Pupils at Kasalu Primary School in Nangoma appeared before Commissioners, today afternoon, and voiced out a range of concerns regarding early marriages and teenage pregnancies which they linked to peer pressure, poverty and the negative impact of nearby mining activities.

The pupils, aged between 12 and 17 years, openly acknowledged that many of their peers were engaging in early sexual relationships, some as young as 10 years old.

They cited group influence and the desire to fit in among peers as some of the drivers for girls’ early exposure to sexual relationships.

Another contributing factor, they revealed, was the presence of a gold mine in the area.

The pupils explained that boys chose to work at the mine rather than being in school to earn quick money, with which they enticed girls into relationships, ending in pregnancies.

“In most cases, it’s boys. When they go to the mine, they make a lot of money and start proposing love to girls. The girls fall for it, and ended up being pregnant,” one of the pupils said in a submission to Commissioners.

The pupils also submitted that the adults were exploiting the vulnerability of girls, especially those from poor families, by offering them money in exchange for sex.

They added that parents who were struggling with poverty married off their girls as a means of survival. Poverty, they said, continued to fuel the cycle of early marriages in their communities as some girls were dropping out of school to get married to miners or men with steady income.

To stop child marriages and the abuse of girls in Nangoma, the pupils proposed that children should not be exposed to risk environments such as mining areas where girls were being sexually abused.

The pupils also highlighted the need to strengthen reporting mechanisms for cases of child abuse in schools; as well as increasing community sensitisation on the dangers of early sex, child marriages and peer pressure.

They called on parents to play their part in supporting their children’s education.

Commissioners assured the pupils that the issues raised in their petition would receive the full attention of the Commission and followed up with relevant authorities to ensure the problems highlighted were addressed.

The Commission remains gravely concerned with the rise in sexual and gender-based violence and wishes to encourage parents and all persons who are aware of any sexual and gender-based violence been occasioned on any child to report such matters to the police or other relevant authorities.