Sexual abuse in households and its impact on girls’ school dropout in Uganda: A Literature Review

This paper examines the relationship between sexual abuse in households and school dropout among girls in Uganda. Despite increasing policy attention to girls’ education, limited focus has been placed on household-level sexual abuse as a contributing factor to school discontinuation. This study adopts a qualitative narrative literature review approach, drawing on peer-reviewed articles, policy reports, and institutional publications from 2010 to 2024. The findings indicate that sexual abuse significantly contributes to teenage pregnancy, early marriage, and psychological trauma, which disrupt girls’ educational trajectories. The review further identifies poverty, cultural norms, and weak enforcement of education and child protection policies as reinforcing factors. The paper highlights sexual abuse as a hidden but critical driver of educational inequality and recommends integrated interventions focusing on awareness, legal enforcement, and school re-entry support systems.