Uganda— The Director of Finance at Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), Peter Mark Mutebi, has asked public and private organizations and other related players to take the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) outside workplaces and homes.
Presiding over the high-level stakeholder engagement in Hoima district by the RHU and partners Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE), Mutebi, said most of the GBV cases are happening in the homes, workplaces, and in countryside communities.
“Most of the cases that we do hear about are happening at work or in villages where women and girls are not empowered to report,” Mutebi said, adding that as “a young boy, I witnessed a lot of gender-based violence and bullying in my village.”
The Director of Finance also asked public and private sector players to refocus, find, and stop the drivers of gender-based violence.
“In rural areas mainly, I think it’s due to low levels of education, poverty, alcohol, and primitive beliefs that a man is above a woman even when a woman is feeding a man,” he said, committing, together with religious, cultural, and political leaders, to continue deliberate action in supporting communities in their campaign to end violence towards girls, boys, men, and women.
Sheik Musa Mabanja Atwooki, Hoima District Khadi, said religious leaders realized developments in creating an enabling environment for eliminating GBV through preaching and advocating for the enactment of laws such as the Domestic Act 2010, the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act 2009, the Penal Code Act Cap 120, and the FGM Act 2010, among others.
He added: “We want to ensure that we preach and advocate decision-makers to pass laws and policies and ensure that they are fully implemented.”Parliament established the Post Legislative Scrutiny Committee to ensure that the laws passed are implemented while also identifying gaps that need to be filled.
Approximately 650,000 teenage pregnancies were recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Figures from UNFPA show that since March 2020, when COVID-19 hit the world, an estimated 354,736 teenage pregnancies have been reported following the closure of all schools in the country for at least eight months.
An additional 290,219 pregnancies were reported between January and September 2021.
The above figures were highlighted during the 2022 commemoration of the 16 days of activism in Kampala, Bukwo, Isingiro, Rakai, and Hoima districts.
RHU did the activities in partnership with the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development (MGLSD), district local governments (DLGs), and under projects like PROMISE II, Power to Youth (PYT), Advance Family Planning (AFP), and Right Here, Right Now II.
Ruth Mwangangi, Chairperson of FUE, believes “there is no production when employees are sick or are abused at work.” we don’t need to marginalize them if we need good productivity,” and added that “I commit on behalf of this institution to ensuring that issues of gender-based violence, maternal rights, and sexual reproductive rights and services are incorporated in the 2023-2024 national budget by private employers.”
Gender-based violence, according to Kiiza Beatrice of Bugambe Tea, affects not only individual victims but also the development of the country’s workforce:
“so many are suffering from sexual harassment; please reach out and organizations put up anti-violence policies.”
Francis Eyilu, Hoima Sugar’s Human Resources Manager, thanked RHU, saying, “We partner with FUE and RHU to put in place policies to curb violence and harassment at work.” “Safety tools are important, but so are health safety tools too.”
Bwendero Darius Bainomugisha, Peer Educator: “We sensitize people about HIV/AIDS at workplaces.”
Joyce Katwesige, Miss Y+ Western Uganda, called for Ugandans to turn on the voices of marginalized people and advocate for their rights.
Violence against girls, boys, and women has recently taken new, more sophisticated forms. An increasing number of them are, for instance, reporting cyberbullying and abuse through social media and smartphones.
Nuliyati Nabiwande, Principal Labour Officer MGLSD said Gender Based Violence affects not only the individual victims but also the development of the country.
“To address Gender-Based Violence, we need to lay back and tackle the root causes of gender inequality. If we don’t address the root cause of violence, our efforts to eliminate it will be significantly less effective, the Principal Labor Officer said.
She also wants the Parliament and district local governments to advocate for and advertise shelters where women and girls facing violence can take refuge as they seek justice.
RHU put on the orange color and created “orange” virtual spaces, and communication methods e.g., drama by Tunaca Troupe, websites, social media accounts, etc., on November 25, 2022, and throughout the next 16 days until December 10, 2022.
The author Aldon Walukamba is the Media Advocacy and Documentation Coordinator at Reproductive Health Uganda
