Gender-based violence (GBV) has been identified as a major factor hindering women from full participation in decision-making and benefiting from national resources in Uganda.

A study by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimated that GBV incidents cost the Ugandan economy about sh77b every year, while a survey by Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) recently established that GBV had a colossal cost on families.

Director of Programs at FOWODE, Elizabeth Ampaire said the prevailing GBV trends also directly affect the nature of Uganda’s demographics, which in turn has a direct bearing on the country’s ability to harness the demographic dividend.

The demographic dividend is the accelerated economic growth that may result from a decline in a country's birth and death rates and the subsequent change in the age structure of the population.

FOWODE says while the Third National Development Plan (NDP-III) recognises the need for mindset change and combating GBV (SGBV) to ensure full participation of women and girls in development, the structures mandated with this role are grossly underfunded.

Government allocated a meager sh7.64b for Community Mobilisation and Campaign programmes shared across more than 176 Local Governments for FY2022/23. This, according to FOWODE, leaves a funding gap of sh24.75b.

“Reduction of negative cultural practices and attitudes is one of the key mandates of the Community Mobilization and Mindset Change (CMMC) Programme, and its implementation largely lies under the auspices of Community Based Services Department (CBS) at Local Government level,” FOWODE states.

This was revealed on November 25, 2022 during the commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence under the theme “UNiTE! Activism to end violence against women and girls”.

The celebrations sought to remind government and the country at large of the fundamental task to ensure elimination of all forms of Gender-Based Violence.

“We are putting forward some key concerns that require urgent redress if the goal to eliminate GBV by 2030 is to be achieved,” says FOWODE.

Led by civil society and supported by the United Nations through the Secretary General, the international campaign focuses on the call for the elimination of all forms of GBV and culminates into celebration of the International Human Rights Day, slated for December 10, 2022.

FOWODE together with the other likeminded women rights organisations commended the Government of Uganda for its efforts in establishment of a gender sensitive legal and policy framework, and in particular for putting in place specific laws against GBV.

According to the Police Crime Report for 2021, a total of 17,533 domestic violence cases; 486 cases of rape; 14,570 cases of defilement, and 16,373 sex-related crimes, were registered.

“We need to bear in mind that many cases remain unreported due to stigma, the huge dependence on perpetrators for survival, intimidation, accessibility,” FOWODE said.

According to FOWODE, the prosecution rates indicate low access to justice for survivors of GBV.

For instance, in 2021, only 1,640 (9.3%) of domestic violence cases were taken to court and only 464 (2.6%) cases secured convictions. A total of 667 rape suspects were charged in court but 25 were convicted. Similarly, only 42% of the registered defilement cases ended up in court with only 939 cases securing convictions.

Recommendations

The Civil Society Organisations asked the Government through Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, to prioritise the recruitment of staff under the Community Based Services Departments in Local Governments to at least 70% to enable them reduce negative cultural practices and attitudes in society.

They also want funding for the community mobilisation and mindset change function, increased from sh7.64b to sh10bn in FY2023/24.

A 2020 assessment supported by UNWOMEN under the spotlight initiative revealed that besides the gender ministry, the proportion of the budget allocated to Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Local Government is below 5%.

Further to this, most agencies with key mandates on GBV have funding gaps. For example, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) had a funding gap of sh11.19b for FY2021/22 in operational shortfalls in the prosecution of complex cases.

“This challenge is further compounded by the conditional nature of funding to Local Governments which undermines their discretionary powers to allocate resources to interventions on VAWG and elimination of harmful practices,” according to FOWODE.

The CSOs also asked the Government to strengthen the mandate of key institutions responsible for GBV prevention, mitigation and management by revising the chart of accounts to introduce a specific budget code where all resources and expenses for VAWG/GBV can be tagged.

This, according to CSOs, will greatly improve on the ability to plan for and track GBV resources for consistent reporting.

They also demand for an adequate budget for the Child and Family Protection Unit (CFPU) of Police to effectively track, investigate and assist in prosecution of GBV related cases.

The CSOs propose that the CFPU is integrated in the new Sub-County based policing system (with CFPU staff present in every Sub County) to ease access to justice for survivors of GBV.

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” Audre Lorde said.