Uganda: Donors must step up to help agencies address domestic violence

On our mission to northern Uganda we were told that the biggest immediate danger for women in the displacement camps is domestic violence. My colleague, Camilla Olson and I heard that the stressful overcrowded conditions in camps and the lack of livelihood opportunities for men and women contribute to this violence, which puts the physical and mental health of so many women at serious risk.

So I asked in the camps how a woman could find help and protection if she was assaulted by her husband. Some women said that they could go to local council leaders, although others complained that most local council leaders are male and few listen to women enough. We heard that survivors of domestic violence could turn to Community Development Officers, who are employed by local districts to do social work. We heard good reports about the quality of these officers, but they rarely get out to meet people in the communities because the districts have allocated insufficient resources to them.

Many women said that they would be reluctant to go to the police, because they have seen many perpetrators bribe their way out of a situation. Furthermore, the police are so under-resourced that victims have to pay the police their fuel costs to come out to attend to their case.

The UN and international non-governmental organizations have set up programs to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV) and to build up the capacity of local Ugandan systems to take on this work. At the beginning of 2008, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) [1] took over the role of coordinating GBV response in Uganda from the UN children’s agency, UNICEF. [2] It has deployed coordinators but UNFPA does not have dedicated funds to support GBV programs.

UNFPA in Uganda is now seeking funds from donor governments for several aid agencies to continue their activities after the end of the year. They hope to continue providing legal, medical and psycho-social support to the survivors of domestic violence, campaigning to prevent domestic violence, and supporting Ugandan national institutions that can work long-term in the fight against domestic violence. For example, the Government of Uganda has made a major step forward by establishing a National GBV Reference Group where representatives from different government ministries meet and incorporate gender-based violence issues in their planning and programs.

The U.S. government refuses to contribute to UNFPA’s work anywhere in the world, creating a major limitation for the fight against violence against women in Uganda and globally. This policy should be reversed, particularly now that UNFPA has been designated the lead UN agency on GBV in humanitarian crises globally. In Uganda, international donor governments must support UNFPA to ensure the continuation of GBV programming. If these programs have to close for lack of funds this will represent a big step backwards, and a worrying precedent for other countries where UNFPA has taken the lead.

-Melanie Teff

Labels: GBV [3], Northern Uganda [4]