VISION

SUNDAY

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March 8, 2015

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45% OF
FEMALE
MPS BATTERED
The forms of battering

32%

EMOTIONAL

5%
SEXUAL

9%

PHYSICAL

Story on P6-7

Ugandas women of influence

Monica Musenero,
Medicine

Grace Akullo,
Police

Rose Nassali Lukwago,

Public Service

Rosette Byengoma,
Public Service

Anne Kansiime,
Entertainment

Daisy Owomugasho,
NGO world

Damalie Naggita Musoke,

Education

Jennifer Musisi,
Administration

Rebecca Kadaga,
Politics

Julia Sebutinde, Judiciary

... P17-40

BIG STORY

SUNDAY VISION, March 8, 2015

45% of women MPs

By Sunday Vision Team

n 2011, former MP and

East African Community
deputy secretary general,
Beatrice Kiraso, revealed
in her biography, Making
a Difference, the abuse she
faced during her marriage.
This was an echo of the time,
almost 10 years after Dr. Specioza
Kazibwe revealed that her husband
had slapped her, even while she
was the vice-president. Many other
women leaders suffer domestic
violence silently.
A survey commissioned by Sunday
Vision reveals that 45% of women
Members of Parliament (MPs) have
experienced domestic violence,
either sexually, emotionally or
physically. The survey covered
about half of the female MPs,
who answered several questions
on whether they had experienced
or knew of fellow MPs who had
experienced domestic violence.
There are currently 133 female
MPs, of whom 56 were randomly
sampled in the survey. While 50%
said they had not heard of any
domestic violence abuse among
fellow women MPs, the other half
knew of such experiences. Of these,
the majority were categorised under
emotional violence (23%), with
physical abuse closely following,
at 16%. Nine percent of the cases
were not specified, while 5% were
categorised as sexual abuse.
Of those who experienced abuse,
23% responded by leaving the man
(separation or divorce), 20% kept
silent, while only 7% reported to
government authorities. A few fought
back, while the rest reported to
church, family members or friends.
Asked whether they had ever
been abused by their partners, 45%
answered yes, with 32% citing
emotional abuse while 9% said the
abuse was physical.
Physical abuse consists of beating,
slapping, kicking and violent pushes,
among others.
Emotional abuse involves treating
ones partner in a way that severely
affects them emotionally. Such
behaviour includes verbal insults,
control of ones movement and
association, public humiliation and
withholding affection.
Mercy Munduru, the advocacy
officer of the Uganda Association of
Women Lawyers (FIDA), notes that
the figures show that women leaders
suffer just as much as the ordinary
women.
The Uganda Demographic and
Household Survey of 2011 reveals
that 60% of women who had ever
been married, aged between 15
and 49 years, have experienced
emotional, physical or sexual
violence from a spouse.
Among the victims, 37% of the
women got physical injuries, but
only 40% of them sought assistance
from any source for the violence
they experienced.
Why empowered women
suffer
A male MP noted that he would be

graphic by brian ssekamatte

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST FEMALE MPs

45%

Of female MPs have ever suffered DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

40% 14%

Of abused MPs
remained silent

32%

9%

5%

EMOTIONAL

PHYSICAL

SEXUAL

50%

Reported to the
authorities

RESPONDENTS

56

Female MPs
sampled at
random

There are 133 female

MPs in Parliament

Female MPs that

know of a fellow
female MP who has
ever been abused

Respondents represent
42% of that number
Source: Sunday Vision

threatened if his wife was an MP

emotional abuse. Musuya notes
because of the amount of time they
that sometimes even law enforcers
spend away from home, right from
tell women to go back to abusive
the campaign period, up to the end
marriages without solving their
of a five-year term.
problem.
We work closely with female
MPs for many hours and sometimes
Why the Domestic Violence
take trips together. As a man, it
Act seems toothless
would take great self-control to trust
Five years ago, the Domestic
her. However, beating a woman is
Violence Act 2010 was passed to
wrong and those who do it have a
address rising cases of genderproblem, the MP said.
based violence, amid pressure from
According to Tina Musuya, the
the civil society, but few
executive director of Centre for
people know about it.
Domestic Violence Prevention, our
A survey by the
society raises both men and women
Uganda Women
to think that men are supposed to
Parliamentarians
control women.
Association found
Men whose spouses work in the
that even the
public sphere feel their power
implementers of
is somehow threatened, so they
the law, such as
try to maintain control. From the
judges, lawyers,
experience of handling victims and
victims and the
survivors of spousal abuse, Musuya
Police do not
observes a pattern that men tend to
possess copies of
use to keep women in control, but
which leads to violence or actually
amounts to abuse.
He may say: you must cook
for me katogo in the morning
before you go. Some women
have to get permission
before doing certain jobs
or they must bring their
income to the man. If she
protests, she is beaten,
or threatened with
being replaced
with another wife,
she
says.
Musuya adds
that the society
will also
blame the
empowered
woman for not
taking care
of the man or
for growing
wings.
Sections of
society also
believe that
controlling
behaviour is a
sign of love
Kiraso
revealed
her marital woes in her biography
and yet it is
classified
as

the legislation to refer to.

In 2013, female judges, under the
National Association of Women
Judges-Uganda, complained that
despite the existence of the law,
cases of domestic violence continue
to rise and their prosecution was
difficult.
The then president of the
association, Justice Stella Arach
Amoko, noted: Our research has
revealed that some judges and
magistrates do not have
access to this law, while
others do not care
and they take such
cases to be women
issues.
According to the
Police statistics,
in 2013, a total
of 3,426 cases of

domestic violence were investigated,

compared to 2,793 cases in 2012,
giving an 18.4% increase.
Mulago Hospital statistics also
show that more than 80% of cases
of acid injuries admitted to the
hospital are related to domestic
violence.
Musuya says the law is good, but
it cannot act where people have
not reported. She adds that the
proposed Marriage and Divorce
Bill is one of the best laws, but it
is really sad that MPs misled the
public about it. This law addresses
real situations that everyday people
go through, she said.
Conspiracy of silence
When victims stay silent, the law
is rendered powerless. Generally,
women find it hard to report
their spouses, but women leaders
suppress their woes even more.
It is quite embarrassing for a
female MP to report a matter to the
Police or the local council because
she wants to preserve her own
dignity, Musuya explains.
In addition, she says, as a woman
leader, the first question people
ask is where is your husband?
Therefore, the fear of leaving their
marriages keeps women in a cycle
of being abused or beaten, followed
by apologies, then abuse again.
Remember, these are people
in love and they keep hoping
things will change, but the cycle
continues. Silence is the worst
solution, because if the men
knew that their actions would be
revealed, they would stop, but
women feel ashamed to reveal
even to their close friends,
Musuya explains.
Muduru urges women of high
standing to speak up more, as it
strengthens the less empowered
women to stand up against

BIG STORY

SUNDAY VISION, March 8, 2015

abused by husbands
violence.
Keeping quiet is a disservice to
other women, Munduru notes.
However, where stakeholders
have been engaged, there has been
progress, according to Musuya.
For instance, empowered women
who report cases to the Police do
not easily withdraw them, even
when the men withdraw nancial
support as a punishment to deter
them. It shows that sensitisation,
empowerment and support are
useful ways to end domestic
violence.
WOMEN MPS REACT
Most women MPs note that
domestic violence cuts across class,
status and power. The MPs also
attribute the abuse to inferiority
complex of men once the female
partner attains a higher status in
society.
However they
argued that the vice
cannot be solved
without sufcient
sensitisation about

