Uganda’s Physical Violence decreases to 45%

This was revealed on Monday, 16th June, during the kick-off of a five-day training programme on preventing and responding to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) at K-hotel in Entebbe organised by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in partnership with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC).

According to Angela Nakafeero, the Commissioner of Women and Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Uganda’s physical violence is at 45%, sexual violence at 22%, child violence especially sexual violence against girls is at 25% and in most cases 24% of these girls become pregnant and mothers too, economic violence is also high, and neglect where parents neglect their roles and responsibilities.

“These rates show a decrease. For example, physical violence in the past years was at 50% and above as a result of collective efforts,” she added.

The Commissioner also noted that as far as the control of GBV is concerned, Uganda has now made over 25 GBV shelters available to accommodate victims of gender-based violence, specifically girls and women, for a period of one month.

“Located in different parts of the country, including Kampala, Jinja, Masaka, Mbarara, and Kamuli among others, the shelters have significant for us in this space of GVB prevention and response to have a point where girls and women with their families can stay as we sort out the issues at hand for one month however we also encounter cases that stay for over a month,” she said.

Nakafeero further emphasised the importance of the training on preventing and responding to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Uganda.

“This five-day workshop allows us to reflect on our own circumstances in Uganda and, of course, strengthen partnerships in terms of responding to these cases; so many Ministries, organizations and departments are represented here, and I believe that participants will come out knowing who to report to when they come across any case,” she noted.

While officiating the opening session of the workshop, Horname Noagbesenu, the KAIPTC’s Director of Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPMED) highlighted that research conducted by the WYPSI in 2020 revealed that the high rate of GBV is due to factors like the lack of local actors’ capacity, low persecution rates, lack of evidence and ineffective investigation among others, and impactful approach to eliminate this menace has been to re-examine the approaches adopted in engaging with local actors in the delivery of sensitisation and advocacy tools in our communities.

“One such innovative approach emanated from recommendations made during the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the UNSCR 1325 in 2020 at the KAIPTC, which consequently led to the birth of this new training programme. It identified that an impactful approach to eliminate this menace will be to collaborate with local actors in our communities. This led to the conduct of an online survey among stakeholders and the development of a manual based on the findings. Since then, this training has been delivered in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, South Sudan, Liberia and Ghana.”

She, therefore, emphasized that the training is tailor-made with the objectives, among others, to provide a cross-section of local actors with the requisite increased knowledge and skill sets to effectively prevent and respond to Gender-Based Violence.

“This initiative forms part of the KAIPTC-WYPSI’s broader strategic objective to build African capacity to fully implement the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and follow-up Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security in the context of Africa, with specific focus to assist member states to enanthate gender-are based violence,” she added.

Noagbesenu further explained that the training expectations are to contribute to strengthening the participants’ capacity and add value to their professional lives as they continue to support and promote the fight against GBV in the country and continent at large.

The Legal Officer of the Directorate of Women Affairs in UPDF, Rebeccah Cherotich lauded the initiative and as well as pledging total commitment to the GBV fight, saying, “We are going to improve on our capacity in investigation, response and tracking of GBV cases to ensure successful prosecution of those gender-based violence cases.”

The workshop will end on Friday with participants from over 20 organizations, Ministries and departments like the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, UPDF, and Police, among others.

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Johnmary Luwaga

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