Cabinet has approved a loan request to borrow USD 40 million from the World Bank that will support programs aimed at addressing gender based violence in the country.
This was revealed on Tuesday by the Deputy Government Spokesperson, Col (Rtd) Shaban Bantariza while addressing journalists. He was briefing the press on the decisions taken by Cabinet in its sitting on Monday at State House Entebbe.
During the meeting, Cabinet approved the proposal to borrow Shs 147.8 billion (USD 40 million) from the International Development Association of the World Bank Group, to support the social risk management and response project.
“The loan is required to increase participation in Gender Based Violence prevention programs, and increase utilization of multi-sectoral services of survivors of GBV in the target districts,” Bantariza said during the press conference.
A police report in Rakai, Mbale, Maracha, Busoga and northern Uganda sub-regions recorded the highest number of domestic violence against girls and women.
Gender based violence, particularly targeting women has for many years and continues to be a serious issue in many societies across Uganda. Men have a tendency of battering their wives, in some cases to the extent of causing grievous harm or even death.
Some of these acts of assault emanate from archaic cultural practices that objectify women while others result from the influence of alcohol. To a great extent however, the vice has been increased by the economic inequalities between men and women which makes the latter vulnerable to harassment.
The loan from the World Bank will finance sensitization activities and other programs aimed at empowering women in districts considered to have high incidences of gender based violence.
Bantariza said; “The targeted districts will be communicated. Because not all district have the same levels of gender based violence. There are those that must be prioritized”.
“I read in the papers a map showing areas where men batter women the most – like Eastern and Western Uganda. You can be sure that such areas will be prioritized,” he said.
A police report released last year on crime incidents indicated that a total of 163 women died in 2016 as a result of gender based violence. The same report cited Rakai, Mbale, Maracha, Busoga and northern Uganda sub-regions as having recorded the highest number of domestic violence against girls and women.
While statistics show that 1 in 3 women world over will be physically or sexually abused in her lifetime, in Uganda, 56% of women experience physical violence which is disturbing. 51% of women have been abused by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
This means that more than half of the women in Uganda have been victimized.