Youth in Masaka are voicing their concerns over the rising incidents of sexual offenses, including defilement and rape, in their community.
To curb these crimes, youth leaders are calling for stricter penalties for convicted offenders, arguing that heavier deterrent punishments would send a strong message to potential perpetrators and help reduce sexual abuse cases.
The demand for harsher penalties was raised during a dialogue meeting at the Youth Center in Uganda Care offices, organized by AHF Uganda Cares in partnership with the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Youth Affairs.
The event, aimed at evaluating the impact of government investment in youth development, also provided a platform for young leaders to address critical issues affecting their communities, with defilement emerging as a top concern.
Robert Tumwesigye, the Masaka District Youth Councilor, emphasized the devastating impact of sexual assault on young girls, many of whom have dropped out of school due to unwanted pregnancies resulting from defilement.
He stressed that offenders should face harsher punishments to deter anyone considering such crimes against minors, arguing that this would help protect the future of vulnerable children in the community.
Oswald Mwebaze, General Secretary of the Uganda Parliamentary Youth Forum, explained that the dialogue meetings are aimed at gathering the views of youth, which will be included in a comprehensive report guiding the development of the youth manifesto.
He added that their focus spans key areas such as health, education, employment, and climate change.
Mwebaze also noted pressing concerns raised by the youth, including rampant corruption, high unemployment, and excessive taxation, all of which are seen as major barriers to their progress and development.
“ The forum pushes for youths concerns at the national level, and it conducts such dialogues to get the youths concerns that feature in The state of the youths report, which covers issues such as social services, youths participation and climate change among others, the report looks at the available resources and those that have been utilized on ground and policy gaps, and the report will be presented to parliament, which will forward it to relevant ministries to ensure that they are worked on,” he added.
Trever Emogil, the AHF Uganda Cares Youth Coordinator, pointed out the significant information gap surrounding various government programs meant to benefit the youth.
He highlighted that many young people are unaware of these initiatives, making it difficult for them to access the support they need.
Emogil also stressed that high taxes are stifling young entrepreneurs who attempt to start businesses after failing to secure employment in both the public and private sectors, further complicating their economic empowerment.
“AHF Uganda Cares patterned with the parliamentary forum for youth affairs, to gather the issues affecting youths, because when the concerned authorities are aware of the challenges the youths face it will help the duty bearers to know which programs work for youths and those that needs improvement so that youths can get good service delivery” he added.
Moses Kabalu, the Masaka regional prevention manager for Uganda Cares, said that young people living with HIV continue to face stigma, especially when trying to find jobs.
He pointed out that this issue is particularly problematic in security agencies like the police and army, as well as in the leisure and hotel industries, making it harder for these youths to secure employment.
“Youths living with HIV/AIDS need their voice to get to the authorities, being sidelined from serving in security agencies affects them since they also need to take part in the promotion of the national security and other development programs but because of information gaps about several government programs they end up losing out on these opportunities,” he added.
Maria Nagawa, a probation officer in Masaka, encouraged young people to change their mindset and adopt a positive attitude if they want to achieve their goals.
She advised them to actively participate in various government programs aimed at improving household welfare, such as the Youth Livelihood Program (YLP), EMYOOGA, the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), and the Parish Development Model (PDM).
Instead of constantly complaining, she urged youths to focus on these opportunities for growth and development.
‘”Young people you need to be open-minded if you are to succeed, always have a positive attitude if you to succeed in life, get lifelong skills, and explore available opportunities that will make you benefit from the government programs’ she added.
Dr Cecilia Natembo Masaka AHF Uganda Care director has asked youths to use the internet to seek relevant information that will help them succeed instead of only using it for fun.
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