Transcript Symposium on Violence Against Women in Conflict Situations.

INTERVENTIONS ON
SEXUAL AND GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
IN NORTHERN UGANDA
SYMPOSIUM ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN CONFLICT
SITUATIONS.
BRUSSELS 21ST 23RD JUNE 2006
JOINT PRESENTATION BY
SEXUAL AND GENDER BASED VIOLENCE CLUSTER GROUP IN
UGANDA.
UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, UNIFEM, UNHCR, IOM, UNDP, UNAIDS,
GOU
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Background

War between the Government of Uganda and the
Lord’s Resistance Army has lasted over 19 years.
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Widespread human rights violations and abuses,
including abduction, killings and forced displacement.
Majority of abductees are children, girls and women.

1.6 million persons – 90% of the population in key
districts – live in IDP camps in squalid conditions and
abject poverty. Civilian administration is weak, policing
absent and service delivery poor.

These are the pre-conditions for sexual exploitation,
sexual violence and domestic violence.
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SITUATION

Studies and assessments by GoU, UN agencies and
NGOs point to widespread sexual exploitation, high
levels of domestic violence and sexual violence:

“Sex for survival” – men with money and power (including
soldiers, small businessmen, the salaried), girls and women
economically desperate or seeking protection. Often
abandoned when pregnant;
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Girls most at risk – believed more likely to be HIV negative;
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Domestic violence socially tolerated unless physical injury
ensues or “without reason”. Marital rape not a legal offence;
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SITUATION

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Girls and women collect fuel, thatch and wild foods – risk of
rape or extortion using threat of rape, by soldiers and civilian
men. Women report girls formerly with LRA at particular
risk;
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LRA forces abducted girls into “forced marriage” with
commanders. Approximately 1,500 formerly abducted “child
mothers”.
Families provide some protection from exploitation –
those without kin most at risk:
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But desperate families may encourage exploitative relations.
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SITUATION

Social and institutional barriers to reporting rape or
domestic violence:
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Exposure leading to social rejection (fear of HIV);
Shame, fear of retaliation -- a family matter;
Lack of useful services – so why report and risk exposure?
Civilian police absent from most camps:
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Reporting costs up to $100, daily income less than $0.75.
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SITUATION

Medical, VCT and psychosocial services only available
in some locations:

Poor understanding of IASC Guidelines, rights of survivors
or established procedures among key service providers.

Clinical policy guidelines on SGBV are now being developed
for health workers.
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National Policy Environment

National Gender Policy .

SGBV recognised in other key policy documents such as Poverty
Eradication Action Plan, Health Policy.
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Legal framework.
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Constitution prohibits laws, cultures, customs or traditions which
are against the dignity, welfare of women.
Defilement is a capital offence.
The penal code recognises the following offences. Common assault,
rape, defilement (capital offence), indecent assault, threatening
violence, murder and manslaughter, property grabbing.
Districts have by-laws e.g bylaws against female genital
cutting/mutilation.
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ACTION: coordination & mapping

All agencies guided by IASC Guidelines for GBV
Interventions in Humanitarian Settings.
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Uganda one of the countries selected for roll out of IASC
guidelines (UNFPA)
Inter-Agency coordination mechanisms at national and
district levels, within framework of UN-IASC
Protection Cluster (UNICEF has lead for GBV):
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District level working groups, led by local authorities, in two
districts since 2004;
UN working group meeting at national level 2006;
Coordination established in several districts over next 4
months.
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ACTION: coordination & mapping

Protection strategy defined, district and national
level action plans in preparation.
Challenges:
Improving link between national and local levels;
 Improving understanding of the issues even among
stakeholders and activists;
 Supporting national level government leadership.

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ACTION: mapping and assessments

District-level intervention mapping/gap identification
underway (UNIFEM, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO):
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More NGOs with technical skills needed to support local
authorities.
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Pooling of assessments and identification of further
research/information needs (UNIFEM, UNOCHA);
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Monitoring and documentation:
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Human rights investigation and reporting UNOHCHR
(supported by UNICEF within framework of Security
Council resolution 1612);
Case management systems (UNICEF, linked to child
protection response);
Monitoring .
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ACTION: Response to violence

Planned concentration on medical and psychosocial
support services for time-being (but not ignoring access
to justice).
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Training and supporting service providers:
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Medical service providers, HIV testing, including communitybased services (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, MSF, CCF,
COOPI, ARC, MOH);
Psychosocial support (UNICEF, ARC, COOPI, CCF);
Police and army – response and prevention (UNOHCHR,
UNICEF, Save the Children, ICRC);
Legal assistance (UNOHCHR, UNICEF, War Child, NRC).
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ACTION: Response to violence

PEP provision (UNFPA).
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Safe spaces (CCF).
Challenges
Creating meaningful referral systems where
medical/legal provision limited.
 Ensuring equitable district of equipment and
services. (eg only one DNA machine in KLA)
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ACTION: Prevention violence & exploitation

Community mobilization against sexual violence,
domestic violence and sexual exploitation, including of
and by men and boys (UNIFEM, UNICEF, UNFPA,
MGLSD, NGOs).
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Mainstreaming into humanitarian service delivery
“protective programming”:
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Disseminating IASC Guidelines and SPHERE standards
(UNICEF, UNIFEM);
Training of education, water, shelter colleagues (UNICEF,
UNHCR);
Strengthening camp management/site planning (UNHCR).
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ACTION: Prevention violence & exploitation
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Livelihoods:
Advocacy for land access/freedom of safe
movement (UN Country team as a whole);
 Basic skills training/livelihoods programming for
encamped families – making sure access for
vulnerable girls and women (many UN agencies and
NGOs).
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ACTION: keeping our own house in
order
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Code of Conduct:
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Training staff (all UN agencies);
Establishing accessible, confidential inter-agency procedures
for complaints (UNICEF to lead creation, on behalf of
protection cluster).
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ACTION: resource mobilization
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Move towards joint funding/joint programming
approach (by time of 2007 CAP);
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Technically competent staff a critical and key issue –
need for more and stronger NGO partners;
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Donors must recognize that staff (especially staff in the
field) are a key component of GBV/protection
programming – proportion of staff cost vs direct
service delivery costs higher than in
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CHALLENGES

Linking the sexual exploitation and sexual/domestic violence
conflict agenda with a broader national strategy on these issues.
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Ensuring collective ownership and broad understanding of
responsibilities for prevention.
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Too few NGOs on the ground.
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Limited local authority SGBV service provision in camps;
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Very weak economic base for the men, women and children
living in the IDP camps which escalates level of SGBV..
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Poor integration of services and weak referral systems.
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Summary of key next steps
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At the stage of beginning an exciting and
comprehensive inter-agency response:
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Much of what described being undertaken
individually but now working towards more
comprehensive, coordinated approach at scale.
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Stronger coordination and leadership – new
staff coming into post within UN system, better
linkage across sectors.
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District by district action plans based on
mapping.
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Summary of key next steps
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Harmonizing training modules – creating
standard packages.
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Standardizing/developing monitoring and
evaluation framework and ensuring regular
reporting on progress within UN-IASC
Protection Cluster.
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Enforceable codes of conduct to prevent sexual
exploitation among service providers, in military
and among humanitarian agencies.
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Thank you
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