Remarks at National Launch of 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls

Honourable Minister for Gender Labour and Social Development

Ministers, Members of Parliament, and other Government Representatives

Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and Heads of Missions

Traditional and Religious Leaders

UN Heads of Agencies

All distinguished participants

On behalf of the United Nations family in Uganda, I am to join you all for the national launch of 16 Days of Activism under the theme “UNiTE! Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls” – which will focus on the important role of women’s rights organisations.

This is our 31st 16 days of activism and despite the multidisciplinary efforts, the statistics are still depressing. There are still unacceptable violence against women and girls across the globe. And that is also the case in Uganda, despite the commendable efforts of the Government and people of Uganda – and these efforts include legal reforms, increasing access to justice, and improving services - and civil society, including women’s rights organisations.

GBV not only violates the rights of women and children, it is costing all of us, by slowing down our progress towards our development goals.

In 2021 alone the Uganda Police Force received over 16,000 reports of sex-related offences – this translates to one report every 30 minutes. The majority of reported cases were perpetrated against young women and girls[1]. And these were just the cases reported – we know that the majority of sexual and gender-based violence crimes go unreported and women and girls suffer in silence.

Violence is affecting Uganda’s development. It is driving high rates of teen pregnancy, burdens health and justice systems, affects the rates of women and girls’ educational attainment, and resulting in lower levels of economic productivity[2].

And unfortunately, the events of recent times – pandemics, extreme weather events, economic shocks, and a global backlash against women’s rights – are further compounding this challenge and are rolling back years of progress. 

Over the years we have been working on System strengthening. And I believe we should continue doing that and take it further. System strengthening and coordination across sectors. For instance, ending violence against women cannot be achieved without also addressing violence against children in an integrated and coordinated manner.

Over the years we have also increasing begun responding in a victim centered way. And we should continue. Law enforcement, judicial, legal, and social welfare services should all be readily available for survivors to ensure their safety and healing. Yet, in Uganda it often it takes too long time to trial, and we sill have too much victim blaming.

Every time a woman speaks up about her experience of sexual violence and she’s not believed, the cycle of abuse continues. Every time you hear a survivor’s story we should all orient ourselves to 1-Listen. 2-Believe. 3-Support.

Third – collect data. Data is crucial to an evidence-based approach to violence against women and girls. We have made progress in collecting data, but perhaps we can do more in collecting the type of data that would provide the evidence needed to deal with the root causes. 

And now to the theme of the day.

Evidence shows that one of the most important drivers of policy change towards ending violence is a strong and autonomous women’s movement. Therefore, making investments in this area is critical[3].

In Uganda, women’s organisations have played a key role in working alongside the Government and development partners to advocate for strengthened accountability for ending violence against women and girls, as well as service delivery and social and gender norm change nationally and at the grassroot level.

These organisations have also played a leading role in amplifying the voices of those most left behind. They have advanced the status of those living with disabilities, young women, women in the rural areas, women living with HIV/AIDS, women and girls in the refugee response, and others facing multiple forms of discrimination. Yet despite their crucial role, they are at the frontlines of backlash – and often at a personal cost.

We need to collectively recognize the critical role they play in communities; resource them; and protect the space in which they operate – they are our allies. And we need better harness their support to overcome the National GBV challenges

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 2021, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched Our Common Agenda, which looks ahead to the next 25 years and represents the Secretary-General’s vision on the future of global cooperation. In this, he called for a renewed social contract between Governments and their people and within societies, so as to rebuild trust and embrace a comprehensive vision of human rights - including by placing women and girls at the centre of this reset.

In Uganda, the UN has incorporated these principles of inclusiveness and a Whole of Society Approach into our Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), where we have prioritized working alongside the Government, civil society and other actors to advance Uganda’s Vision 2040, the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, and African Union Agenda 2063.

These commitments strongly advocate for women and girls and acknowledge that their success cannot be achieved without advancing gender equality. Thus, the implementation of these national, regional, and global commitments are key opportunities to address the issue of violence against women and girls.

Before I conclude, allow to express my specific appreciation for the partnerships with the European Union and the Embassy of Sweden Through the Spotlight Initiative and the Joint Programme to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence (among others) we have been able to deploy targeted, large-scale investments to combat violence against women and girls and its impact. 

In closing, Violence Against Women cuts across all of our work and negatively impacts women and girls’ lives, public health, economic development, and whole of societies.

Stopping this violence starts with believing survivors, adopting comprehensive and inclusive approaches that tackle the root causes, transform harmful social norms, and empower women and girls. Together we can make it happen.

Call to Action

So, as we begin this campaign for the next 16 Days, we applaud the Government as it continues to support gender-responsive legislation, by prioritizing the passage, financing and implementation of pending bills – including the Marriage Bill, Employment Act Amendment Bill, Sexual Offences Bill, the Legal Aid Bill, among others.

I also call upon the Government to ensure an inclusive and conducive environment to facilitate a robust civic space. This is essential for the meaningful participation of women in leadership and governance processes at all levels, and to our collective efforts to end violence in all its forms. 

Finally, I call upon all partners to work towards advancing this agenda by amplifying the voices of survivors, supporting women’s organizations and activists; and recommitting to reduce and prevent violence against women and girls.

As the UN System in Uganda, we pledge our continued partnership with the women’s organisations in the pursuit of a society where women and girls, men and boys live a life that is free from violence.

We must push back against this pushback. I thank you for your attention.

[1] Annual Crime Report 2021 – Uganda Police Force. 2021 figures – Domestic Violence 17,533 cases reported; sex-related offences 16,373 cases reported, of which 14,482 against female juveniles; defilement – 14,570 cases reported.

[2] https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2021/11/24/how-domestic-violence-…

[3] https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/in-focus/2022/11/in-focus-16-days-of-activism-against-gender-based-violence