GENDER BASED VIOLENCE GBV IS A DEVELOPMENT ISSUE

GENDER BASED VIOLENCE (GBV) IS A DEVELOPMENT ISSUE Strategies Adapted by the Government and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to Address GBV in Domestic and Public Spheres in Uganda Paper Presented in a conference to mark the 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence at Uganda Christian University, Mukono campus. The conference based on the main UN theme: “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Make Education Safe for All!”. Solomon Mwije solomonmwije 33@yahoo. co. uk © 2015

Paper Discussion Content �The discussion in this paper majorly concentrates on two issues: ◦ 1) GBV is a development issue �causes and effects related to development, but also succinctly bring out how development can reduce GBV and its impacts; ◦ 2) Strategies adopted by the government and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) �to address GBV in the domestic and public spheres in Uganda but not exclusively forgetting the challenges and missing links in these strategies

Introduction �The gender differences in power relations result into differences in resources accessibility, life opportunities, and benefits for both men and women and boy and girls in their life time. �One of the most concomitant effects of such gender differences is Gender Based Violence (GBV). ◦ 35% of women worldwide experience different forms of violence I ◦ In some national studies the percentages goes to 70% and beyond. ◦ More than two-thirds of ever-married Ugandan women (68%) have experienced any kind of violence (physical, sexual or emotional) by a husband or other intimate partner ◦ and 7/10 women have experienced either physical or

Introduction Cont. �Gender involves; social, behavioral, cultural attributes, expectations, and norms associated with being a female or male (woman or man) �Results into social-cultural, political, and economic gender inequalities. �Inequalities result into and perpetuate gender based violence (GBV) �Most people confuse gender with women! ◦ Thus confusing GBV with violence against women (VAW. GBV is broader than VAW because both women and men girls and boys experiences it but affects children and women disproportionately.

Gender Based Violence (GBV) � The United Nations (1995)defines gender based violence as ◦ “any act of violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to men or women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life” � Key important aspects 1. Violence /aggression (intentional or unintentional; verbal or nonverbal) 2. Occurrence (private or public) 3. Intention (conscious or unconscious harming) 4. Likelihood (suffering from the violent acts) 5. Perpetrator or survivor (female or male)

Forms and Acts of GBV � Physical ◦ Pushing, hitting, grabbing, beating, hair pulling, banging head on the floor or wall, kicking, choking, burning, use of a weapon, FGM or other harmful traditional practices, etc. � Psychological ◦ Shouting, swearing, insults, threatening violence, humiliating, locking someone out of the house, criticizing, extreme jealousy, threatening to hurt the children, threatening abandonment, constant questioning about someone’s activities, etc. � Sexual ◦ Forced sex/rape, marital rape, unwanted touching, grabbing sexual parts of the body, inserting objects into someone’s private parts, coercion, unfaithfulness, making someone do sexual things against their will, refusal to have protected sex, forced prostitution, forced marriage, defilement etc. � Socioeconomic ◦ Withholding family finances, stopping someone from getting or keeping a job, demanding someone’s earnings, spending jointlyearned family income without your spouse’s consent, preventing someone from owning property or inheriting land, not allowing someone to have money, denial of opportunities, such as education, etc.

Factors associated with GBV prevalence �Poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, previous experience of the abuse, gender related traditional norms and customs, socio-economic and political empowerment especially by women, weak community sanctions and state laws against perpetrators, weak judicial systems, among others. �These factors give a reflection of causes of poverty thus showing a relationship between gender inequalities, GBV, and

Implications of GBV to Development at Household Level �GBV has negative impacts on agriculture, income security, health, and education thus affecting the general wellbeing ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Household productivity Survivors can lose jobs, Children get malnourished Children dropout of school Survivors have high risks of acquiring HIV/AIDs Psychological problems The costs of treating survivors and filling cases against perpetrators ◦ The end result is increased poverty characterized through isolation, vulnerability, powerlessness and physical weakness of the survivors but also perpetrators.

Implications of GBV to Development at Community Level �GBV at community level is mostly attached to all other agents of socialization. Implications include; ◦ Community production ◦ Vulnerability to extreme poverty ◦ Survivors susceptible to HIV/AIDS and other health problems ◦ Denial of basic needs, for instance health services to women, education to children, and food, etc. , limits survivors to enjoy their rights thus challenging life sustenance

Implications of GBV to Development at National and International Level �The state is both a direct and indirect perpetrator of GBV. �It is viewed as a direct perpetrator: ◦ When the state fails to protect the rights of citizens ◦ When it formulates and implements policies and laws that disregard human rights ◦ When it adventures on the minority groups (such as women, prisoners, disabled), ◦ When it denies the responsibility for acts of GBV done in the domestic spheres, among other acts; �The state can also indirectly perpetrate GBV ◦ If it fails to review gender insensitive laws and policies ◦ Fail to allocate resources to programmes that address GBV or promote gender equality.

