Gender based violence second to terrorism - Minister

By Joanita Tushabe and Cynthia Peng

State minister for Gender and Culture, Rukia Isanga Nakadama has said sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) is second to terrorism. 

She said besides government effort to empower women, the nationwide issue of gender based violence was still an alarming one.

“As a country we have shown progress but we are not yet there, the rate of sexual and gender based violence is extremely alarming, it comes second to terrorism,” said Nakadama.

The minister speaking at a function to commemorate the 4th anniversary of the United Nations Resolution on Women in Peace and Security at Hotel Africana.

She pointed out that the rate of gender based violence had become more prominent because more women were reporting abuse.

Catherine Awor the founder of a Lira based women’s group Women’s Peace Initiative Uganda (WOPI-U) said the problem was deeply rooted in culture is heightened in areas of conflict and war.

“In my interaction with these communities I have discovered that people perceive human-rights as a western concept…men feel threatened and want to assert their position as the patriarch,” she noted.

In a statement containing women’s experiences and demands for peace and security in Uganda, Awor highlighted the need for involving men in conflict resolution.

The same statement will be presented to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.