The Speaker of Uganda’s Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has asked MPs to speak out against issues relating to children.

Kadaga spoke on Tuesday at the Kampala Serena Hotel while officiating at #UgMPs4Children dialogue held to bolster efforts to fight violence against children.

The Speaker said she had no problem with calling a special sitting on children’s issue but tasked MPs to take the campaign to their constituencies.

“It is worrying that there is silence on violence against children. We need to come out and address these issues; I’ve no problem holding a special seating to address this,” Kadaga said.

“As you go to your constituencies please remember to talk about the children. We need to speak about issues of children in our constituencies as we talk about other issues,” she addressed the MPs.

Olive Lumonya, the chairperson of Uganda Child Rights NGO Network (UCRNN), a coalition of child-focused organizations, said there was “need for collective effort to end violence against children”.

MPs who attended the dialogue expressed support for the campaign to end child abuse.

MP Bernard Atiku, the Chairperson of Parliamentary Forum on Children, said Uganda was profiled as having extreme cases of violence on children, but added that the east African nation was also known as “a pathfinder in the campaign against child violence”.

“Each MP should carry message against child violence to their constituencies,” he emphasised.

Stories of how children have been abused were aired while posters of the same were hung around the walls.