Our commitment to fight gender based violence

By Attilio Pacifici

The impact of violence against women and girls translates into setbacks on human capital development, drains national resources in huge cost of response services, lost productivity and at worst loss of lives, which ultimately deter the nation from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) targets.
 The Uganda Bureau of Statistics data reflects that 51.9 percent  of women aged 15 to 49 experience spousal violence, and 22 percent experience sexual violence. Thirty five percent of girls experience sexual violence and 59 percent of females report experiencing physical violence during childhood. 

As part of the national responses to this development challenge, on March 8, 2020 President Museveni launched the European Union- United Nations Spotlight Initiative programme in Uganda.  The Initiative, with a funding of €500 million globally from the EU, represents an unprecedented global effort to invest in gender equality and women’s empowerment as a precondition for the achievement of the SDGs.

 Uganda is one of eight countries in Africa and the only in East Africa to benefit from the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative. The programme  is implemented by the government in close partnership with seven UN agencies, eight district local governments and  30 civil society organisations, private sector, academia, religious and traditional institutions. 

The Spotlight Initiative is strongly focused on improving the legal and policy environment, institutional capacity strengthening, positive social norms change, improving service delivery, strengthening the capacity for quality data management and utilisation, and strengthening the women’s movement.  It is guided by UN Uganda’s vision of contributing to a transformed inclusive Ugandan Society where people have improved quality of life and resilience forsSustainable development. 

To achieve this, the programme is contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Corporation Framework 2021-2025, whose aim is to support the government to accelerate development and social transformation across Uganda, as outlined in Vision 2040 and the Third National Development Plan. 

Over the past two years, the Spotlight Initiative registered several achievements including advancement of critical pieces of legislation and policies. For instance,  the passing of the Employment Amendment Bill and the National Child Policy; Support to government efforts to meaningfully include gender-based violence and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights in the Third National Development Plan and its associated Programme Implementation Action Plans.

 There has also been increased awareness on violence against women and its negative consequences. More than 20 million people have been reached with gender-equality and behaviour change messages through a wide range of communication channels, business development skills and soft loans support for 1,120 women,  the provision of safety night lighting for people in refugee settlements, and the facilitation of Social Welfare services. Despite these gains, the Covid-19 pandemic and its control measures,  have escalated cases of GBV, defilement , child marriages, and teenage pregnancies.  From the onset  of the pandemic, a 60.5 percent spike in demand for GBV shelter services was recorded, while in refugee settlements, a 55 percent increase in reported GBV cases was recorded. 

As part of the government response, a Covid-19 sub-committee on GBV was established to which the  Spotlight Initiative contributed support .Collectively, we recognise that violence against women and girls cut across all ages, economic, geographical and cultural spheres, and that certain groups of women and girls are particularly at risk due to multiple forms of vulnerability and marginalisation. 

As the Spotlight Initiative in Uganda moves into the second phase,  the government will effectively coordinate the Spotlight Initiative through the mechanism of the National Joint Steering Committee and the Local Government coordination structures in order to deliver on the planned outputs. The EU Delegation  shall continue to support the Initiative and work towards gender equality in Uganda with a view to ensuring freedom from all forms of gender-based violence, promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights, contributing to economic and social rights of girls and women.  

The United Nations shall continue to deliver as one UN in engagement with the government, and collectively mobilise resources to support interventions on the protection of the rights and dignity of women and girls, while ensuring that women and girls that are most at-risk of being left behind  benefit.

The article is co-authored by  Ms Betty Amongi Ongom, Minister of Gender and Ms Susan Ngongi Namondo, the UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda.