Minister Nakiwala urges parents to fight child abuse and neglect

Muhamad Matovu

The state minister for youth and children affairs Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi has urged parents to fight child abuse and neglect noting that children are abused in several ways.

She made the remarks while speaking to the journalist in Kampala yesterday.

Nakiwala called for the combined effort to ensure that child abuse and neglect are fought in the country.

“Basically child abuse is in seven different forms and research shows that 98% of all people below the age of 18 have been abused in one way or another," she noted.

She described that one can be in the bed room when his or her child is being abuse within the house by uncles, aunts and ,many other people without being noticed.

She called upon the media to sensitise the mass on the laws regarding child abuse and neglect in the country noting that many people are ignorance about the laws.

She said that a lot of changes have been effected to ensure that children rights are not abused.

She called upon media to come out and partner with the ministry in a struggle to ensure that no child is neglected in the country.

“We are performing very well in terms of regulation, what was missing was enforcement. Laws are very good but they are in books, when you go out, all the music shows are full of children," she said.

She noted that most of the shows, shops, supermarkets, local markets are full of children which is child labour.

"You will find that there are early marriages especially in Kasese, Rwenzori region and eastern ,this children are young mothers, they are children," she said.