High Incidence of Rape Exposes Girls to HIV/AIDS Infection
Inter Press Service (25.7.03)
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High Incidence of Rape Exposes Girls to HIV/AIDS Infection
Inter Press Service - June 25, 2003
Evelyn Kiapi Matsamura

KAMPALA, Jun 25 (IPS) - Faridah Ssentongo, 10, may remain traumatised for
the rest of her life, right groups fear.

A year ago, she was raped by a man she did not know.

It all started when her mother Martina, a widow, confided in a family who
promised an education for Ssentongo in a nearby school in Mpigi, a
district south of the capital Kampala. One day, Ssentongo complained to
her friends about pain and burn in her private parts which, she said,
happened whenever she went for a short call. Her friends alerted the
school authorities who quizzed Ssentongo. At first, she was afraid; the
man had warned her that he would kill her if she exposed him. Ssentongo
finally relented, after she was persuaded by her teachers. She said some
man, she never knew, had repeatedly raped her on the way to school.

"I was afraid. I was suffering, but I could not tell. He said he would
kill me if I told anyone," Ssentongo told Hope After Rape (HAR), a
non-governmental organisation, based in Kampala, that helps abused
children and women.

Her mother, Martina has taken Ssentongo for counselling; but, she says,
she is not sure of her daughter's HIV/AIDS status.

Defilement is the leading reported form of abuse against the girl child in
Uganda, a recent report reveals.

The report, "INNOCENCE AT STAKE - A Situation Analysis of Child Abuse in
Uganda 2002" released this month, says in 2002 alone, 5,868 cases of child
abuse and neglect were reported in police stations across the East African
country. Of these, 4,495 were defilement cases.

"Girls were the major victims of abuse, accounting for 85.8 percent of the
cases reported," says the report, released by the African Network for
Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN).

The first report, covering 1986-1996, complied by the Network, was
released in 1998. Since then, the trend has shown a yearly rise in cases
of defilement.

"Based on the previous reports, it is clear that there has - over the
years - been a progressive increase in the level of reporting of child
abuse cases," says the report.

Sadly, "most cases of child abuse still go unreported," the report says,
adding that, "The problem is much bigger" in Uganda.

In Kampala alone, 553 children were abused, 255 of which were defilement
cases.

The most abused children were those between 9 and 17 years who accounted
for 86.9 percent. Under this age category, 4,197 girls were defiled, 21
murdered and 394 physically abused.

Although the majority of defilement cases reported were committed against
older children between 9 and 17 years, 298 cases of younger ones between
the ages of eight and below were also reported.

Most of the suspects are people close to the children, 90 percent being
close relatives.

Liza Sekaggya, of the African Network for Prevention and Protection
against Child Abuse and Neglect, says defilement was the major form of
child abuse handled by the Network last year. Their interventions included
counselling, follow-up with the police, medical support as well as family
resettlement, she says.

"Many of these people come back asking for HIV/AIDS tests and a number of
the victims end up HIV positive. Last year, four girls got infected after
they were raped," says Edith Nabiryo, a programme officer at the HAR.

The incidence, involving the four girls, aged between three and 13 years,
shows that the defilers, or rapists, do not use condom, she says.

"Defilement and HIV/AIDS are interrelated. There is no way you can isolate
them. A parent comes in complaining that her child has been defiled. The
first thing that crosses her mind is that the child may have contracted
HIV/AIDS. In 100 percent of the cases, the parents worry about HIV/AIDS,"
Nabiryo says.

"But some parents do not bother to check their children's status. They
feel better by not knowing their status," Nabiryo says.

In Uganda, the legal age for marriage is 18, while those accepted by the
customary law is 16. And sometimes Muslims marry their daughters off at a
very early age under Islamic shariah (law).

To the chagrin of human rights groups, many cases of child abuse,
especially defilement, are resolved by the Resistance Council, an organ of
the ruling National Resistance Movement, at village level. The Resistance
Councils and Committees Statute 1998 empowers the village courts to
preside over cases involving pregnant 'girls below 18 years'.

In the village, most defilement cases are solved through mutual
understanding between the parents, or guardians, of the victim and the
defiler. In most cases, fines like goats, hens, cows and cash are paid.
The defiler is also, sometimes, asked to marry the girl in cases where the
child has conceived.

"People prefer to do that probably because it is cheaper and also because
they do not want to expose the child. Besides, the judicial system can
take long to preside over a case," Sekaggya says.

To avoid customary courts, rights groups are demanding that "the
constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, must override any
customary law".

"Negative customary practices that provide a platform for defilement
should be researched, documented and condemned. Defilement cases should
only be tried in the courts of law," Sekaggya says.

"Laws should be harmonised to ensure that girls stay in school up to the
age of 18 years," she says.

Under the Uganda Penal Code Act: "Any person who unlawfully has sexual
intercourse with a girl under the age of 18 years is guilty of an offence
liable to be punished by death."

"The sentence of defilement is death, but the Draft Bill suggests a
reduced sentence of life imprisonment. That way, there will be more
reporting of these cases," Sekaggya says.

Rights groups also demand a legislation to provide for a victim-friendly
court with in-camera proceedings that do not expose the minor, considering
the vulnerability of the child.

"More health practitioners also need to be trained and given the mandate
to examine the child victims of defilement. There is, thus, a need to
amend the Evidence Act," Sekaggya says.

The Network also believes that the provisions of the Sexual Offences Bill
currently in parliament that provide for mandatory HIV testing on
conviction of offenders is crucial.

The children also have a right to psychological rehabilitation, something
that is currently lacking in Uganda.

While medical examination is one of the key requirements for prosecution
of defilers as well as for the victim, sometimes this is not done because
of the costs involved.

In 2002, the media played a major role in highlighting child abuse and
neglect cases, the report says. The newspapers recorded 1,014 cases
compared to the 324 cases documented in 1999.

"It is a positive factor in shaping public opinion on issues of child
abuse and neglect and children's rights," the report says.

Defilement was the highest form of child abuse (347 cases) accounting for
35 percent of all media cases covered last year.


Source: Inter Press Service - June 25, 2003
Taken from AEGIS at  http://ww2.aegis.org/news/ips/2003/IP030615.html

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