The Role of Parents in Child Protection in Nyamagana Municipality, Mwanza, Tanzania

Abstract

Despite the efforts done by the government and other public and private institutions in introducing and realising children’s rights including protecting them from physical, emotional and psychological despoiled, children are still being violated in different areas within communities. Family as a primary institution can play a huge role in protecting children against any form of violation hence, presence of different incidence of child abuse made it necessary to conduct the study on the role of parents in child protection in the study area. The study was conducted in Nyamagana Municipality in Mwanza, Tanzania because it is among the major areas in which issues of child abuse are mostly observed. The area has a mixture of different people due to the presence of different economic activities including business and mining. The study was guided by the Psychosocial Child Development Theory. The study employed Cross-sectional research design. The study found that most of the respondents are less aware of children’s rights. Furthermore, women in the study area are more obliged to raise their children but they fail to provide the required protection to them due to multiple responsibilities. The study also found excessive beating of children by their parents/guardian, denial to education and sexual abuse as the most reported child violations in the study area. Economic hardship, family separation and parents’ misunderstandings were reported as challenges hindering roles of parents in protecting children in the study area. The study recommends that, public and private sectors as well as civil society’s organisations to provide education to the community on the importance of protecting children