How women in Hoima villages are fighting GBV

In the villages of Kitonya 1 and Kitonya 2, located in Bwanika Sub-county, and other neighbouring sub-counties such as Buraru and Kyabigambire in Hoima District, a collective effort led by women has been underway for the past five years to combat the alarming surge in cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) that had long plagued their communities.

Before the women’s intervention, cases of defilement, early marriages, school dropouts, and various forms of SGBV, had inflicted considerable harm on the community. The repercussions were severe, leading to the collapse of many families.

The women said some instances were reported where fathers were reported to be sexually abusing their daughters.
However, today, those cases are rarely heard of, thanks to the women who joined forces and formed different associations within their communities to fight the vice.

How it all started
Ms Grace Agonza, 62, a resident of Kitonya 1 Village, who currently serves as the chairperson of the Kitonya Tukorehamu Women’s Group comprising more than 30 women and men, said in recent years, there has been a significant decrease in reported cases of defilement and other SGBV cases within families.
Ms Agonza, who along with her colleague, initiated the group in 2018, saying over time, more women, particularly those who had experienced gender-based violence and were hesitant to report it to the authorities, joined their cause.

“Some of the victims opted for divorce as a last resort. As women, we collectively decided to stand against this vice, and our efforts are not in vain,” she said told Daily Monitor on Tuesday.

With the formation of groups, the primary objectives were to raise awareness about gender-based violence, promote education, and instigate positive changes in attitudes and behaviours contributing to the prevalence of SGBV.

Ms Agonza said the strong fight against SGBV began after a two-month of training of the members in 2018 by Reproductive Health Uganda, with comprehensive training on HIV/Aids, SGBV, alcoholism, family planning, and the reporting of SGBV cases, among others.

Ms Agonza said many women were initially unaware of their rights until they joined empowerment groups in their villages and revealed that some families were on the verge of collapse, while others were already broken. Through the collective efforts of the women, a sense of peace was restored, and positive changes were set in motion.

Ms Agonza said the initial focus of the women’s empowerment groups revolved around ensuring each individual understood their sexual rights and knew their health status. She said during health talks, it was discovered that many couples were living as discordant couples and some partners had enrolled for Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) without informing their significant others.
“In the beginning, women hesitated to report mistreatment at home, but after being empowered, they started disclosing. Initially, their husbands reacted harshly, fearing that we were going to destabilise their families. However, in a matter of weeks, they began to appreciate the positive changes,” Ms Agonza noted.

She added: “In 2021, we got a case where a father defiled his seven-year-old daughter. Together with fellow women, we reported the case to the police and utilised all our resources to ensure the man was arrested. The wife chose to divorce him, legal proceedings were initiated, and the man was sentenced in court. We also took the initiative of caring for the children in the absence of their parents,” she explained.

Ms Farazia Alituha, 26, another group member, highlighted a positive shift in the prevalence of SGBV in her village from 2020 to 2022, and said during that period, they would receive about five to 10 cases a week.
She said in the subsequent years, as a result of increased awareness about women’s rights, the reported cases have significantly decreased. They can now spend months without receiving any such cases.

Ms Alituha shared that before joining the women’s group association, she was unaware of HIV/Aids testing and it was through the group that she discovered her husband’s positive status after testing. She said her husband is now on medication, and they actively take measures to protect themselves.

Ms Anna Asiimwe of Kitonya I Village, said previously, her husband would sell all their produce at the end of each season, with the earnings often squandered on alcohol. However, after joining the association in 2020, he stopped drinking and since then, they now collectively make decisions at home, thus a more harmonious family.

Root causes
Ms Asiimwe said the chaos between couples often stem from disagreements on the number of children the couple wanted, often leading to unwanted pregnancies and fears of physical abuse. 

She, however, said by involving men in discussions and decision-making, they have successfully addressed these issues, leading to better family planning and understanding between spouses.

Ms Asiimwe, however, said they sometimes face challenges when, for example, families, particularly those whose members are involved in legal proceedings, sometimes respond with hostility and refuse to cooperate with the community.

The village groups also serve as saving groups after each received a seed capital of Shs400,000 from RHU after training. The group membership has expanded to include men. By the end of a year, a group may have saved up to Shs8m.

Other issues at hand

Ms Betty Kiiza, 55, a group member, said apart from women standing against SGBV, they have also taken the initiative of ensuring all women in their villages know their about cancer screening, and their HIV/Aids or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) status.

“As the chairperson of the women’s council in my village, I used to grapple with numerous cases of SGBV, often lacking the necessary information on how to address them effectively. Thanks to the training received from RHU, we have made significant strides in successfully resolving the few cases that now come to our attention,” she said.

She added that there is a notable decline in the reporting of such incidents. She said as of recent, she has not received any case of women complaining about physical abuse at the hands of their husbands, unlike in the past year when she would receive about 10 cases a week.