Government launches 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence

The Minister of State for Gender, Peace Regis Mutuuzo, has launched 16 days of activism in the fight against domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to the media at the Uganda Media Centre, Mutuuzo said the national theme adopted for the campaign is “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, collect and prevent Gender Based Violence (GBV)”

Mutuuzo said the theme is in line with the urgent need to address the escalating cases of GBV, especially during the Covid-19 lockdown period

"We believe that the launch of the sixteen days against gender-based violence as well as the other events, that are to be held in different parts of the country will provide opportunities to different people to reflect and dialogue about these important issues,"she said.

She said it had also been observed that during the lockdown, Uganda experienced high levels of teenage pregnancy and child marriage.

According to the police report, 4,442 cases of defilement were reported between January and April 2020.

According to Mutuuzo, the sixteen day campaign is a platform for voices of survivors and activists to be heard.

"It calls for focus on response, prevention and ending impunity.The specific objective of the campaign is to raise awareness at local, national, regional and international levels about GBV and its impact on national development,"she said.

She said the campaign will help to map out and utilise evidence and gaps on GBV to inform policy formulation and programming.

She requested the media and everyone to share information about gender based violence and the negative impacts on women, girls, men and boys and the society at large.