Prime
Govt to build shelter for domestic violence victims in Kabale
The district probation office and the Child and Family Protection Unit of the Police have now opted to use radio programmes to sensitise against teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
In February, probation officers from the six districts that make up Kigezi Sub-region, released statistics, indicating that 1,419 cases of domestic violence were recorded between December last year and February this year. They also indicated that the cases of domestic violence had resulted in 9,393 cases of teenage pregnancies and 1,516 cases of child neglect
The State Minister for Gender and Culture Affairs, Ms Peace Mutuzo, has revealed government plans of establishing a shelter to accommodate victims of gender based violence (GBV) in Kabale District as the police handles their grievances.
According to the minister, the move is in response to increasing cases of GBV in Kigezi Sub-region.
“The statistics I have from my ministry indicate that cases of gender based violence are high in Kigezi Sub-region, and this must be stopped. Plans are under way to construct a shelter to accommodate victims of gender based violence until their grievances are properly handled,” she said.
“We have observed that when women report cases of gender based violence, the police tell them to go back and solve them with their husbands, a situation that complicates the matter as it leads to loss of lives and property. Women end up committing offences as they try to defend themselves from their brutal husbands,” Ms Mutuzo added.
The minister was speaking on Friday while presiding over the belated Women’s Day celebrations for Kabale District at Rubaya play ground in Kahungye Sub-county.
In February, probation officers from the six districts that make up Kigezi Sub-region, released statistics, indicating that 1,419 cases of domestic violence were recorded between December last year and February this year. They also indicated that the cases of domestic violence had resulted in 9,393 cases of teenage pregnancies and 1,516 cases of child neglect.
Minister Mutuzo warned men against brutalising their wives, saying marriage is not a battlefield but an institution that should promote love, unity and family development.
“A man that beats his wife is incomplete. Stop devaluing yourself by beating your wives. Men should always aim at solving the problems of their wives instead of beating them. Men should be happy when their wives amass some wealth instead of being annoyed because such wealth will also support family development by addressing some household needs such as paying school fees,” she said.
“Allow your wives to make good use of the 30 percent allocated to them under the Parish Development Model funds for prosperity and economic empowerment,” she added.
State Minister for Trade David Bahati and his counterpart for Children and Youth Affairs, Ms Sarah Nyirabashitsi, who attended the same function, emphasised love and unity at family level, besides encouraging the women to tap into the several government programmes aimed at poverty eradication.
Mr Bahati assured the people about the government’s commitment to tarmac the Katuna-Rubaya-Muko road that connects Kabale and Rubanda districts, revealing that $150 million has already been earmarked for the project.
“All the designs and paperwork required for the tarmacking of the Katuna-Rubaya-Muko road are now complete. What is remaining is for the government to procure a contractor so that the road construction works begins,” he said.
