Paul Bukuluki

RESIDENTIAL CARE FOR ABANDONED CHILDREN AND THEIR INTEGRATION INTO A FAMILY‐BASED SETTING IN UGANDA: LESSONS FOR POLICY AND PROGRAMMING

This article describes a model of care for abandoned and neglected infants in need of urgent physical, social, and medical support as implemented by the Childs i Foundation, an international, nongovernmental organization operating in Uganda. The model discounts the need for long-term care of young children within institutions and challenges the basis for intercountry adoption. Underpinned by the essentials of care continuum provided under the Uganda National Alternative Care Framework (Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, 2012), the model emphasizes the need to effect the reintegration of the separated child within the family of his or her birth, or locally organize foster care or adoption. Highlighting policy and programming lessons, the model showcases a holistic approach to the problem and puts emphasis on interventions that are protective, promotional, and transformational and the use of a community-oriented approach. The model offers guidance to both government and nongovernment actors in addressing the problems of child neglect and abandonment through the implementation of the alternative care framework.

The effectiveness of educational support to orphans and vulnerable children in Tanzania and Uganda

Little evidence is available to assist policy makers and donors in deciding what kinds of programs in developing countries are more likely to be effective in supporting the entry and continuation of OVC in secondary schools. This is particularly important for females whose education has direct bearing on child mortality in the next generation. This study gathered four kinds of educational outcome measures in two East African countries ravaged by the AIDS/HIV pandemic. The goal was to determine whether direct scholarship aid to individual students versus various forms of block grants would be more effective in promoting lower rates of absenteeism, lower dropout rates, higher national examination scores, and higher pass rates for OVC of both genders. Insufficient evidence was available for recipients of scholarships, but OVC with block grant support performed as well or better than their non-OVC counterparts, and significantly better than OVC without support. Contrary to popular belief, girls had lower rates of absenteeism. There were no gender differences in dropout. However, boys consistently outperformed girls on academic tests. Insufficient data systems continue to impede more detailed analysis.

Towards a feminist understanding of intersecting violence against women and children in the family

While intimate partner violence (IPV) against women and violence against children (VAC) have emerged as distinct fields of research and programming, a growing number of studies demonstrate the extent to which these forms of violence overlap in the same households. However, existing knowledge of how and why such co-occurrence takes place is limited, particularly in the Global South. The current study aims to advance empirical and conceptual understanding of intersecting IPV and VAC within families in order to inform potential programming. We explore shared perceptions and experiences of IPV and VAC using qualitative data collected in December 2015 from adults and children in Kampala, Uganda (n = 106). We find that the patriarchal family structure creates an environment that normalizes many forms of violence, simultaneously infantilizing women and reinforcing their subordination (alongside children). Based on participant experiences, we identify four potential patterns that suggest how IPV and VAC not only co-occur, but more profoundly intersect within the family, triggering cycles of emotional and physical abuse: bystander trauma, negative role modeling, protection and further victimization, and displaced aggression. The discussion is situated within a feminist analysis, including careful consideration of maternal violence and an emphasis on the ways in which gender and power dynamics can coalesce and contribute to intra-family violence.

Effects of Cash Transfers on Community Interactions: Emerging Evidence

Abstract This article examines evidence of the effects of national cash transfer programmes on community interactions and discusses the transformative potential of such programmes. The findings indicate positive effects of social transfers on strengthening ‘bonding’ social capital and on breaking patterns of exclusion, but also point to negative effects, particularly in fuelling intra-community tensions and generating feelings of unfairness resulting – for the most part – from targeting-related issues. Evidence remains limited on the formation of ‘bridging’ and ‘linking’ social capital and on the development of mobilisation processes to drive broader processes of social transformation and changes in the status quo.

Gender analysis of educational support programs for OVC in Uganda and Tanzania: are they helping girls in secondary school?

Gender plays an important role in education as most traditional societies give preference to boys over girls when it comes to educational opportunity. Increasing access to education for girls is important to the health and well-being of the individual, their future children, families, and communities. The objective of this paper is to understand the gender differences in educational outcomes for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) attending secondary schools in Uganda and Tanzania. The study employed a four-year, retrospective record review utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. A total of 5738 student records were collected as part of the study. Students were grouped as “ever supported” OVC (receiving educational support from either a block grant or scholarship program during their secondary school education), “never supported OVC” (OVC students who did not receive any educational support), and “nonOVC students” (students identified by the school as neither orphaned nor vulnerable). Results of the study indicate that investment in secondary school education for OVC in Uganda and Tanzania can make a difference in educational outcomes, both for boys and girls. Although there was no gender difference in absenteeism or dropout rate among students those who received educational support, stark differences were found in secondary school Year IV national examination pass rates with girls significantly less likely to pass compared to boys. The disparity in secondary school learning achievement between male and female students is of concern and warrants further investigation.

