{UAH} Sex drives fights in northern Uganda
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Sexual and gender-based violence are key conflict drivers in northern Uganda, a report by the Advisory Consortium on Conflict Sensitivity (ACCS) on northern Uganda, has found.
ACCS is a partnership of International Alert, Refugee Law Project and Safer World, and is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The report, 'Northern Uganda Conflict Analysis', revealed that the north-eastern districts of Abim, Moroto and Kotido had a high prevalence of sex and gender-based violence (SGBV), reporting as many as 20 to 30 cases a month.
This violence reportedly manifests as defilement and rape, but with many cases going unreported due to cultural prejudices.
"Communities report growing tensions around access and resource control between men and women within families because of the changing gender roles as a result of development initiatives to empower women," International Alert country manager Richard Businge said during the launch of the report at Hotel Africana recently.
According to the 2012 Police Annual Incidence report for the northern region, 1,737 and 1,848 SGBV-related cases were reported in 2010 and 2011 respectively. In Acholi and Lango sub-regions, cases of women battering and killing men were reportedly on the rise.
"Men fear that reporting domestic violence will strip them of their masculinity and social status," reads the report.
It also quotes Lango community leaders saying difficulties in accessing justice for survivors of SGBV further complicates the issue and threatens to drive more conflict among the affected communities.
The main obstacles are affordability and long distances to relevant institutions and services. A 2012 ACCS study found that the average distance between the main towns in Acholi and police stations or magistrates courts was 33 and 40km respectively. Meanwhile, the typical cost of pursuing justice in the formal system for a sex and gender violence case was approximately Shs 250,000.
"Integrated approaches to formal and informal justice processes to deal with SGBV should be supported by districts, including punitive and restorative aspects as chosen by victims," Businge urged.
He also appealed to development partners to support institutions and organisations working to promote gender equality and social inclusion. The analysis report also reveals that youth exclusion, competition over land and resources, and inadequate transitional justice are key conflict issues affecting northern Uganda communities.
"The challenge is for government to take the research findings and implement them, focusing on these priority areas and engage the civil society," Reagan Okumu, the Aswa county MP, said.
Two other reports tracking the extent to which interventions under the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) have succeeded or failed in the north were also launched.
ninsiima@observer.ug
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