Challenges faced in handling cases of child sexual abuse:a case study of Luuka district

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.