| dc.description.abstract | The study examined the challenges parents of child survivors of sexual abuse face while
reporting defilement cases in Luuka district, explored hardships officers face in collecting
evidence and examined problems faced in handling defilement cases through the court system.
The study applied a cross sectional research design and it utilized a purely qualitative research
approach. Data was collected from 8 participants who included two parents of child survivors
of defilement, a probation officer, SGBV police detective, advocate, magistrate and two LC1
members. These participants were selected purposively. Data was collected through in-depth
interviews using in-depth interview guides. Among the research findings, the difficulties
parents of child survivors of defilement faced while reporting cases include; lack of proof, long
distances to police and courts, lengthy periods at the police, shame, inaccessible medical
facilities and high hospital costs, community threats, threats from the perpetrator, poor case
management by police, police bribery and demand for funds from families to purchase
stationery at police. The hardships officers faced in collecting evidence and these included
among others bribe tendencies by police, hesitance by community members to provide
evidence, failure of parents to avail important documents like birth certificates, concealment of
the offender by the community, police phobia, transportation difficulties, absence of a trial
magistrate and a resident states attorney’s office in the district. In addition, others reported
included failure of victims to open up, insufficient stationery, ineffective coordination with the
probation office and inadequate financial assistance to police. The problems faced in handling
defilement cases through the court system included compromising of witnesses, transparency
issues, natural occurrences, inadequate preparation of witnesses, inconclusive evidence, failure
of witnesses to appear in court, protracted legal proceedings, failure of defilement cases to
reach the judgement stage and offenders going unpunished by court. The study recommends a
multifaceted approach and combined effort between government, police, and judiciary to
ensure effective handling of defilement cases within the community in order to bring forth
justice for victims. | en_US |
