Are We Really Protecting Our Children from Sexual Predators?

A few weeks ago, my neighbor’s 15-year-old daughter suddenly dropped out of school. She had
been attending a day school and was expected home by 5 p.m. lately, however, she had started
returning as late as 9 p.m., her behavior changing drastically, becoming rude, dismissive, and
increasingly rebellious toward her parents.
When her mother confided in me, I suggested it might be typical teenage defiance. But we were
wrong.
What we didn’t know was that she had become involved with a 35-year-old man in the
neighborhood. Every day after school, she would spend hours at his house before heading home.
It was only when a concerned neighbor saw her entering the man’s home and alerted the mother
that the truth came to light. The mother followed her, and caught them in the act.
Devastated, she brought her daughter home and disciplined her. But the next day, the girl left for
school and never returned. When her mother found her at the man’s house, the girl boldly told
her, “I am now a married woman. I’m not coming back.”
Her mother returned home heartbroken, overwhelmed by shame and confusion. She didn’t know
what to do, how to get her daughter back without using force or ruining her reputation in the
community.
I told her, bluntly: there is no reputation to protect when your child is being exploited. Her focus
should be on rescuing her daughter, even if it meant reporting the man for defilement, as the law
provides. If necessary, her daughter should be placed in a rehabilitation center.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many similar cases, where young girls are lured by older men with
money, attention, or gifts. Once pregnant, the men move on, leaving the girl behind, uneducated,
unemployed, and now a teenage mother. The girl’s dreams are cut short, while the man walks
away free.
Uganda continues to grapple with a rising rate of teenage pregnancy, which has become a major
threat to our efforts toward gender equality and national development. Most of these pregnancies
result from sexual exploitation and manipulation, not love.
The Harsh Reality
Too often, defilement is treated as a private issue, something to be settled quietly with a bribe or
apology. Police officers are compromised, families are silenced with money, and the community
looks the other way. Yet, the law is clear: Sex with anyone under 18 is defilement and a criminal
offense.

But when the law isn’t enforced, and when silence is preferred over justice, our children remain
unprotected. We blame teenage girls for being “spoiled” instead of confronting the adult men
who manipulate and abuse them.
At 15, a girl is still a child. She’s emotionally immature, easily influenced, and incredibly
vulnerable. A grown man exploiting her isn’t showing her love, he’s committing a crime.
We need stronger policies as a community and a nation. Every case of child sexual abuse must be
investigated and prosecuted, without exception or compromise. Police and local authorities must
be held accountable when they fail to protect children.
Communities must stop protecting perpetrators. Neighbors, teachers, and leaders need to speak
out when they see abuse and support victims instead of shaming them, that is the only way we
will surely know that our children and their future are protected.