By Guest Writer
Opinion: Gender-based violence is a global public health emergency that has plagued girls and women throughout history. Women suffer depression, abandonment of families, and other tragic consequences, but most will conceal them.
During the COVID-19 period, gender-based violence cases rose by over 20 percent, as reported by the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development, where most of the cases involved women.
According to a national survey carried out in 2020 on violence against women and girls, almost 95 percent of Ugandan women and girls have experienced physical and sexual violence, and at least 43 percent of girls are married at the young age of 18 years.
Gender-based violence (GBV) casts a dark shadow over the lives of women and girls in Uganda. Countless women endure the painful reality of gender-based violence, facing silent battles that often go unnoticed. GBV takes many forms, such as sexual violence, child marriage, partner violence, domestic violence, economic violence, and coercion.
During the COVID-19 government’s focus on the spread of COVID-19 and the election preparations, leaving women’s well-being aside, many women and girls sustained emotional and physical abuse from their husbands and relatives, leading to the loss of lives.
According to recent reports, limited employment opportunities have also contributed to gender-based violence. According to the researcher, MS Gladys Rossete Nandutu, with the increase in unemployment rates and the prevalence of poverty, many households find it difficult to keep afloat financially, whereby men have relegated the responsibility of providing for their families to women.
This challenge is more severe within communities displaced by developments, for example, the oil refinery project in Kyakaboga.
One of the critical components of confronting gender-based violence is admitting its root causes. Women are extremely affected by poverty, limited access to education, and economic dependence, worsening their vulnerability to abuse.
Understanding the causes of GBV, it is essential for the government to include lessons that are sensitive to gender issues and raise awareness about women’s rights in the education system so that it empowers people to challenge harmful stereotypes right from their early years.
The government, together with non-governmental organizations, should promote economic empowerment among women by providing them with financial resources, such as microfinance and grants, to enable them to start their own businesses, so as to reduce the risk of gender-based violence caused by poverty.
Legal reforms that fight against gender-based violence should be amended and implemented, such as stricter penalties and the removal of legal loopholes that might allow culprits to escape accountability. This addresses the fight against GBV since it sends a clear message to society that such violations will not be tolerated.
Confronting gender-based violence among women is morally vital and a condition for building a just and equitable society.
Through prioritizing education, legislation, corporate responsibility, and international collaboration, we can move closer to a world where women are free from the threat of gender-based violence as we align with the ongoing
The author is Ms. Caroline Kinkuhaire, Citizens’ Concern Africa.
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