Uganda is one of the countries that outlawed the use of corporal punishment in educational institutions. The Children (Amendment) Act, 2016 prohibits corporal punishment in schools.

Despite the laws, corporal punishment is still used as a way of disciplining learners in schools, and thus the implementation of protective policies seems to be left to the “goodwill” of adults while government’s attention remains limited to severe cases that attract media coverage.

Given this background, on Friday 28 April 2023, Raising Voices together with other civil society organizations, and the Ministry of Education & Sports launched the Positive Discipline Coalition to popularize the concept and practice of positive discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment in Ugandan schools and communities. See link to media coverage.

The Positive Discipline Coalition brings together individuals and organizations who are passionate about preventing violence against children to raise awareness in schools and communities about the dangers of corporal punishment while offering the solution in the use of positive discipline.

We are excited to share our 2022 Annual Report where we highlight innovations, challenges and accomplishments across our work. Explore all the details of our Practice, Learning and Influencing initiatives in 2022. We also reflect on organizational milestones and pivotal moments as we concluded our 2018-2022 strategic period.

Are you working to support activism and prevent violence against children (VAC) in your communities? If so, please check out our our latest resource: the Community Activism Toolkit (CAT). We are excited to introduce you to this tool, which provides organizations and individual activists with practical activities to mobilize communities for VAC prevention. Have a look inside–we believe that you will find some inspiring ideas you can use and adapt in your VAC prevention work.

Raising Voices would like to appreciate all of you helping us learn, grow and exchange through our Twitter account and online activism. Please join in the conversation here!

After a several months long, collaborative and meaningful process, we are excited to share our 2023-2027 Strategy with friends, partners, and colleagues in the violence prevention space. We have a bold vision for the next five years and can’t wait to get started on the next step in our journey, supporting safer and more flourishing environments for women and children.

Our YouTube page is filled with videos going into depth about the work we do to prevent violence in schools and communities! Our latest resources include a video describing self and collective care, as well as an exploration of the circles of influence we use in SASA! Together. 

Visit our page here and let us know what you think!

Have you been wondering how to facilitate SASA! discussions? We recorded a short video for the Start Power Poster activity to model good facilitation skills among partners implementing SASA! Together, SASA! Faith, and SASA!  This video can be used during practice sessions to role-play SASA! activities in your office with staff or in meetings with activists.

What is practice-based learning and how does Raising Voices center the concept in our work to prevent violence? Our new brief explores our experience with centering practice-based learning as a critical, political strategy to elevate knowledge grounded in practitioner and activist experiences. We also have tips for strengthening practice-based learning at your own organization! Learn more here.

To inform the design of a streamlined version of the Good School Toolkit called GST Agile, Raising Voices partnered with IDinsight to determine which components of the GST are most critical to reducing violence against children. This 2 page Evidence Brief provides an at-a-glance review of the most important lessons and implications for our work. Key implications for scaling effectively included (1) maintaining a whole-school approach, (2) strengthening an intersectional lens, (3) ensuring commitment of the school administration, (4) exploring innovations for effective community outreach and (5) streamlining the toolkit by simplifying activities and integrating them into school curricula. Read the full report here!

Are you interested in using SASA! Together to prevent violence against women in your communities? We are looking for organizations to join our next cohort to receive training and technical support on the SASA! Together approach. Click here to access the application form to read more about the opportunity and selection criteria. Applications due Friday, November 18.

Questions? Email onlinelearning@raisingvoices.org. We look forward to hearing from you!