The district of Arua has registered a surge in defilement cases with over 1,000 cases reported between January and June this year.
According to records from the district probation and social welfare department, at least 1,008 young girls between 3 and 17 years of age were defiled over the past six months.
The most affected sub-counties are Arivu, Ajia, Vurra, and Logiri.
The Arua District Probation and Welfare Officer Stephen Eguma says that most of the affected girls are of school-going age, while the perpetrators of the vice are mostly relatives of the girls who are supposed to take care of them.
Jimmy Anguyo, the Child and Family Protection Unit head at Arua central police station -CPS says that although some defilement cases are reported to police, others go unreported since some parents prefer negotiating with the suspects.
According to Emily Drijaru the executive director of integrated child services consults, a local NGO in Arua the escalating defilement cases are blamed on poverty, poor parenting, and the prolonged lockdown that led to the closure of schools.
She adds that there is a need for massive sensitization about the vice noting that if no action is taken, the number of girls being defiled could even double in the coming year.
