Despite government and development partners’ efforts to put in place legal and policy frameworks on the protection of children, the safety of children from abuse and exploitation remains a challenge.

The 2015 National Survey on Violence against Children attests to this reality by pointing out that people in positions of authority represent one of the categories of perpetrators of first incidence of sexual violence among children especially girls.

Uganda has the second youngest population in the world, with children accounting for about 56% of the total population. Child sexual abuse and marriage remain the greatest development challenges Uganda faces today.

Children in Uganda experience various forms of violence including child neglect, child sacrifice and trafficking, sexual abuse, child marriages, child labour and violence in schools such as corporal punishment.

Violation of children’s rights, account for the denial and deprivation of children’s fundamental human rights such as education, adequate food and nutrition, access to health services, safety and participation.

Uganda is ranked among the global hot spots, with high rates of child sexual abuse and child marriages. UNICEF (2015) estimates that for every 10 girls, 5 are married off before the age of 18.