A 17-year-old girl in Kitgum was abducted on her way to school, and repeatedly defiled by a man early this year. At first, the girl managed to escape and crossed the border into Kenya seeking safety. Then the man, according to Ms Norah Namatovu, a lawyer at FIDA (The Uganda Association of Women Lawyers) who first narrated this story in a recent sexual violence meeting in Kampala, met with some people who eventually forced her back to Uganda. The man repeatedly defiled Jane (not her real name) and kidnapped her for one week as the two families continued with negotiations to amicably resolve the issue. The girl managed to escape again. This time however, she sought refuge in a nearby army barracks. She narrated her ordeal to UPDF soldiers who immediately apprehended the man and handed him over to Police. This case is still on-going but there is hardly any support from her family. At 17, Jane is a minor. Like any other exuberant teenage girl or boy, she had big dreams too. She wanted to become a doctor but defilement, an insidious problem in the country, shattered her dream for a better future.

Staggering numbers

Unfortunately as Ms Namatovu explains, Jane is not alone; there are thousands of innocent children in Uganda (boys and girls) whose lives and dreams for a better future have been wrecked with impunity, some of them very young children. In March last year, the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect–(ANPPCAN), registered a defilement case from Bombo, Luweero District where a 10-year-old girl was defiled by her father while the mother was away. The case was reported to Police and it’s currently being handled by Naggalama Police Station in Mukono. Similarly in Mukono District, a 12-old-year old girl was defiled and impregnated by her aunt’s husband. Surprisingly – or maybe not – the man was released and the case file went missing through unclear circumstances. Statistics indicate that these sad and horrifying occurrences are many. A study funded by the World Bank in 2008, indicated that at the least, four per cent of all the upper primary school pupils in the country had been defiled by their teachers in the previous year. Between 2009 and 2013, Police recorded 39,902 defilement cases across Uganda.

The 2013 Police crime report also showed that defilement and domestic violence were the highest crimes in the country. Even worse, between 2012 and 2013, defilement cases reported drastically jumped from 7,690 to 9,598. The bigger tragedy perhaps, is that there are several cases that go unreported due to what, Ms Diana Kagere of Center for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP), says is corruption occasionally involving buying off the parents especially where there is fear of shame by those involved. In this instance she said, the perpetrators are close relatives and those who hold power in communities. From the analysis of police statistics, at least 665 children are defiled per month, 155 children per week and about 22 young girls and boys are defiled every day, sometimes by the very people who are supposed to protect them, indicating a deepening crisis that needs to be tackled urgently. And yes, boys at risk too. Seven years ago, Parliament amended Section 129 of the Penal Code Act to capture the boys after it emerged women and men were taking advantage of the loophole in the law. The crime was changed from being defilement of girls under the age of 18 to defilement of a person under 18 years of age. This meant that the law now punishes defilement of girls and sexual molestation of boys. As such, last year, Entebbe Chief Magistrate’s Court found 30-year old Sarah Nekesa from Mutungo, a Kampala suburb guilty of sexually molesting a 16-year-old boy she employed as a casual worker. She was sentenced to seven years in prison. Because girls are the most affected, the conviction of this self-employed woman went down in the records of Uganda’s court history as one of the few women to be convicted for defilement.

Sexual exploitation

Paul Nyende, a lecturer at Makerere University Psychology department, said in trying to get to the root of the problem, it’s not appropriate to call it defilement; rather, it should be called “sexual exploitation” or pedophilia. He said this kind of exploitation may involve sexual contact with the child which may require penetration or sexual arousal and fondling. Even without penetration, Nyende said, what constitutes sexual exploitation also ranges from touches that are sexual to exposure of the child to pornographic material and use of vulgar language. “Most people only look at sexual penetration and forget that even exposing your nudity to the child or having them fondle you constitutes sexual exploitation,” Nyende said. Asked whether one could tell that a child has been defiled, he said observation alone is not enough and that it requires thorough interviews and assessment with the affected child using psychological tools to ascertain that the e****xploitation took place.

The Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2007 of Uganda provides for defilement under section 129 and states that any person who performs a sexual act with another person below the age of 18years commits a felony known as defilement and is liable on conviction to life imprisonment.

For Prosecution to secure a conviction on defilement there must be proof that the victim was below 18 years of age, that there was sexual intercourse with the victim and that it is the accused who had sexual intercourse with the victim.

In this instance for impartial to assist you they would advise you to.

Step 1

Avoid any activities that could potentially damage evidence of the defilement such as bathing, using the restroom, changing clothes, combing hair and cleaning up the crime scene. Report the assault/incident at the nearest police station. After the complaint has been lodged and a statement recorded, the victim is subjected to a medical examination to ascertain the authenticity of the defilement.

Step 2

Impartial would advise the Police to conduct thorough investigations and ensure that all relevant investigative techniques including DNA testing are promptly carried out

Step 3

They would advise the DPP to prove all the Elements of Defilement beyond reasonable doubt so they accused does not go scot free.