According to the statistics from Arua District Community Development Office, only 67 men reported Gender Based Violence cases between January and September 2024, out of 921 total GBV cases registered in the period.
The Lugbara Cultural Institution has rallied men in West Nile to overcome stigma and report GBV cases.
Recent
statistics released by Arua District Community Development Office indicate that the number of men reporting cases of Gender Violence committed against
them remains low.
According
to the statistics, only 67 men reported Gender Based Violence cases between
January and September 2024, out of 921 total GBV cases registered in the period.
Stakeholders
in the district cite cultural beliefs and shame as the main factors limiting men
from reporting GBV cases. This has attracted the attention of the Lugbara Cultural
Institution (Lugbara Kari) which is working jointly with other stakeholders, including
police and Non-Governmental Organizations, to address the challenges.
The Gender
Minister at Lugbara Kari, Ezatia Suzan, said that they are now forced to move into the
communities to interact with men as they fear directly reporting GBV cases
committed against them by their spouses.
She said, that speaking to men independently during dialogues is now registering success as they can open up and speak about the challenges, making it easy to help them overcome
the problems.
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the villages”//
Lugbara
Kari conducts the dialogues in partnership with the Child and Family Protection
Unit at police to engage the community on the dangers of violence, understanding the
causes and possible solutions to address them.
Last
year, the district registered a total of 921 GBV cases from January to
December. 854
of these were reported by women while men only reported 67 of the cases.
Harriet
Fikira, a Community-Based Advocacy Focal Person at Community Empowerment for Rural
Development (CEFORD) acknowledge the role of cultural institutions in
addressing Gender Based Violence.
She noted
that cultural institutions play a key role in changing the mindset of community
members against some cultural beliefs that hinder the reporting of such cases.
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“Cultural leaders, they…
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meet them”//
Although
the community dialogues and sensitizations are contributing to addressing the
challenges, the Gender Minister at Lugbara Kari, Ezatia Suzan, said that logistical
challenges, especially transport to visit all the sub-counties and regions also limit the implementation of their programs.
Out of
the 67 GBV cases reported by men between January and September, physical form is
leading with 30 cases followed by sexual form with 12.
Bosco Ayume
Freelancer