The fight against gender-based violence (GBV) in the Southwestern region, has gained new momentum through a collaborative effort between AHF Uganda Cares and local health activists.
This initiative is aimed at sensitising young boys and men about the dangers and consequences of GBV. It further seeks to address the root causes of violence and promote a culture of respect and equality.
According to Moses Kabalu, the AHF Uganda Cares Masaka Regional Prevention Officer, the program called “Boys to Men” is designed to fill a critical gap in existing health initiatives, which have traditionally focused more on girls and women, leaving boys and men without adequate guidance on these issues.
This follows alarming statistics whereby a 2021 survey conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) revealed that 95% of women in Uganda have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives.
This pervasive issue is not only a gross violation of human rights but also a significant public health concern. GBV contributes to the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, with sexual violence being a key driver of new HIV infections.
In response, AHF Uganda Cares and other stakeholders are intensifying efforts to engage men and boys in the fight against GBV, aiming to create a more supportive environment for women and reduce the overall incidence of violence in the community.
Despite these efforts, reporting of GBV cases is still significantly low, with social stigma and inadequate training among service providers contributing to under-reporting.
“GBV is one of the drivers of new infections of HIV especially through sexual violence and remember men who are sidelined in most preventive measures are the perpetrators of GBV cases and we need men under this initiative of boys to men to know that their violent activities greatly affect women and the entire society and they need to stop these actions,” he said.
Frank Ssenfuka, the coordinator of Orphans and Vulnerable Children at Masaka Diocesan Medical Services, mentioned that Masaka still faces a big problem with people not reporting cases of gender-based violence (GBV). This makes it difficult to effectively combat the issue.
He further stated that many women and men experiencing violence don’t report it, and he urged everyone to speak up if they or someone they know is involved in GBV.
Still, Ssenfuka expressed concern that some people don’t report these cases because the service providers who are supposed to help them often lack the necessary skills, leading to poor handling of the situations.
According to Ssenfuka, many service providers who handle post-GBV (gender-based violence) cases lack the necessary skills, leading to inadequate responses to address the challenges at hand.
“As a result, they often mishandle cases or fail to report them properly. Some service providers focus more on making money from these cases or just imprisoning perpetrators, which doesn’t effectively address the issue,” he explained.
To improve the situation, he emphasised, these service providers need better training to handle GBV cases appropriately and support the victims rather than pursuing their interests.
Probation officer
Maria Naggawa, the Masaka District principal probation officer, praised AHF Uganda Cares for launching an initiative to empower boys. She emphasized that while girls are often empowered, they are still vulnerable to abuse from unempowered boys and men.
“This has led to persistently high rates of gender-based violence in the region,” she added. Naggawa further believes that empowering boys is crucial to effectively addressing and reducing these challenges.
In alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5, which aims to eliminate all forms of gender-based violence (GBV), the government of Uganda launched a National Gender-Based Violence Action Plan in 2016.
The plan mainly focuses on ending practices that promote violence against women and girls and establishing a framework to provide effective support and access to health services and justice for victims (UN Women Data Hub)).
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).
Different research also indicates that several factors that contribute to the under-reporting of GBV include social stigma and shame, fear of reprisal, concerns about confidentiality and being believed, and, in some cultural settings, a high tolerance for violence.
Findings from the most recent Afrobarometer survey in Uganda show that GBV is the most important rights issue that citizens say their government and society need to address. Even though a majority of citizens reject the use of physical force against women as “never justified,” half say GBV is common in their community.
Most Ugandans think the police take GBV cases seriously, but majorities also see domestic violence as a private rather than a criminal matter and think that women who report GBV to the authorities will face negative reactions from the community this has however made the fight against these practices hard.
END
English 