Effectiveness of child advocacy campaigns in reducing child abuse in Uganda; case study: selected child NGOs in Lyantonde district

Abstract

Child advocacy is an important factor in child protection and overall child welfare. The overall objective of the study was to analyze the effectiveness of child advocacy campaigns on reducing child abuse in Uganda putting Special focus on key players in Lyantonde District. The specific objectives of the study included examining the strategies used by NGOs to fight child abuse in Lyantonde District, to find out the extent to which strategies used are effective in fighting child abuse in Lyantonde District, and to examine any alternative strategies in fighting child abuse in Lyantonde District. The study employed a case study research design with qualitative and quantitative research methods to come up study results. The research instruments used were questionnaires, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and documentary review. The study found out that the general state of child welfare in Lyantonde district is still poor with existence of child labour, child trafficking, early marriages, land grabbing, and commercial sex, among others. NGOs in the area are implementing advocacy strategies including community based child protection, integrated health initiatives, child rights clubs, OVC committees, among others. The effectiveness of these strategies was also assessed looking at the increasing levels of child abuses, more advocacy being done, NGOs not being involved in government process, legislation issues, and corruption, implementation problems with child policies. The study further showed how child abuse is continuously occurring and being perpetuated in Lyantonde district and places of similar features, and that the perpetuators of child abuse practices like child labor, defilement and sexual assault, among other cases are commonly the individuals who would have prevented them, there is an uphill task for institutions that are striving at making the communities better places for children hence the need for child advocacy campaigns to include not only children and their families but also other political, social, and economic play makers within the communities. Recommendations included integration of child protection initiatives, joint planning between NGOs and government, children parliaments in schools, increasing funding to CSOs, strengthening community linkages, designing and delivering sensitive programs and supporting NGOs to deliver more effectively.