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Article History

Received: 17 December 2024

Accepted: 2 June 2025

First Online: 29 September 2025

Competing interests

: The author declares no competing interests.

: Approval of conducting this study was granted by the National Child Protection Committee (NCPC) of the Department of Children, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. The study methods and instruments were examined and authorized by the NCPC, which also approved the commencement of the study in September 2018 (DC/CPC/156).

: Informed consent was obtained from parents and their children in October 2018, when fieldwork commenced. Participants were assured that participation was entirely voluntary and were free to withdraw at anytime or skip questions they preferred not to answer. The research adhered to the principles outlined in the Helsinki Declaration, with all data anonymized to uphold the rights and confidentiality of participants.