Child Abuse Research Outcome – John Olla

Children are often victims of attacks not from strangers but from people who are supposed to take good care of them. These perpetrators include their mothers, fathers and guardians.

During our joint research with the Critical Path Leadership Initiative on the need to understand the real “Perpetrators of Child Abuse, especially the school-age pupils in primary schools.”

Our research revealed some significant issues of discussion.

1. Children become victims of physical abuse, all in the name of moral upbringing or punishment; with the help of children who were the respondents, we identified common points and types of attacks during the abuse, which include knocks on the head, Forehead Knocks, Finger Strikes, Cheek and Jaw attacks, Hand Twisting, back, on the stomach, Buttock, Lap, Legs, Ear Pulling and Twisting etc.
2. In the course of the research, we were able to identify tools used by perpetrators of Child Abuse. The device ranges from minor to weapons criminals use to cause trouble or kill people. The devices are Knuckle, Hunger, Twisting and Pulling, Koboko (Horse Whip), Cutlass, Slap, Kicks, Razor Cuts, Typing and Hanging, Stick and Cane, Electricity Wire, Hot Iron, Slippers, Bite etc
3. Percentage distribution among the perpetrators reveals that 20% of the perpetrators are the guardians, 30% of their fathers, while the remaining 50% of the perpetrators are victims’ mothers