Why do you think Gender based violence against women is so prevalent in your community

Serious citizens; Gender-Based Violence - Poll 2

Why is Gender Based Violence so prevalent in your community?

40% - Men are frustrated because of poverty
29% - Women are scared or ashamed to speak out against GBV
18% - There is a failed system of reporting  GBV to authorities
13% - Physical and sexual violence are culturally accepted

Kansiime Shamim (Bweyogerere) - "There is a lot of poverty affecting us due to the hard economy, yet women continue demanding basic needs like soap, food, sugar, and others. When the man can't meet his basic needs, he drinks and fights at home."

Economic frustration among men due to poverty can contribute to tensions in households and increase the risk of gender-based violence. However, poverty should never be used as a justification for violence. Addressing GBV requires comprehensive approaches that tackle both economic and social factors.

Traditions based on kinship, inheritance of land, and male superiority are reinforced by traditional and religious leaders. These leaders should be part of a solution by supporting more realistic and modern gender roles and expectations, lest they aggravate the problems they are trying to solve. Despair and frustration with poverty fuels alcohol abuse and often consequent infidelity and inflames the household situation.
In follow-up interviews, unintended and extramarital children are generating a cycle of neglect and erosion of social norms.

28% of respondents indicate a high prevalence of GBV because Women are reluctant to report on GBV. In most communities in Uganda, it is the norm for many victims and survivors of GBV not to report as it carries shame on the woman and her household if she reports the husband. It involves the husband's status and respect in the community, which negatively impacts the entire household. Practical concerns are related to fears of reprisal and women's financial dependence on the man for survival.

 

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