The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (GBV), is marked across the world today November 25th, 2019. The Day is aimed at stamping out abuse of women and girls.
According to a statement by the United Nations, half of the women killed worldwide were killed by their partners or family.
It also adds that violence committed against women is as common a cause of death and failure for those of reproductive age, just like cancer, and a greater cause of ill health than road accidents and malaria combined.
According to March 2019 (UBOS)report, Uganda has made tremendous efforts in bringing about gender equity and equality through the various policies and program initiatives in place.
This is observed in the tremendous improvement in the physical and Sexual Gender-Based Violence (GBV), asset ownership and employment status indicators for the two periods analyzed in this report.
In 2017, defilement and domestic violence were ranked among the leading crimes in Uganda, constituting 20% of all crimes reported to the Uganda Police Force.
Violence results in lost productivity, even as draining resources from social services, the justice system, and health-care agencies. In Uganda, this is estimated to cost UGX 77 billion annually. The net result is enormous suffering for survivors that lasts a lifetime.
Women in the Albertine Graben have expressed concern over the rising cases of Gender-based Violence in the region.
The Women observed in an engagement meeting held in Hoima town, ahead of the GBV celebrations on November 25th, 2019 that many of them are enduring victims of sexual harassment, mistreatment, domestic violence, restrictions on freedom of movement, segregation, and forced marriage, among others.
They say much of the violence is often unreported due to impunity, shame, and gender inequality. The women have also expressed worry over the delay by the Police and courts to dispose of gender-related violence cases.
They now demand redress from the government, Civil society organizations, the police, and the courts to have women’s rights fully recognized and respected and those behind violations of women’s rights punished accordingly.
In Uganda, laws on gender-based violence have been put in place, but more needs to be done to ensure that violence against women and girls is universally unacceptable and perpetrators face the full consequences of their action.
The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, issued by the UN General Assembly in 1993, defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”, the UN highlighted on the Day.
The World Health Organization (WHO), says that women who experience physical or sexual abuse are twice as likely to have an abortion, and the experience nearly doubles their likelihood of falling into depression.
