Male refugees’ experiences of gender based violence: A case of Kyaka II Refugee Settlement in Uganda

Abstract

This study set out to analyze the experiences of gender based violence (GBV) by male refugees in Kyaka II Settlement. The study specifically set out to; investigate the types of GBV on male refugees in Kyaka II refugee settlement; investigate the causes GBV on male refugees in Kyaka II Refugee settlement; identify interventions already in place to address GBV against male refugees and to identify measures to provide redress to male victims of GBV and make recommendations. Using a cross sectional survey design, data was collected from a total of 288 refugees who were victims of GBV. The results of this study indicate that physical violence was the most reported form of GBV against men in Kyaka II settlement. The other forms of gender based violence experienced by men in the settlement are emotional violence, verbal abuse, economic violence and sexual violence. The most common causes of gender based violence against men in Kyaka II refugee settlement are; poverty, alcoholism, stigma that is associated with gender based violence against men, conflict over use of resources like money and land, infidelity/having many sexual partners and wives/commercial sex workers, cultural role reversal, weak institutions for solving GBV related issues and lack of social institutions like families to solve domestic problems. The interventions that are aimed at addressing gender based violence against male refugees in the settlement are; establishment of the Family Protection Unit of the Police/GBV Office, establishment of the Protection Office by the Office of The prime Minister (OPM) of Uganda and interventions by the International Medical Corps (IMC). The study concluded that just like women, male refugees are victims of gender based violence who fear coming out as a result of the stigma that is associated with gender based violence against men. The study recommends counseling, sensitization, capacity building of GBV institutions, more consideration for male victims of GBV in terms of encouraging them to come up and report cases of GBV as and when they occur and providing them with as much information about GBV as their female counterparts, empowering men economically and setting up of GBV Shelters for Male Victims as the measures to provide redress to the male victims of gender based violence in Kyaka II refugee settlement area. This should be supplemented by putting in place deterrent measures against perpetrators of the vice of GBV so as to curb future occurrences of the same.