In Northern Uganda. It was very tough because some of these things i had not experienced. A father having Sexual Intercourse with a daughter. Granddaughter. Theres nobody who can really support the person who has been raped. To me, i look at thisjustice, its a weakjustice. This region suffered a 20 year hideous insurgency. About 55 dead bodies myself. I describe it as the war was fought in the body of the woman and the woman became the battlefield. The war ended about 15 years ago. But is the post conflict legacyjust as horrific as the war itself . I was born in uganda, and most of the early part of my life was spent in uganda. After the recent lockdown due to the covid pandemic, there were these horrific tales that came out of this country about an increase in teenage pregnancy. But there seemed to be even more tales that were coming from Northern Uganda, particularly about abuse of young girls. And i was interested in finding out what exactly was happening here in the underbelly of this society. That is why i came to Northern Uganda. The population of this region isjust over 2 million. And with close to 70 of People Living in poverty, its one of the poorest regions in the country. This city, roughly 330 kilometres from the capital, kampala, is the commercial and administrative city of the north. Im starting here at the regional general hospitals antenatal ward. Good girl. Cha cha cha cha, baby. Cha cha. From the last Financial Year report, about 23 of our pregnancies were teenagers. If im talking of teenage mothers, all of them are defiled. They are teenagers. They are not supposed to be pregnant. In uganda, defilement means unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a girl below the age of 18, which is the age of consent here. So a quarter of the babies this team helped deliver safely are born to child mothers. Teenage pregnancies is a challenge in our system. A young mother alone is a complication in itself. She has been in labour since yesterday. If a girl is under 14 or her abuser is a carer or hiv positive, or a repeat offender, it becomes aggravated defilement. Incest is a separate crime under the penal code. Because they are young, their body is not developed to handle a delivery, a pregnancy and all. And youll find that Young Mothers are the highest proportion of those dying in labour. The younger the mother, the more the complication. A harrowing report published during the pandemic reflected a 300 increase in girls aged 10 to 14 giving birth in uganda as a whole. The figures are highest in rural areas. So im heading out of the city to a regional district. It is a Sunday Morning and the joyous sound of the Church Service emanates across the countryside. Im meeting a group of women who have met through the church and have joined forces to help their community. Praise the lord grace is visiting a little girl who is eight months pregnant and living alone. They think she is 11 or 12 years old. This childs parents� Cassava Business failed, so they returned to their village far away to farm, to try to provide something for theirfamily. No one knows who the father is, or what happened here. We are only allowed to film here with the local Community Leaders support. David is in loco parentis, and wants to raise awareness of the Sexual Violence happening here. She was left here, because its nearer to the school. But the unfortunate part, the next room here, is where people drink and are exposed to a lot of challenges. When she looks at other fellow girls who are not pregnant, she cries. That is her lifestyle. In a week, we always have, like, three cases of defilement. Sometimes we have to tie them with ropes and escort them to the police. But they dont bother to follow it up, there is no one who can support the person who has been raped. To me, i look at thisjustice system, weakjustice. Its odd to be in this place, even heartbreaking. Her parents have left her here, ostensibly for her to be able to get a better education. But here she is, pregnant, alone. Frightened. Im utterly disgusted and appalled. But also it gives me a sense of helplessness. What does it mean for the next generation . Is this really the new normal . I grew up in the south, and in many ways it was another world. A war and insurgency ravaged this region for 20 years, known in the west as coney� s war. They will come and take revenge raids. This man led the resistance army, a rebel group which wanted to overthrow the government. The rebels in Northern Uganda have been active. There have been about 25 dead bodies. He was infamous for his Inhumane Treatment of those he abducted, maiming, cutting off limbs, forcing people through fear. It is estimated that 40,000 children were abducted and 1. 