Negotiating Restorative and Retributive Justice in Access to Justice for Survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Post-conflict Northern Uganda

This paper is based on research carried out in Northern Uganda on the negotiation between retributive and restorative justice in conflict transformation. The findings show that in the daily lives of survivors of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in post-conflict northern Uganda, retributive and restorative justice systems are not used as mutually exclusive mechanisms for seeking justice. Rather, they are constantly negotiated. Children and other stakeholders in post-conflict settings pragmatically choose to apply aspects of each justice system to serve their own goals. In the real life experience of these survivors and their families, the two systems are interconnected and interdependent. Their boundaries, therefore, seem to be porous; “places of meeting and exchange rather than walls of protection against each other”(Jordan J, Hartling L, New developments in relational-cultural theory. In: Ballou M, Brown L(eds) Rethinking mental health and disorder. Guilford Press, New York, 2002: 8). In the daily lives of children and their caretakers in post-conflict settings, it is a fallacy to imagine that retributive and restorative justice systems are working independent of each other. In other words, when each system operates independent of the other, it becomes incomplete as an explanatory model for justice in the context of the survivors and their families. This chapter demonstrates how people, especially survivors of SGBV and their families in Northern Uganda, negotiate between retributive and restorative justice in an effort to access justice. This chapter further explores whether an ingenious hybrid of retributive and restorative justice can creatively contribute to the achievement of justice for the survivors and their families. It also explores the extent to which the process of negotiating between the two justice systems may create space for impunity. The chapter concludes that although nurturing a hybrid justice system creates opportunities for participation and ownership of processes and outcomes by the victims/survivors and perpetrators of atrocities and their families, care must be taken to ensure that the best interests of the survivors and their rights are not compromised.

Dilemmas of Child “Sacrifice and Mutilation” in Uganda: Meanings, Causes, and Explanations

This paper describes the phenomenon of child sacrifice and mutilation in some districts in Uganda, making a stride from hearsay about the vice to confessions from individuals who claim to have seen mutilated body parts, participated in mutilating children and removing body parts. The study employed an exploratory design using qualitative methods especially in-depth interviews and participatory workshops. During 2 months of fieldwork, the research team visited 25 communities in the Central, Western and Eastern Districts. The study generated 140 firsthand interviews concerning cases where bodies had been seen with body parts, blood or tissue missing or body parts, blood or tissue had been seen after being removed from a body. The study reveals that although the phenomenon of mutilation of children and removal of their body parts in many cases ending in death or disability is not part of the culture of the communities visited, interviews with study participants show that it happens and has devastating consequences for the children, their families and the community. It also reveals that there are some unscrupulous traditional healers who prescribe and encourage their clients to use children’s body parts, tissues and blood believing that this will make the treatment potent. Some parents have desperately resorted to ear pricking (piercing) and male child circumcision for prevention of child sacrifice with a belief that children who have already shed their blood are not eligible for sacrifice. These practices, while primarily used to enhance beauty and in the case of male circumcision as a rite of passage, have found new meanings, in this case protection from child sacrifice. We conclude that although sacrificing animals and offering part of the harvest from farms is part of the traditional culture in Uganda, child sacrifice and mutilation is not part of the mainstream culture in any of Uganda’s ethnic groups. This phenomenon was more of a myth but has gradually become a sub-culture for people who believe in child mutilation, removal of body parts, tissue or blood (commonly referred to as child sacrifice in Uganda). This practice is mediated by fraudulent traditional healers or “witch doctors” who thrive on manipulating their unsuspecting clients to assure them that mutilation and child sacrifice is the panacea to their misfortunes. The paper discusses the plausible theoretical explanatory models of this phenomenon and the policy and programming implications.

The Female Genital Mutilation Economy and the Rights of the Girl Child in Northeastern Uganda

The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) generally persists in the northeastern belt of Uganda in spite of legal and other socio-economic mechanisms at national and local levels geared towards curbing it. FGM constitutes one of the foremost violations against the rights of girls and young women and significantly affects their welfare later in life. This study established that FGM was driven and sustained by commercial gains resulting in commoditization of girls, forced/early marriage and child bearing, impacting the reproductive health rights and the right to education for the girl child. The beneficiaries who form a chain involving elderly women, families of victims and other cultural leaders present FGM as a cultural practice simply to legitimize it and shield it from legal and other opposition forces. We recommend that actors rethink current interventions in addressing FGM with a view to developing more unique interventions to provide varied alternative sources of income for the actors, improving the livelihood options of those involved and also paying due attention to community attitudes. It also raises policy and programming issues that need to be considered in prevention of FGM and in mitigating its harmful effects on the girl child and the community at large.

Matriarchy in Patriarchal Societies: Burden of Care of Maternal Relatives and Vulnerability of Orphans from HIV Affected Households in Luwero District Uganda

Maternal relatives are increasingly meeting practical and strategic needs of orphans previously provided by paternal kin. With regards to HIV affected homes, maternal kin are increasingly the first line of defence and primary caregivers for children orphaned by HIV and AIDS. Kinship and being a relative of adults affected by HIV impacts the basic rights for orphans in a patriarchal, low-resource setting. We conducted this qualitative study among the Baganda of Central Uganda relying on 15 in-depth interviews, four focus group discussions and four key informant interviews. A content and thematic analytical approach guided data analysis. Ethical approval was obtained and informed consent provided. Participation in the study was voluntary.

Proverbs and Child Protection: A Case Study of Three Bantu Languages: Luganda, Lusoga and Runyankole

Culture enshrines diverse resource elements that have potential to protect children against various forms of violence and abuse. Such elements include proverbs embedded in different languages. Proverbs are generally used in various forums and contexts to communicate messages, beliefs and norms relevant for social and cultural interaction. Some of these proverbs embed messages relevant for child protection and abuse. Available literature shows that the potential carried by proverbs has not been systematically studied and utilized for prevention of child abuse and promotion of child protection across different cultures. Based on data collected from three Bantu languages (Luganda – traditional language of the Buganda community, Lusoga – traditional language of the Busoga community, and Runyankole – traditional language of the Ankole community), the chapter examines the meaning and implication of proverbs for child protection. The paper concludes that proverbs carry latent messages for promoting child protection. However their use could also instigate attitudes, values and practices that expose children to abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence. Therefore, child protection programs should harness the positive cultural resources as well as develop culturally sensitive interventions that seek to deal with the messages in proverbs that do not match with key values and principles of child protection.