Minister Tumwebaze Warns against treating Gender Violence against women as a family affair

Ugandans have been warned to stop ttreating gender based violence GBV against Women as cases resolvable at family level.

Minister Tumwebaze Warns against treating Gender Violence against women as a family affair
Read: 2218 times \

Ugandans have been warned to stop ttreating gender based violence GBV against Women as cases resolvable at family level.

The call was made by the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Hon. Frank Tumwebaze who says this attitude has left many victims of violence without any support from the responsible organs and at the mercy of their tormentors.

“A woman is assaulted and when she goes to police, she is told to return back home and resolve the matter there. This is because we take these cases lightly under the guise of them being “family affairs”. This must stop and therefore calls for renewed effort to involve community gatekeepers like Community Development Officers, Local Councils, Police and others,” Tumwebaze said.

Hon. Tumwebaze was Thursday meeting a high level delegation from the European Union, led by Ambassador Attilio Pacifici and the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Rosa Malango at the Ministry headquarters in Kampala. 

He argued that there is need to start holding accountable responsibility-holding officers who neglect GBV and violence against women cases, revealing that CDOs across the country would soon be converged for a refresher training on their roles and responsibilities as part of the renewed efforts.

Tumwebaze also called for a strong umbrella body akin to the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) through which all social development sector programmes are synchronized, implemented and jointly monitored.  

“This will go a long way in improving coordination and making the interventions more impactful” He observed.

Ambassador Attilio said the EU and UN are keen on innovations and scaling-up evidence-based models to comprehensively address violence against women and girls through the Spotlight Initiative, whose implementation commenced recently.
With funding from the EU and UN, the programme strives to combat harmful practices, strengthen sexual education and promote sexual and reproductive health rights, contextualized to a post-conflict environment.
Ms. Malango revealed that Uganda was privileged to be among the only eight countries in Africa and the only one in East Africa where the Spotlight Initiative is being implemented. 
The initiative is expected to be officially launched by President Yoweri Museveni during this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations to be held in Mbale.

Download the Howwe Music App
Howwe App

MSport