COURSE WORK ASSIGNMENT NO.

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SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SOCIENCES

TITLE: Identify a human rights issue in your locality.

1. Describe the issue
2. What category of rights does this issue fall under?
3. How do you think it can be solved?
Makindye Sabagabo Municipality is one of the four municipalities located in Wakiso District.It has 192
villages with an estimated population of 360,000.It is best described as a semi urban rural area.It has
several human rights concerns including gender based violence which is notably on the
increase.Gender-Based violence refers to harmful acts directed at an individual based on their gender.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a serious violation of human rights and a life-threatening health and
protection issue. According to the UN Women database, prevalence data on different forms of violence
against women, lifetime physical and or sexual intimate partner violence in Uganda is estimated at 50%
while physical and or sexual intimate partner violence in the last 12 months is estimated at 30%.
(https://evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/en/countries/africa/uganda).
Gender based violence has five types of violence namely sexual, emotional,psychological, sexual and
socio-economic violence. In reality, some or many forms of violence can be present at the same time,
particularly in abusive relationships. All forms can occur both in the private sphere (in families and
intimate relationships) and in the public sphere, committed by (unknown) individuals in public space,
or by organisations, institutions and states. Sexual violence means that someone forces or manipulates
someone else into unwanted sexual activity without their consent.Sexual violence acts include rape or
sexual assault, child sexual assault and incest, intimate partner sexual assault, unwanted sexual contact
or touching, sexual harrasment, sexual exploitation, showing one's genitals or naked body to others
without consent, masturbating in public, watching someone in a private act without their knowledge or
permission.Emotional abuse, another form of violence, is a way to control another person by using
emotions to criticize, embarrass,shame,blame or otherwise manipulate another person. There is a
consistent pattern of abusive words and bullying behaviours that affects a victim's self esteem and
mental health.Emotional abuse is one of the hardest forms of abuse to recognize.Psychological abuse is

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a type of abuse involving the use of verbal and social tactics in order to control someone's way of
thinking.Abusers often convince the victim that they are crazy, manipulate them and make harmful
threats towards them.There is a very thin line between physcological and emotional abuse, but the
distinguishing factor between the two is psychological abuse affects a victim's thinking, while
emotional abuse affects what people feel.Economic abuse is when one partner has control over the
other partner's access to economic resources, which reduces the victim's ability to support themselves
and forces them to depend on the perpetrator financially.It is also related to financial abuse which is the
illegal or unauthorized use of a person's property, money,pension money,changing the person's will to
name the abuser as heir,fraudelently obtaining power of attorney, deprivation of money or other
property, eviction from own home etc.
Most of the forms of gender based violence mentioned above are also prevalent in Makindye Sabagabo
municipality.There are many theories about why domestic abuse occurs but also many disagreements
about how large a role these factors play in triggering domestic abuse. Some of the theories are;
A learned behaviour
Children who are frequently exposed to violence in the home learn that it is a normal way of life.Early
exposure increases their risk of becoming an abuser or victim.
A need to control
Domestic violence may start because abusers want to control their spouses.For example the abuser may
have come from a family with less money than his/her partner or may have a high school degree
whereas the abused person has a college degree.
Cultural influences
Different cultural and social norms support different types of violence.E.g traditional beliefs that men
have a right to control or discipline women through physical means makes women vulnerable to
violence by intimate partners and places them at risk of sexual abuse.

Situational factors
Incidents of domestic violence increase during economic downturns.A partner may lose his or her job
and take out their frustration on their spouse.

Post traumatic stress disorder

After exposure to war zones and combat trauma,members of the armed forces, are more likely to
assume that people are trying to harm them and respond aggressively.

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Substance abuse

Substances such as alcohol break down inhibitions and an abuser is more likely to act upon his or her
negative feelings.He may feel that his violence is justified because he or she sees the partner in a more
negative light.

People who experience gender based violence suffer from different human rights violations including
the right to life, freedom from torture and degrading treatment, freedom from discrimination and the
right to safety and security.These rights are safeguarded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the International Convenants on Civil and Political Rights, which are also classified as first
generation rights and on Social,Economic and Cultural Rights, which are second generation
rights.Uganda is a signatory to these convenants. Uganda also ratified the Convention on Elimination
of all forms of Violence agisnt Women.Another significant step in advancing the international human
rights framework to mitigate gender based violence was the creation of the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on Violence against Women which provides a forum for collecting and analyzing
information on violence agaisnt women throughout the world. The African Union also has several
guiding legal instruments agaisnt gender based violence including the Protocol to the African Charter
on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa ( Maputo Protocol).
In Uganda, human rights violations are also prohibited by the Ugandan Constitution notably Chapter
Four, which concerns Protection and promotion of fundamental and other human rights and freedoms.
Furthermore to address the problem of domestic violence, the Parliament of Uganda passed the
Domestic Violence Act 2010. The Uganda Police Force also established the Child and Family
Protection Unit, which handles domestic violence cases.The different human rights which are violated
by domestic violence, are also categorized as positive rights, which impose a duty on the state to act
towards promoting, protecting and fulfilling them.
The role of the law in the fight against domestic violence cannot be underestimated, however, the law
alone can only do so much in the absence of a mindset change and sensitization of all citizens, police
officers, and other stakeholders, coupled with policy interventions that are applicable to all persons. As
many other women and men continue to suffer, the root causes of domestic violence must be addressed
in order to gear policy change and the protection of human rights.

Domestic violence is a complex problem requiring the combined and coordinated efforts of people
from different proffesional backgrounds and the communities. Some of the strategies to respond to

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gender based violence are:

Using the law to respond to domestic violence

If human rights violations especially of a criminal nature are evident in a case, the law should be
applied.

Using a multi pronged approach

This approach involves practictioners from different disciplines working together for solutions to
improve responses to domestic violence.

Responding to victims

The recognition and protection of victim's rights, needs and interests should be given priority by the
various stakeholders.

Working with the perpetrators

Perpetrators should have access to programs and initiatives that assist them overcome the violence for
example counselling, anger management, substance abuse therapy etc.

Training practitioners

Efforts by the various stakeholders both in the formal and informal response sectors, should be made to
equip practitioners with skills, to respond appropriately to domestic violence issues.

Preventing domestic violence

Several community initiatives can be undertaken to educate communities about domestic violence
including community dialogues, parent teacher education,cultural education programmes, couple
retreats,marriage classes, awareness creation in schools, forum theater etc.

Violence may be found anywhere and victims of domestic violence can be young or old, rich or poor,
female or male, socially privileged or not, politically powerful or without political influence.We should
all do whatever is within our means to mitigate gender based violence within our communities.