INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GULU CITY.

By Proscovia Achomo

Gulu City

International Justice Mission launched the ‘’SPEAK; End violence against women and children’’: a campaign to end violence against women.
Launched on Friday at Bomah Hotel, the campaign is built around protecting women from violence especially those who suffer from intimate partner violence also known as domestic violence.
 
Acting Country Director, International Justice Mission, Lillian Ayebale addressing participants.

Lillian Ayebale, the acting country director at International Justice Mission, IJM, reveled that this campaign was launched in commemoration of the death of Dorothy Acen, a former IJM Uganda staff who was murdered by her partner in June 2016. “It has been 8 years since that fatal day. Reflecting back on the memories shared by her loved ones and neighbors, the signs were all there. However, like is usually the case victims of intimate partners violence struggle with the decision to leave abusive relationships because of many prevailing circumstances” she remarked.

Ms. Lillian, added that late Dorothy Acen died because she kept quiet not to speak about what she was going through in her relationship yet if she had spoken about it, probably, she could have been saved. “We’re saying, any one experiencing violence, assault, domestic violence, speak and get helped, speak and you will safe guard yourself, for your family.” She emphasized

Ruth Lawino, Regional Manager, IJM for Northern Uganda said the campaign is a survivor-led 3-year campaign designed to increase reliance on the public justice system in handling cases of domestic violence through awareness, survivors of violence will be able to gain confidence to report to the justice system and be supported. “Every woman deserves the opportunity to live in community where they are free and safe, knowing they can trust the justice system to protect them and their loved ones by holding perpetrators accountable.” Lawino stressed

Gulu City Resident City Commissioner, Frances Jane Okili, holding a black umbrella during the launch of the campaign.

According to Ms. Jane Frances Okili, the Resident City Commissioner of Gulu, even though many cases of domestic violence go unreported due to cultural, religious and traditional norms and beliefs, the fear of family breakdown is also one of the many reasons as to why such cases are left unchecked and also violence has disastrous impact on women’s health and participation in the society, the social development of children, the unity of families, and their well-being, in some cases, it can even result into death.

Sawinya Lakaraber, a survivor leader and the president of global survivor network noted that even when they are survivors, there are still more victims who are still being violated and cannot speak up, these women need to be helped, some victims run away and sometimes they will have to look for them and, in the process, fail to locate them.
She anticipates that with this campaign, stakeholders will be at their back and front so that even when they get victims and take them to the police, they will be able to attend to them appropriately including the local council ones, religious leaders and cultural leaders.

Vicky Atim, Gulu District LC5 vice chairperson calls upon everyone to deliberate and come up with way forward on how to address this vice once and for all.
Atim, also warned the justice system against sabotaging some cases, “when cases are reported, cases are not followed and justice is not taken which makes some people reluctance in reporting cases and it becomes very difficult to comprehend such cases.” She also encouraged women to follow up reported cases and the witnesses to testify so that justice is realized.

Rev.Fr David Cankene, a priest in Gulu Archdiocese who attended this function called upon women and men to preach love and forgiveness as Paul XI put it, “if you need justice, create the environment, where there is no love, you will never find justice”.
 

GBV survivors in green T-shirts attending the Campaign launch.

Gulu District Community Development officer, Ms. Goretti Okech said reporting incidents of domestic violence is essential to reducing prevalence accenting that, it is important that survivors speak before it’s too late and don’t give excuses because no partners worthy their mystery and they should never make any relationship cosmetic.

Sharon Twikirize, senior manager advocacy and community engagement at IJM believes that the launch of SPEAK; End violence against women campaign will amplify
Awareness and will inform the public about the effects of violence against women and call to action all leaders in their respective capacities to treat violence against women as a pandemic which requires a collaborative effort to combat by ensuring proper reporting and support access to justice to the affected persons.

According to the United Nations, Violence against women remains devastatingly pervasive and starts alarmingly young. Across their lifetime, 1 in 3 women, around 736 million, are subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence from a non-partner – a number that has remained largely unchanged over the past decades.

This violence starts early: 1 in 4 young women (aged 15-24 years) who have been in a relationship will have already experienced violence by an intimate partner by the time they reach their mid-twenties.

The Uganda Police Force has reported that 14,681 cases of domestic violence were registered in 2023, and 17,698 cases in 2022and 242 cases of murder by domestic violence were registered in 2022 and 301 in 2023.

COVER PHOTO: Survivors of Gender Based Violence pose for a group photo By Proscovia Achomo