7 Million People were internally displaced, created by the government. In theory, to keep people safe. It wasnt until 2008 that the war came to an end, though the perpetrator� s whereabouts are still unknown. The war here is a highly relevant context. This woman runs an organisation working with the Community Post war. Living within a Toxic Minefield environment had long term effect on the community. People were used to seeing dead bodies, people begin to think that sexual and gender based abuse seems to be not the highest level of abuse. Sexual abuse was used as a military strategy. I describe it as the war was fought in the body of the woman, and the woman became the battlefield. One woman described the situation where she was abducted with her three sons and two daughters. And they say, we want your son to sleep with you, or else we shall shoot you now. But the son said no. 0ver my dead body, i cannot sleep with my mother in front of you. But the mother begged the son and said, please, you need to do this and you need to stay alive. The war brought further challenge for the thousands of abductees who returned, many children born in captivity simply dont know their parents and may have been born across the border. In the ugandan constitution, they are considered stateless, they dont exist on paper. Pamelas organisation works with returnees. They miss out on opportunities. So we did skilling of these girls, some of them decided to choose a Baking Academy and learned many skills in baking. And now they are using it as a business for their own empowerment. Eunice� s mother and aunt were abducted when they were teenagers. Both women bore children in captivity. Her mother died at their hands, but her aunt, who had twins, took eunice as her own child, too. After a decade in captivity, they were released to a fractured community. It took years for eunice to know her true story, which has taken a toll. Eunice� s baby is living elsewhere with another aunt. Were told there are too many children here to look after properly. But a small hope lies in her baking business. Its over 15 years ago that the lra were formally driven out of Northern Uganda. But after effects of the insurgency continue to ripple through the society. The stories that ive heard from these two women are heartbreaking. I cannot imagine how eunice copes with the multiple layers of loss and rejection. She is one of so many with scars that are incomprehensible and the lack of anyjustice only goes redress to seems a threat to society. Whilst we have been in the community, i have been put in touch with a lawyer from the ngo. Just like pamela, her experience has defined her career path. Growing up here, i saw so many children gets defiled and most of those parents did not have the resources to pursue the justice that their children deserved. With these sexual offences, perpetrators are always known to the victims, in most cases it is a relative. It was very tough, because some of these things i had not experienced them. A father having Sexual Intercourse with a daughter, granddaughter, it was very traumatic for me. And i think here and there, i would literally break down. Eunice is alerted to some of the cases of defilement and gender based violence that do get reported to the police. Today, she is taking us with her as she visits the family of one of the most acute cases of Sexual Violence and incest shes been dealing with over the years. Were going to visit a family of a child who was defiled when she was about three years. Yes, when she was defiled. She was defiled by her stepfather� s brother. The mother didnt notice until her Walking Style and things changed and when she asked her about it, she finally disclosed the person who had Sexual Intercourse with her. In most cases, the family tries to make sure the issue is handled within the family, without having to seek recourse at police or take legal action. Even when a case is taken up by the police, justice here seems to come at a price. You have to literally pay your way to get justice. You have to pay money for fuel to have the suspect apprehended. Youre supposed to provide feeding for them while they are still at the Police Station, because at the Police Station they dont have provisions for feeding. When you go to the health centres, medical people dont allow you to fill police forms without being paid. When you look at the community that i am in, the Poverty Level is very high, so its a big challenge. Medical and Police Reports confirm the abuse, and on top of everything, this little girl was infected with a sexually transmitted disease. A tragic piece of evidence in this case. The suspect was held for six months, but because some legal due process wasnt followed correctly, he was released on bail. This mother simply hasnt the means to keep pursuing. This particular case is not the only case of defilement being done on a very young girl, and she doesnt get the justice that she deserves. We have a number of them. I think it says a lot why most people dont have trust in the justice system. Because if a four year old doesnt get the justice that they deserve, what happens to a 16 year old . What happens if you dont have money . There is a lot of corruption, people dont feel. If you get money, you get out, that is whats happening, that is what happens. Not one of the instances of sexual abuse ive seen here have been successfully prosecuted. And hearing that the victims must pay police and supply the alleged perpetrators meals in custody, beggars belief. The