Violence in schools, whether corporal punishment or gendered violence, contributes to cultures of violence and the acceptance of violence as a solution to problems. Limited resources are available in Uganda for creating safe schools. Schools are not always well protected and can be subjected to intruders or land grabbing. Due to the lack of running water at some schools, students need to trek long distance to fetch water, which compromises their safety. Conflicts and tension in the country is worsened by divergent political, economic, social and cultural ideologies and results in an unsafe environment for learners and teachers to travel from and to school. Men and boys in various capacities use their misperceived power to lure, entice, compel, or provoke girls into sexual abuse. In schools, teachers use power of marks, money, and their positions to sexually abuse girls and leave others pregnant, infected with HIV and other STIs while others with stigma and psychological trauma as a result of sexual violence.1 in 3 females and1 in 6 males experienced sexual abuse at childhood, leading to higher mental distress and affecting their ability to concentrate and perform well in class.

Existing child protection systems in Uganda are very weak, from schools to homes. It requires knowledgeable and skilled actors to address the issues of child protection, information on available provisions of the laws and how to apply them. Although Uganda has several key policies, laws and national action plans in place to address issues of child protection and sexual violence in learning institutions, the biggest hindrance lies in the implementation, from the national to the grassroot structures. Child protection systems and structures need to be built and strengthened to enable different actors to understand the basic legal and policy framework for child protection. Experiences from other countries would be needed for the establishment of sustainable structures and systems at community and school level and to strengthen the law enforcement structures right from the rights to the community.

There are deep-seated cultural and patriarchal norms, power-relations and beliefs that work to create conducive environments and incentives that promote physical, sexual and psychological exploitation against girls and women. Historical legacies of conflict and patriarchal control reinforce the status of the girl as a sexual object to primarily serve the interest of men. Girls are perceived as a source of income for the family in form of dowry, so they are easily married off at an earlier age compared to their counter parts. In most communities girls’ education is not prioritized. Different challenges are non-functional child protection structures, corrupt leaders through connivance with the perpetrators, negative cultural beliefs and attitudes and limited knowledge and skills among the actors to effectively play their roles and responsibilities, absence of a mechanism to disseminate and create awareness about the existing policies and laws that address issues of child protection.

Nimesh Ghimire is currently a Senior Fellow at the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, housed within Swarthmore College -- one of America\'s most prestigious liberal arts colleges. Prior to his current role, Nimesh served as Renewal Manager (Changemaker Campus) for Ashoka, a global organization that identifies and invests in social entrepreneurs globally. Nimesh has over 8 years experience in being deeply involved in experimenting with – and learning from – grassroots engagement and innovation models, having been a part of Nepal\'s National Innovation Center and co-led the design and implementation of two Innovation Labs in rural Nepal – a collaboration and resource space for community members to come together to design their own solutions to pressing local challenges.