76 girls defiled in Kasese since January, say police
Kasese District has registered more than 76 defilement cases and 1,284 cases of violence against children and women in the last 10 months, police have said.
Mr Ambrose Omara, the criminal investigations officer at Kasese Central Police Station, said several defilement cases, including forced marriage were recorded but many parents and complainants do not turn up when called upon after reporting the matter to police and court.
Mr Omara said 14 aggravated defilement cases are before court while seven of those are still pending hearing.
Another 22 defilement cases are before court of which 21 are pending inquiry, six cases were dropped while four people were convicted. One case of attempted rape was registered and one is pending inquiry.
Mr Sowedi Kitanywa, the district senior probation officer, said only 64 cases were handled at police and 40 taken to court.
Mr Godson Mumbere, the executive director Vision International Actors, an NGO in Kasese, said teenage mothers face several challenges that affect their school performance such as menstruation hygiene, forced marriages, gender-based violence and abortion, among others.
Records from Uganda National Bureau of Statistics indicate that in 2014, in Bukonzo East County, girls aged between 12 and 19 years who had ever given birth were 2,590.
According to Mr Mumbere, the report shows that in Busongora North, with a population of 180,810, only 14,410 people could access piped water and only 2,793 could access boreholes which expose teenagers to rape and early marriages.
He said domestic violence, denial of food and forced marriages have affected the girls psychologically and emotionally, adding that many parents prefer educating boys which is demoralising to the girls.