Implications of GBV to Development at National and International Level � GBV has multiplier effects on economic, social and political development and such effects may, in short -run and long-run, affect development processes of any state ◦ Direct costs are actual expenditures related to GBV ◦ Indirect costs represent the value of lost productivity from both paid work and unpaid work ◦ Foregone value of lifetime earnings for those who have died as a result of GBV ◦ Food insecurity ◦ Reduced income levels of people thus affecting national Growth Domestic Product (GDP ◦ Amplifies school dropout and health risks thus affecting national human capital, ◦ Increases levels of corruption in at all levels, ◦ Enhances and enlarges inequalities: - undermines survivors’ capabilities of participating in development processes

STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS TO ADDRESS GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN THE DOMESTIC AND PUBLIC SPHERES IN UGANDA. �Knowing such kinds of statistics in most communities (whether in public or domestic spheres) gives many actors a leverage to devise a combination of economic, social, and political and legal measures to address GBV through transforming personal attitudes and cultural norms that propagate GBV to create social change.

Strategies �Adoption of international and regional policy frameworks ◦ Some of the international policy instruments that policy makers can refer to when taking action to make a difference include, �The 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), �The 1995 Beijing Global Platform for Action, and �The 2008 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development (SAFAIDS, 2010), etc ◦ Some of the regional policy instruments include; �The 2003 Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (also known as the Maputo Protocol), �The 2006 International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Protocol, and

Strategies Cont. �The national legal and policy reforms: �Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, �Children’s Act, �Domestic Violence Act, �Penal Code Act, Land Act, �Female Genital Mutilation Act, �The pending law being discussed by the legislatives is the Marriage and Divorce Bill ◦ Other government policy frameworks that have helped in addressing gender issues include the �Decentralization strategy and �The 2007 Uganda Gender Policy. ◦ The National Gender Based Violence Policy is under formulation hoping to guide actions of different groups engaged in prevention and

Strategies Cont. �Provision of legal help: Judicial / legal systems ◦ The government and CSOs help in securing justice through supporting survivors and communities to access judicial services ◦ CSOs are also involved in offering legal aid to GBV survivors. �For instance, FIDA-Uganda the Association of women lawyers (established in 1974)

Strategies Cont. �Protection survivors: and giving shelter to ◦ The establishment of the Family Protection Unit with police stations ◦ A number of CSOs (local, national, and international) also provide temporary shelters for GBV survivors. �Examples: Tororo by MIFUMI project, Mubende and Nebbi shelters by Action aid International Uganda. ◦ The services offered at these centers include �provision of temporary accommodation/shelter, protection from perpetrators, counseling, prosecution, representation in court, provision of medical care, provision of basic needs food clothing etc

Strategies Cont. �Resource allocation ◦ Funds through the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development ◦ Local Councils budget for women programmes ◦ NGOs fund and implement GBV projects using partnership strategies and such agencies and organizations include �World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), CARE-international, OXFAM, Action. Aid International, and Irish Aid among others

Strategies Cont. �Empowerment of GBV survivors ◦ Affirmative action ◦ Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE), but also Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) programmes ◦ CSOs as major catalysts of empowerment in communities �National Association of Women’s Organizations (NAWO), Women and Rural Development Network (WORUDET) located in Pader district, Raising Voices, CARE-International, Action. Aid, The Center for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP), among others

Strategies Cont. �Research and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E): ◦ Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development ◦ Uganda Bureau of Statistics ◦ Organizations such as Action. Aid International, Raising Voices, CAREInternational, FIDA-Uganda, UWONET, WHO, etc �Information dissemination in form of posters, bulletins, newspapers, magazines, journals, among other publications, but also through radio and television programmes

The Strategic Missing Links in Strategies Addressing GBV by Government and CSOs �Words on paper and in talking are missing in action. �The loopholes in some strategies have limited the government and CSOs to address gender issues especially GBV in domestic and public spheres.

Strategic Missing Links �Legal pluralism �None engagement of men/boys in strategies �Limited of coordination among relevant actors / stakeholders �Poor policy and law formulation and implementation �The missing political will �Undermining cultural norms and religious values: �Limited resource allocation: �Inadequate Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of working strategies

Way Forward � Engage of men/boys in strategies � Coordination among relevant actors / stakeholders � Policy and legal reforms (have one formal legal system) � Increase women representatives and motivate them to influence political decisions � Use cultures and religions (Put measures that integrate cultural norms and religious values) � Improve resource allocation and eliminate corruption � Train authorities on GBV issues (police, teachers, health workers, LCs, etc) � Mainstream gender issues in school curriculum, organizational cultures, etc � Continuous research, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and sustainable information dissemination

CONCLUSION �As long as power relations between males and females are still dominant GBV will still persist �So; promote gender equality and in turn reduce GBV �Liberty in word (talking and writing) does not of itself transform into liberty in action!! �Do something !!