Civil society organizations under the Domestic Violence Act Coalition led by the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association- UWOPA has launched this year’s 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence against Women and Girls in Kampala with a strong call for solidarity, investment in GBV prevention, and action.
The 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence against Women and Girls Run from November 25th to December 10th. Civil Society Organizations under the umbrella of the Domestic Violence Act Coalition have today launched the 2023 campaign in Kampala with a call on the government to establish specialized independent courts and court sessions to ease justice for victims of GBV.
Activists have acknowledged tremendous progress that has been registered in the fight against Gender-based violence against women and girls. Addressing journalists in Kampala today led by the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association, activists noted that much progress has been made in terms of awareness creation which has seen more victims come out to report GBV cases.
The recent reports by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics point out that 51% of ever-partnered Ugandan women have experienced some form of violence at some point in time while 55% and 31% of women have been exposed to sexual and physical violence from non-intimate partners respectively. This has been blamed on the Lack of attention to prevention and inadequate funding for GBV activities.
Therefore, GBV activists have called for solidarity, Investment, and Action from all key stakeholders including the Ministry of Gender, the parliament, the health sector, the Justice ministry, the public, and the media
According to the 2022 Police Annual Crime Report, 17,698 cases of Domestic Violence were reported to Police in 2022 compared to 17,533 cases reported in 2021 thus giving a 0.94% increase in the volume of Domestic Violence registered. In the same year, 14,693 Sex-related cases were reported to the Police compared to 16,373 cases reported in 2021 giving a decrease of 10.3%.
