Why are women vulnerable to GBV?
Some of the indicators that perpetuate domestic violence arise from alcoholism, poverty, early marriages as a result of school drop outs, cultural practices of bride price among others.
What you need to know:
According to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) 2022, cases of sexual and gender-based violence are still high. Some of the indicators leading to this include a case backlog of 1,045 complaints at the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC)
Ms Robinah Atugonza’s daughter had just finished P7, awaiting her results. It was then that a shamba boy in the neighbourhood (Kasongoire village, Budongo Sub County, Masindi District) started befriending her as to make her his wife.
“He lied to my daughter that he had no wife yet he had one in Kagadi. I later learned that he returned home and then sent my daughter transport to follow him. On noticing her disappearance, I started looking for her thus going to the chairman who after searching informed me that she had eloped with the man,” Ms Atugonza says.
Sharing with her husband, who was at her co-wife’s place, Ms Atugonza was accused of conniving with the man that had taken their daughter.
“My husband accused me of selling my daughter into marriage yet I did not get a coin. He stopped giving me financial help, even for our other four children, only to return every day at 1am asking for his daughter and promising to cut me,” she laments.
Scared, she went to radio stations to announce about the girl’s disappearance but was referred to police from whom she learned that her daughter was sick and in Kagadi. These later gave her transport to go for the girl although her husband distanced himself from her for fear of being arrested.
Ms Atugonza also found help in Forum for Women in Democracy who escorted her to get the girl. These also helped in skilling her in salon craft hence doing salon work now. “FOWODE counselled us and encouraged me to keep the communication lines with my daughter open,” she says.
According to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) 2022, cases of sexual and gender-based violence are still high. Some of the indicators leading to this include a case backlog of 1,045 complaints at the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC).
Reviewing the report, Ms Jennifer Achaloi, a human rights lawyer says it highlights a delay in accessing justice, and some judges having a limited capacity to handle emerging crimes such as cyber harassment.
“In 2023/24, the UHRC received Shs19b rather than SHs58b needed for the operation hence a huge case backlog. This limited funding is also crippling the commission’s ability to reach the vulnerable communities,” she says.
The 2023 Police crime report also shows that there were 14,681 domestic violence cases, and 14,846 sex-related cases.
Ms Mercy Grace Munduru, thehead ofprogrammes and fundraising at ActionAid International Uganda says if a man is conditioned to believe that as a head of the household,he must find food ready and his wife must serve him and be present as he has a meal, he expects no less. However, should the wife ask that he serve himself or say that the food is 30 minutes away, he may perceive that as disrespect.
“Owing to that, he can react negatively by maybe hitting her or a verbal exchange that could culminate in a fight. Ironically, that man, while in a bar, can get up and go to the counter for a drink without feeling that his power is being challenged because he is with equals,” she says.
Causes of vulnerability
Vulnerability is the quality of being easily hurt or attacked. Despite all efforts to combat GBV, in most relationships, women are still vulnerable to it. They are recipients of beatings and various abuse and there are several factors powering this vulnerability.
One of these is conditioning because when a child grows up in a home with GBV, their personality is formed to accept it as normal. On the other hand, when a boy grows up seeing that men get away with their demands, they are habituated to believe that that is how life should be. Therefore, the conditioning of a person determines how they live out life.
“The childhood experiences are a foundation for their adulthood life. Therefore, the girls pick up how people respond to physical abuse, such as the coping mechanisms and how they cover it up. They learn that some things should not be spoken about. That eventually affects how they deal with GBV later,” Ms Grace Linda Nabatanzi, a mental health practitioner says.
Women continue to suffer GBV because gender-based violence is often an issue of power- somebody negatively exercising their power over another whom they deem to be of a weaker sex. That is fostered by the patriarchal setup of our society where leadership is mainly exercised by men.
“Our societal systems enforce patriarchy, painting women as the weaker sex. Moreover, with power comes control so every time that power is challenged or is not responded to as expected, one will often be met with violence,” Ms Munduru says.
While many place the blame of fights in marriages on alcohol intoxication, which undoubtedly doubles the impact of GBV, it must be noted that the intoxication fuels power. With two abuses at hand- that of power and alcohol, it is unfortunate that women suffer the brunt of their abuser.
The World Bank report: Development Marketplace: Innovations to Address Gender-based Violence says poverty is a risk factor associated with gender-based violence; it also often intersects with and reinforces gender inequality. In some societies, men demand that women hand over the money they have sweated to earn. That is powered by the patriarchal society woven in a lack of understanding of their rights.
“When someone is financially incapacitated, they are robbed of the power to contribute to several discussions and decision making. That is why these women will accept whatever the man does, becoming vulnerable to the man. Nonetheless, that does not negate the fact that even those that make the money are still battered,” Ms Munduru says.
Educational impoverishment is another reason why many women are vulnerable to GBV. In light of that, many are stripped of their rights and treated as less of human beings. Could it also be the reason why some men are weary to marrying highly educated women? Some of the reasons these men give is that an educated woman cannot be controlled.
“The more educated one is, the better they are able to make better financial decisions, who they get married to and can also take care of themselves,” she says.
Breaking the cycle
While there is still high vulnerability of women to GBV, research and work among communities gives hope that the tide can be turned around.
Ms Munduru gives one of these as reconfiguring the conversation around gender roles in homes which are fading. For instance there are male chefs, female engineers.
“More men are participating in sharing household chores without feeling less of a man. It is because they know that the children are theirs as well and joining in the household work contributes to a better home,” she says.
There is also an aspect of encouraging women who have suffered GBV to start speaking about it. Ms Nabatanzi says when a woman hears another come out about their experience, it empowers them to open up, which breaks the cycle.
“Gender-based violence is a term. However, when we put a face to it, then more women will start opening up and seeking help,” she says.
Crafting clear policies that frown upon GBV, and a clear punishment system for perpetrators is needed in the fight against the vice.
Furthermore, when good policies are created and implemented, the systems then work in tandem. These systems include justice, and health systems, which need to be reworked to address the bottlenecks propagating GBV.
In 2010, Action Aid financed the judiciary to do special sessions for gender-based violence in 11 districts. That was done in a victim-centred way whereby victims feel safe, while also fostering perpetrators to reform.
Additionally, last year Action Aid launched the sexual and GBV bench book, a guiding document to help judicial officers apply a gender lens when deciding cases.
“Until GBV is clearly articulated for what it is and perpetrators are brought to book, the behavioural pattern will not shift,” Ms Nabatanzi says.
Mind-set change is also crucial in this fight and one way is through creating male champions. These are men given to changing the narrative around some traditions and practices that promote GBV in communities.
“We engage with people with the power to change narratives such as men, humanitarian workers, employers, teachers and landlords. We educate them about the risks and consequences of GBV,” Ms Rita Nansereko of African Women and Youth Action for Development.
Creating a safe space for these girls and women has also helped to make recovery of affected person possible. Places with such spaces include Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), ActionAid, and Care International, among others.
Financial empowerment has also helped in the fight of GBV as most of these girls and women are preyed on by those of higher financial status than they are. These could be their husbands, fathers or even the boda man that buys for the girl pads and later asks for sex.
Therefore, CSOs such as FOWODE offer financial training and skilling to these women and girls to break the dependency on the perpetrator. This training is tailored to who they are, what they do and the resources available to them say, land next to her kitchen, or a community women's savings group.
GBV is done by humans to humans. Therefore, breaking the chain that empowers the perpetration of the vice, such as empowering the victims to speak up and educating the girl child will ease the hold it has on our society.
