Malik Jjingo
The fight against gender-based violence in Masaka communities has been joined by AHF Uganda Cares and local health advocates.
The goal of the project, according to Moses Kabalu, the regional prevention officer for AHF Uganda Cares Masaka, is to make boys aware of the risks associated with gender-based violence in their community as they grow into men.
Speaking to boys and men at a conversation gathering dubbed “boys to men” at the Uganda Cares Youth Centre in Masa Kabalu, the speaker pointed out that while men are the most common perpetrators of gender-based violence, most health initiatives focus on the girl child, marginalising the boy kid.
According to him, the effort will be very helpful in educating boys and men about the effects of gender-based violence in society and about ways that they can assist lower the incidence of this type of violence in their local communities.
He notes that a 2021 UBOS poll revealed that at least 95% of women have experienced GBV occurrences. He claims that there are three types of GBV, including sexual, psychological, and physical abuse, which are some of the most serious forms of injustice to women in the country.
In addition, Kabalu stated that incidents of sexual assault are a contributing factor to the number of new infections that have been reported in the area and the nation as a whole. According to AHF Uganda Cares, in order to address the issue of new HIV infections by 2030, the nation must take the lead and enlist the support of other stakeholders in the fight against all forms of violence.
“GBV is one of the leading causes of new HIV infections, particularly through sexual violence. Keep in mind that men, who are often ignored in preventive efforts, are the ones who continue GBV cases. As part of the Boys to Men initiative, we need men to understand the serious consequences of their violent behaviour on women and the larger community.
Masaka Diocesan Medical Services’ Orphans and Vulnerable Children Coordinator, Frank Ssenfuka, stated that the city is still facing difficulties in getting people to report GBV cases, which he claims has an impact on the battle against gender-based violence. He urges the people to always report if they are involved in GBV instances or if they witness these crimes in their neighbourhood. He claims that even in cases where women and men are experiencing violence, it might be difficult for them to report.
Ssenfuka did, however, express concern about the inexperienced post-GBV service providers, whom he partially holds responsible for people’s failure to report GBV instances in their communities because the cases are occasionally handled improperly.
“Many post-GBV service providers lack the necessary skills to handle cases, which causes some victims to wait to report the violence they experience. Some service providers only want to lock up the offenders, which hasn’t helped. The service providers need to be retooled with skills that can address GBV cases instead of just fueling them for selfish interests,” he continued.
The principal probation officer for Masaka District, Nagawa Maria, praised AHF Uganda Cares for initiating the initiative to empower boys. She also mentioned that a girl child who is empowered can be abused by an unempowered boy or man, which has resulted in a high number of GBV cases in the region.
The government of Uganda launched a National Gender-Based Violence Action Plan in 2016 with the goal of ending practices that encourage violence against women and girls and creating a framework to ensure support, access to health services, and justice for victims. This plan is in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 5 of the UN, which calls for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence (GBV) (UNHCR, 2016).
GBV is a critical problem in Uganda. The National Survey on Violence in Uganda reported that 95% of Ugandan women had experienced physical and/or sexual violence (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2021).
In 2021, the gender state minister said that GBV led to at least 168 deaths during the previous year (Nabatanzi, 2021). The 2016 Demographic and Health Survey revealed that seven in 10 women who had suffered sexual violence neither sought help nor told anyone (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2018).
Globally, fewer than one in 10 women who seek assistance after experiencing violence go to the police, often preferring to turn to family members or to remain silent (UN Women, 2021).
Social stigma and shame, fear of retaliation, concerns about confidentiality and being believed, and, in some cultural settings, a high tolerance for violence are some of the factors that lead to the underreporting of GBV (Garcia-Moreno et al., 2005; Kishor & Johnson, 2005; Bertram & Crowley, 2012; Sahay, 2021; United Nations, 2010).
According to results from the most current Ugandan Afrobarometer study, gender-based violence (GBV) is the most significant issue pertaining to women’s rights that Ugandans believe their society and government should solve. Although most people believe that using physical force against women is “never justified,” half of them claim that GBV occurs frequently in their neighbourhood.
The majority of Ugandans believe that the police take cases of gender-based violence seriously, but they also believe that domestic violence is a private matter rather than a criminal offence and that women who report GBV to the authorities will face backlash from the community. Despite this, the fight against these practices has proven to be difficult.