SECTION III: DEFINITION OF THE CHILD In consonance with the CRC and the ACRWC, the Children Act recognizes the child as any person below the age of 18 years. It would seem that the legal framework considered this age as one where a person is able to make informed decisions of life. In the Penal Code Act, a person below the age of 18 years is incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse. This consent is considered as ability to decide with full knowledge of the implications. The same age is considered as the age at which one can found a marriage as defined by the Constitution. There are instances where children below the age of 18 years take responsibility for certain matters. The age at which one cannot enter into any form of hazardous labour is 16 years in the national laws, though Uganda has ratified a convention that places it at 14 years. Equally, the age of criminal responsibility under the Children Act, Cap 59 is 12 years. There are a number of challenges regarding who a child is, and or what they are able to do. In some instances the national laws are still contradictory. For example, while the Constitution places the age of marriage at 18 years, some marriage laws provide for marriage at the age of 16 years or below. These include the Customary Marriage Act, the Marriage of Africans Act and the Marriage of Mohammedans Act. The Constitution being the supreme law of the land, its provisions overrule that of other national laws. However, this places difficulty on proper implementation of laws to adequately protect children. In the traditional setting, any person who is still under the care of their parent is considered a child. This applies especially to persons who are still in school even if they are above 18 years. On the other hand, children who marry or have children early are usually considered and treated as adults. For, example, a girl of 15 years who has a baby or is married is considered a woman as opposed to her colleague who is 17 years, not married and with no child. Other girls who are still in school but older than 18 years are practically considered children as opposed to the younger in the example above. This is limiting in as far as protection of children is concerned. The fact of early marriage or early child bearing does not make one any older than they are and does not take away their right to survival and development that goes with duty to them by those concerned. It is this skewed considerations that often lead to unfair practices as refusing pregnant girls or child mothers to continue with education. It may also account for the fact that parents force their pregnant daughters to marry the perpetrators of sexual abuse, in addition to what is defined as loss of value by the girl. Regarding the definition of a child, Uganda will need to do a lot more in terms of legal reform and community sensitisation. The current review of the Children Act will also create room to highlight those other laws that contradict the Constitution and the Children Act, such as the marriage laws. Equally, the age of marriage should relate to the age of consent to sexual intercourse considering that the current legal framework for Uganda assumes consent to sexual intercourse on marriage. Harmonising of laws is an urgent agenda for Uganda. This should be followed by simplification, translation and wide dissemination and education of all stakeholders. 12