womens rights and inculcating in

children the culture of respecting
women.
This does not surprise me at all.
Some men have a negative mindset
that whether you are an MP,
married or not, a woman should be
abused. Unfortunately, many of the
women do not speak out for fear of
stigmatisation or more violence,
noted Mary Karooro Okurut, the
outgoing gender minister.
Karooro believes men need to be
sensitised, while women should not
keep silent, otherwise they continue
promoting the vice.
The outgoing state minister for
sheries, Ruth Nankabirwa, noted
that female MPs face the same
challenges, just like everybody else.
Whether you are an MP, lady
chief justice, whatever capacity,
your partner can choose to abuse
you. What we need is to focus
on the children, as the men of
tomorrow, not to abuse their
wives in future, she said.
UWOPA chairperson
Betty Amongi was,
however, shocked at
the ndings, given the
level of sensitisation and
women rights awareness
among the female MPs.
If the ndings are
right, I feel let down
because these are
the people who
have been at
the forefront
of sensitising
the masses

While the vice-president, Specioza Kazibwe disclosed that she

suffered domestic violence

A wreckage of a vehicle
burnt by a wife, accusing
her husband of not looking
after her and cheating on
her
on the Domestic Violence Bill.
We have discussed these issues
and agreed that if we are to ght
the practice, we should not keep
quiet, she said.
However, she observed that
domestic violence cuts across and
spares no one. Even if you are
very powerful, once you go home,
you become powerless. So, when
they are abused, they keep silent
for fear of escalating the problem.
Wakiso Woman MP, Rosemary
Sseninde observed that as long as
female MPs are married, they are
bound to face the same problems
as other women, except that they
are at an advantage because they
know their rights. She advises that
children should be taught that it is
wrong to batter women.
Workers MP Teopista Ssentongo
says some men feel inferior once
their wives attain such status
in society. Once the women
become economically empowered,

abuses are bound to happen.

Unfortunately, the society demands
that they keep quiet because home
issues are not supposed to be
known by outsiders, she pointed
out.
WHERE TO GET HELP
Women who are abused by their
spouses can report to the Police,
especially where physical injuries
are concerned. The child and family
protection unit was set up to handle
such cases.
FIDA usually covers the legal
component, but also often engages
in mediation and counselling
to enable the couple reach an
amicable understanding.
There are other organisations
that offer psycho-social support
and counselling to couples and
individuals. This is important for
cases of emotional abuse, where
the injuries are not visible, but the
mental trauma has been inicted.
Apart from sensitisation and

advocacy, CEDOVIP also offers

legal aid, shelter, medical and
nancial interventions, but mostly
makes appropriate referrals to
other organisations, the Police
and judicial ofcers.
Both Musuya and Munduru
note that many people seek
refuge in churches and religious
leaders, but some do not get the
appropriate help. Many are told
to pray while the abuse continues,
while others end up being abused
by predators in unregulated
churches.
FIDA has been engaging
alternative organisations such as
churches, to enable them offer
a more professional response to
domestic violence victims.
Story by Esther Namugoji and
Mary Karugaba.
Survey conducted by Mary
Karugaba, Moses Walubiri, John
Masaba and John Semakula

What is in the Domestic Violence Act?

The Act denes domestic violence as harms or
injuries or endangers to the health, safety, life,
limb or well-being, whether mental or physical,
of the victim or that tends to do so. It includes
causing physical, sexual, emotional, verbal or
psychological abuse to a person.
The Act says a person in a domestic
relationship who engages in domestic
violence commits an offence and is liable, on
conviction, to a ne not exceeding sh960,000 or

imprisonment not exceeding two years or both.

However, court may, in addition to imposing
a ne or imprisonment, order the offender to
pay compensation to the victim of an amount
determined by the court.
The complaint should be made to a local
council court, where the victim or perpetrator
resides.
The local council court can order the victim
or perpetrator to pay or apologise or it may

sentence the person to community service,

depending on the magnitude of the crime.
Where it is established that there is a child
involved in the complaint, the local council court
is required to make an order to the probation
and social welfare ofcer to make an inquiry and
take necessary action regarding the welfare of
the child.
Domestic violence complaints can also be
registered to the Police or the magistrates court.