Minister defends child protection efforts

The child welfare ministry has defended its approach to protecting children from sexual violence, arguing that prevention and response mechanisms are built on multi-sectoral collaboration rather than awareness campaigns alone.

Speaking in parliament last week, gender equality and child welfare minister Emma Kantema said the fight against violence requires coordinated action between government, civil society and communities. “Policies and awareness campaigns are just as essential as any other interventions aimed at addressing violence against children,” she said, adding that responsibility does not lie with a single ministry.

Kantema stressed that government’s role is to “create an enabling environment that promotes prevention, deterrence, identification and response to violence against children".

She pointed to several national interventions, including the violence against children survey, which aimed to examine the prevalence of abuse, and the disrupting harm study, which examined online forms of violence affecting children.

“These studies have enabled the development of targeted policies and interventions to effectively combat and prevent such harm,” she said.

The justice ministry has also reviewed the Combating of Domestic Violence Act and the Combating of Rape Act to strengthen protections for victims and survivors of gender-based violence and rape.

Reporting and accountability

Kantema highlighted the parenting programme.

“As part of the prevention efforts, the parenting programme was rolled out to address matters of violence at home and teach parents skills on how to identify risks, keep children safe and report cases,” she said.

The minister confirmed that social workers have been deployed countrywide to GBV units to ensure prompt response and case management, although recruitment challenges persist due to a shortage of qualified graduates in the field.

The 'Spot It to Report It' campaign encourages the public to identify and report harmful behaviour.

She further noted that the Child Care and Protection Act places a legal obligation on certain professionals to report cases of violence against children, praising life skills teachers for consistently fulfilling this duty.

Kantema warned that most abuse against children occurs in “safe spaces” such as homes and schools, underscoring the importance of parental and community responsibility. “The ministry's response efforts can only be effective when cases are reported promptly,” she said.

Responding to criticism that the ministry has not prioritised stronger digital protections or sufficiently resourced safe houses, the minister said government has established an online coordinating task force comprising multiple stakeholders to guide digital safety responses.

She stressed that cases of online child sexual exploitation and abuse are treated with the same seriousness as physical offences.