data from the Rwanda Survey to describe the profile of children affected by emotional violence (EV) and to assess factors associated with it in Rwanda. METHODS: A sample of 1,110 children (618 boys and 492 girls) aged 13-17 from the Rwanda Survey was analysed. Weighted descriptive statistics were applied to describe the prevalence of EV and the profile of children affected by it. In addition, factors associated with EV were investigated using logistic regression. RESULTS: Male children were more likely to experience EV than female children. Nine percent (8.87%, 95% CI [6.95-11.25]) of male children versus five percent (5.17%, 95% CI [3.79-7.03]) of female children reported having experienced EV in their lifetime. Seven percent (6.77%, 95% CI [5.15-8.84]) of male children versus four percent of female children (3.97%, 95% CI [2.83-5.54]) reported having experienced EV in the last twelve months before the survey. Fathers and mothers were the top two perpetrators of EV against children. Seventeen percent of male children (17.09%, 95% CI [11.06-25.47]) and 12 percent of female children (11.89%, 95% CI [6.97,19.55]) reported EV by their fathers. Mothers were responsible for nineteen percent (19.25%, 95% CI [12.94-27.65]) of EV reported by male children and eleven percent (10.78%, 95% CI [5.77-19.25]) of EV reported by female children. Female children (OR = 0.48, 95% CI [0.31-0.76]) and children with some trust in people from their communities (OR = 0.47, 95% CI [0.23-0.93]) were less likely to report EV. Factors associated with risk for EV were not attending school (OR = 1.80, 95% CI [1.10-2.92]), living with father only (OR = 2.96, 95% CI [1.21-7.85]), not feeling close to biological parents (OR = 7.18, 95% CI [2.12-24.37]), living in a larger household (OR = 1.81, 95% CI [1.03-3.19]), not having a friend (OR = 2.08, 95% CI [1.02-4.11]), and not feeling safe in the community (OR = 2.56, 95% CI [1.03-6.38]). CONCLUSION: EV against children was pervasive in Rwanda, with parents topping the list of its perpetrators. Children from unsupportive socioeconomic family environments, i.e., children without a close relationship with biological parents, children not attending school, children living with their fathers only, children from larger households of five people and more, children without a friend, and children who reported not feeling safe in their communities, were identified as groups of children vulnerable to emotional violence in Rwanda. A family-centred approach, focusing on positive parenting and protecting vulnerable children, is needed to reduce emotional violence against children and the risk factors associated with it in Rwanda.
Alypio Nyandwi, Cyprien Munyanshongore, Laetitia Nyirazinyoye et al.
BACKGROUND: Violence against children at home and at school is particularly prevalent in Africa and is associated with adverse and persistent health effects on children. The violence prevention intervention Interaction Competencies with Children - for Teachers (ICC-T) is an effective tool to reduce violence against children by fostering teachers' non-violent communication and interaction skills. To enhance these effects, in the present study, ICC-T will be extended to parents (ICC-P) aiming to increase children's experience of consistent behavior and application of non-violent discipline strategies between teachers and parents. METHODS: To investigate the effectiveness of the school-based combined implementation of ICC-T and ICC-P, a cluster-randomized controlled trial with 16 primary schools in the urban district of Morogoro in Eastern Tanzania will be conducted. Both quantitative (structured interviews) and qualitative (focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, evaluation forms) methods will be used to investigate the effects on teachers' and parents' violence against children in home and school settings. The intervention implementation will be accompanied by a comprehensive process evaluation to assess the implementation quality of and participants' engagement with ICC-T and ICC-P. Potential downstream effects of violence reduction will be investigated by assessing the children's mental health and well-being. DISCUSSION: The present study aims to provide evidence for the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the school-based combined implementation of ICC-T and ICC-P to reduce teacher and parental violence against children and contribute to children's well-being in home and school settings. TRAIL REGISTRATION: The clinical trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov, 2024) under the identifier NCT06369025 (Hecker, Preventing Physical and Emotional Violence by Parents and Teachers in Public Schools in Tanzania (ICC-T/ICC-P_Tanz) (PreVio), 2024) on April 17, 2024.
Katharina Mattonet, Eliud Kabelege, Getrude Mkinga et al.
This paper aimed at examining the effects of community-based child protection mechanisms on sexual violence against children in Rombo District, Tanzania. Little research has been conducted using robust methodologies to investigate the effects of community-based child protection mechanisms in Tanzania. Thus, a mixed-method study design using interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to collect data on the effects of community-based child protection mechanisms in Rombo District in Kilimanjaro region. The region has been implementing community-based child protection mechanisms interventions to end sexual violence against children. One hundred and fifty-eight (158) participants were involved in the study. A hundred and eight (108) respondents participated in a survey, forty participated in focus group discussions and ten participated in interviews. Data were analysed quantitatively using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23 and qualitatively using thematic categories to facilitate interpretation. The study finding indicated that Community-based Child Protection Mechanisms have a contribution towards ending sexual violence against children. The interventions have made parents more vigilant, willing and ready to report sexual violence against children to community-based child protection mechanisms, have improved access to services on sexual violence against children, have increased proper handling of cases reported to community-based child protection mechanisms and have improved reporting of sexual violence against children cases to the Police and Social Welfare Officers. Furthermore, the interventions have improved case management and have strengthened collaboration between actors in Rombo District. However, lack of funds and inadequate knowledge and skills have constrained the implementation of community-based child protection mechanisms interventions in Rombo District. Therefore, the study recommends that the government and Civil Society Organizations should invest in community-based child protection mechanisms in terms of the provision of financial resources and skills development in order to combat sexual violence against children.
