Breaking the Silence: Perceived barriers to safeguarding child and young athletes in Uganda and a rights-based framework for positive change

Over 8 million children in Uganda are considered vulnerable to various forms of maltreatment, of which sexual violence is experienced by 26 girls daily. In the context of Ugandan sport, the types and magnitude of violence against child and young athletes is yet to be determined. The study aims to: (1) examine the barriers associated with prioritizing and implementing policies and programs to safeguard child and young athletes against harassment and abuse in Uganda as perceived by local stakeholders across Ugandan sport, and (2) offer a rights-based framework for implementing positive change in sport safeguarding in Uganda and other countries of similar cultural backgrounds. The study includes eleven (n = 11) purposively selected participants: athletes, coaches, medical practitioners, and policy makers, all born and living in Uganda. This is a qualitative inquiry that involves online in-depth interviews. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) guides our exploratory analysis to examine context-specific barriers to better inform key recommendations for interventions. A rights-based, multi-contextual framework (TRAUMA) with multi-stakeholder engagement is proposed as a culturally tailored response for the safeguarding of child and young athletes in Uganda and other similar cultural backgrounds.