Assessment of government efforts to protect rights against domestic violence in Kabarole And Fortportal City

Abstract

The study focused on assessing government efforts to protect women's rights against domestic violence in order to determine the level of implementation and enforcement of women's rights against domestic violence in Uganda. It is motivated by the fact that, despite of the Uganda government initiatives to eradicate domestic violence in the country, these have been impeded by accusations that it is a Western concept with no relevance to African societies making these provisions too silent and incidents of violence have been increasing in Uganda especially Kabarole and Fortportal City. The study is primarily based on interviews conducted in the field with CSO representatives from various parts of Fortportal city and Kabarole districts. This study adopted a cross-section design because the intention was to pick adult members of the households among the many individuals who might have experienced domestic violence Gender and sexual based violence was found to be rampant in the rural areas of Kabarole and Fortportal City mainly because of the low levels of awareness coupled with strong cultural belief and traditions that portray men as a superior gender. Therefore, this is not easy practice that has existed for time immemorial as a normal way of living life. From the civil society organizations, interview responses some common lessons emerged. These include addressing the causes instead of the symptoms of violence against women, in particular, addressing gender inequality and consequently involving men and other community members in violence prevention efforts. The organizations also emphasize the importance of appropriate methods and communication strategies when dealing with sensitive issues. The study concludes that it is true there is existing legal framework but its scarcity renders awareness, implementation, enforcement a shame making it difficult to embrace equality between men and women to secure justice. Therefore, the study recommends a review of the current law and increased civic education especially in the rural areas.