BY DAVID MAFABI
KAMPALA-The UN Women Uganda Country Representative has expressed concern over the reality that some of the gender-based shelters are not operational due to lack of funding, and others are on the brink of closing.
Ms Paulina Chiwangu told a national symposium on the impact and sustainability of Gender Based shelters in Uganda that whereas there’s some improvement in the provision of services, the reality is that some of the shelters are not operational due to lack of funding.
The players working to support victims of Gender-based violence including Action Aid International Uganda (AAIU) and the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development (MGLSD) with support from the UN Women Uganda convened the National Symposium yesterday zoom meeting.
According to Ms Chiwangu, the Symposium among other things highlighted the importance of the inter-linkages between violence against women and girls and women’s economic empowerment.
Gender-Based shelters are a critical part of a holistic approach to violence against women and girls, in providing refuge, medical, legal, economic, and psycho-social services for victims and there are 20 shelters in Uganda, supported in partnership with the Government of Uganda and the MGLSD.
“Whereas there’s some improvement, the reality is that some of the shelters are not operational due to lack of funding, and others are on the brink of closing,” said Ms Chiwangu, the UN Women Uganda Country Representative while speaking at the opening session of the Symposium.
She explained that these Gender Based shelters across the country are managed by UN Women supported partners including Action Aid and UGANET, MIFUMI and UWONET among other organisations.
Ms Maria Hakansson, the ambassador of Sweden explained that violence leads to major economic costs for society, and gender-based violence is the most obvious expression of this inequality.
She added that Gender-based violence is often used to silence women who express themselves and made a call to action for the actors to walk the talk.
Ms Hakansson challenged women and men in all spheres of society to step up to the plate to prevent and respond to GBV.
It is clear that during the COVID-19 pandemic most shelters faced closure but UN Women Uganda stepped in to provide emergency funding that sustained the shelters and this means that shelters require financial support to stand.
During the Symposium a short documentary was screened on the subject ahead of a presentation from the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development on the status of GBV Shelters in Uganda.
A presentation on “The Funding Ecosystem” presented by the Programme Director at Urgent Action Fund, Mr Jean Kemitare highlighted the fact that the system is co-dependent as all actors and that factors constitute a whole and that system comprises of local and national governments, private sector, bilateral agencies such as FCDO and SIDA, women’s funds among others.
The presentation sparked a conversation around being strategic, innovative, and partnering with sustainable institutions in addition to other partners such as high-net-worth individuals.
The district Local Government (DLG) Officials, District Community Development Officers (DCDOs), civil society organisations, UN agencies and other stakeholders engaged in a plenary discussion where participants shared concerns around inadequate funding in this area, the influx of survivors, the functionality of the referral system as well as a call for the Ministry of Gender to support the GBV shelters.
Dr Katja Kerschbaumer, representing the Austrian Development Cooperation, said Austria is giving financial support towards ending violence by building the investigative capacity of the police, and prosecution and having more staff in these agencies, as well as courts in the districts where GBV is most prevalent.
“And the overall take away from the Symposium is the need to take the needs of women and girls seriously as a global and national emergency,” said Mr Kerschbaumer.
Ms Angela Akoth, National Project Coordinator GBV Shelters, ActionAid International Uganda said the shadow pandemic of violence against women is real and called for support and commitment, and the need to prioritise these services.
“We have had a hike in cases of violence against women in Uganda due to economic constraints related to the COVID-19 pandemic and other global crises and at this time, facing the threat of closure leaves us with many questions: What next? How do women get support? How can women be reached with these services when facing the threat of closure?” she wondered.
“Women are the backbone of Uganda; they must be prioritised, if we allocate funds to water, hygiene, and the environment then why don’t we allocate funding to the safety of women? Contributing funds to WASH (for example) and neglecting the person who will benefit from WASH does not make sense,” she added
Ms Angela Nakafeero, the commissioner at the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development said although the strategic direction of the MGLSD is to mainstream the GBV Shelter programming, due to the economic recess this has not been easy.
“When women have a source of income they can access justice, provide for their own needs, and decide to move on from abusive relationships. [Through the support of UN Women] These shelters have supported 665 women across 5 districts to benefit from entrepreneurial skills in agro- and non-agro-based businesses.”
She emphasised the importance of women’s economic empowerment and the interlinkages with violence prevention:
She revealed that there is a need for additional financial support to the GBV shelters to ensure continuity of GBV Survivors’ critical services even when much has been done in terms of legal policy framework, social norm change, coordination and a multi-sectoral approach. Ends
