This project will create awareness of the crisis of defilement among 1800 children; 600 caregivers (home to home model), 130 local leaders and distribute 600 rape whistles to each home to reduce the vice. In Need Home plans to create and empower 15 Child protection committees in the slums who will work with civil leaders to reduce defilement. Through this project, sexual violence survivors will be provided with support for medical and psychological recovery and aided with litigation services.
Defilement in Uganda is the most common crime (Police report 2016). its worse in slums. In Namuwongo slum where In Need Home (INH) works, Out of 10 children 8 are victims of Child sexual violence(CSV) (INH,2017). Some care givers, Local leaders and Police connive with perpetrators who pay to them money to drop the cases. Trauma, STIs including HIV and death have resulted from this vice. The community is less vigilant and there is no recovery mechanisms for victims of sexual violence.
INH address CSV by aggressive and innovative community mobilization through whistling as a way of reporting defilement cases, sensitization, popularizing the existing laws, harmonizing the government structures with the community, put in place community committees (Community corps) as a local system to counsel and deal with CSV cases working with government structures, empower children/peer and enhance community response and vigilance against CSV starting at the lowest social units of families.
The long term impact is increased community vigilance against child sexual violence in slums. This will be achieved through increased community participation in mitigating child sexual violence ; enhanced awareness, social and behaviour change and knowledge about CSV; empowered children with self-defense and safety initiatives to defend themselves against defilers and harmonized government structures with community structures to fight CSV.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Excel file (projdoc.xls).