head of the police force here agreed to meet with me. Now, with the corruption, it has been a perception that police is corrupt. But not all are corrupt. Just like any other institution. We have good ones and bad ones. We are not supposed to ask a victim to pay for our services. But sometimes you have to accept that we can run out of fuel. Because we are given per month. So there is that possibility, that maybe at the time when the crime has been committed, the Police Officer at a particular station has run out of fuel. If the police really have no fuel to arrest child abusers, and hold victims to ransom, what hope forjustice here . Perhaps this regions Minister Of State for justice can shed light. I cant deny corruption, corruption is there. It is at all levels, even at ministries level. We have lots on defilement, lots on incest, but somehow, again, Peoplejust Go behind the law and bribe police. There are cases which have been prosecuted but the number is not high. From the cases which were reported, only 6 reached court, thats what they told me. Defilement has a consequence. Imprisonment and fine, imprisonment of 20 years. But its difficult to enforce. Somehow. I dont know whether to be grateful for her honesty, or horrified at the acceptance of the hideous status quo. We have been unable to get confirmation of whether any case of defilement has actually been successfully prosecuted, recently. It seems this area has become a preying ground where abusers are on top of the law. Those who can pay, win. I hold some optimism that women like the mothers, pamela, eunice, the doctor, will help many caught in the hideous web. But is it a drop in the ocean . Surely, its time the government woke up to what is happening here, if the future of girls here is ever going to be bright. Hello. Bank holiday monday did not feel the same everywhere. In wales, it was the warmest day of the year so far, 19. 7 celsius in cardiff, very close to 20 celsius. Compare that with just 6 celsius across many parts of shetland, some Cold Arctic Air digging its way down from the north. Behind this strip of cloud here, a very weak weather front, but that will still be with us into tuesday in the form of this band of cloud, which will be slung across many parts of the uk to start the day. Underneath this cloud, some spots of rain and drizzle. Through the day, the South West Of England should see some sunshine, albeit with some fog around the coasts. Wales, the West Midlands brightening up too, Northern Ireland as well, although there is the chance of catching a shower. More cloud further north and east, although Northern Scotland should stick with some brighter skies. It will be rather chilly across some northern and eastern parts, whereas out towards the west, say western counties of Northern Ireland, we could be looking at 18 19 celsius. Through tuesday night, more cloud will topple its way across Northern Ireland into Western Scotland with the odd spot of rain. The clearest of the skies and the lowest of the temperatures will be found across eastern england. Some places in east anglia getting close to freezing. But into wednesday, it will be southern parts of england, wales, the midlands, east anglia that see the best of the sunshine. More cloud for northern england. Northern ireland cloudy at first, although it should brighten up a little here. For scotland, the cloud will produce some spots of rain, particularly up towards the north west. Temperatures between 10 16 celsius. The breeze strengthening in the south later with the odd shower down towards the far southwest. And for thursday, we will see more widespread showery weather pushing its way northwards across a good part of england and wales into Northern Ireland. Something a little bit drier but rather cloudy across scotland. And with this keen easterly breeze coming in off the chilly waters of the north sea, if youre spending your day along the east coast, it will feel really rather cool. And even further west, not as warm as it has been, 17 celsius the high for london. Now into next weekend, its another bank holiday, it is the coronation weekend, of course. And this is not great news if you were hoping for dry weather because weve got low pressure in charge, a frontal system pushing in from the west. So that brings at least the chance for some rain at times. Well firm up on the details, and well keep you up to date. Live from washington. This is bbc news, welcome to viewers on pbs in america. The us president summons congressional leaders to the white house amid warnings the country could fail to meet its Debt Obligations as early asjune. Fears from the un that the situation in sudan is turning into a � full blown catastophe� as a failed ceasefire gives way to more violence. Chaos in france, as may day protests turn violent. Widespread anger again, over plans to raise the pension age to 64. Hello, im sumi somaskanda. We begin tonight in washington, where the us debt ceiling fight is heating up, with both sides showing no room for compromise yet on an issue that impacts the global economy
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