Pimer says building confidence in physical resistance skills allows women to feel more capable and at peace. Photos by Ritah Mukasa

National Sexuality Education Frame work 2018, stipulates that self-defense is among the life skills that are relevant to sexuality.

It further recommends that women's empowerment based self-defense training should be part of any sexual violence prevention effort.

In that faith, Peace Pimer founder of Nile Girls' Forum (NGF), embarked on training adolescent girls and women, in self-defense.  She finds them in their communities and workplaces. 

NGF is a girl-led organization focusing on elevating resilient girls and young women with an emphasis on equitable leadership, age-appropriate Sex and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and skills development.

Meanwhile, recently, Pimer trained 60 staff at Fairway Hotel. They were taken through the basics of; Why, how, when and where they need to defend themselves.

They were also trained on how to harness their surroundings to keep themselves and others safe and what to do in case they land into trouble.

"Self-defense opens up a source of freedom for women in the challenging world," she says.

Pimer adds that building confidence in physical resistance skills allows women to feel more capable and at peace in potentially dangerous areas as they know the proper techniques to help fend off an attacker.

Sharon Likicho, a peer pal says that apart from the defensive techniques, trainees were also given a related educational program to inform and teach them about matters related to sex and sexual behavior, attitudes and responsibilities.

"Women self-defense training has been excluded from sexual violence prevention effort for different reasons," she notes listing them as, "There are concerns that it is ineffective, encourages victim-blaming, neglects acquaintance assault and does not target underlying factors that facilitate sexual violence."

Pimer is quick to add that empowerment based self-defense training helps to change the root conditions that allow violence against women to flourish.

Who they do it with

NGF collaborates with professional self-defense trainers, civil society organizations and the private sector to pull off the trainings.

"This time we collaborated with the hotel to carry out the training. Our target group is adolescent girls and women," she highlights.   

From Kampala, they plan to take the training to girls in rural Uganda starting with West Nile.