Gender Based Violence dialogue

Gender Based Violence dialogue

November 27 – 28, 2017

Better Outcomes Project for Children and Youth in Northern and Eastern Uganda Bungonkho and Bufumbo sub counties, Mbale District

Introduction: The Better Outcomes project for Children and Youth in Northern and Eastern Uganda participated in the 16 days of activism against GBV through community dialogues held between November 27 and 28, 2017 which were facilitated by the Gender Based Violence focal person and Community Development Officer Bungonkho - Mutoto sub-county and a survivor of GBV in the district.

GBV awareness campaigns were led during group meetings of Village Savings and Loan Associations, Sinovuyu parenting groups, youth clubs and home visits to the victims with specific messages on ending violence against women and girls.

Theme: “Together we can end GBV in Education!”

Objectives of the dialogues: • To create a platform for SGBV response, prevention and awareness campaigns.

• To generate a deeper understanding of the nature of GBV and SGBV among communities.

• To influence change and provide a forum for the unheard to be heard.

Field assistants, para-social workers, community based trainers, district based trainers, SINO facilitators and technical officers prepared beneficiaries to demonstrate forms of GBV in their communities through music, theatre and poetries. Some of the participants shared their personal stories on GBV and how they were saved from the vice.

More than 700 participants attended the dialogues, including project beneficiaries, staffs, local council chairpersons, sub county chiefs, community development officers and other district staff.

“

Today we are seeing so many people turn out in large numbers in this sub-county – including the men! – Community Development Officer, Bungonkho sub-county.

Identified causes of GBV in Bungonkho and Bufumbo sub-counties: • Drunkenness.

• Food security (selling off food stuff for home consumption).

• Cases of bad touches in schools.

• Economic violence (men owning productive assets and produce from the gardens).

• Verbal abuse and use of cruel methods of punishment including denying people food.

• Forced marriages among the youth.

The plan of action of the people of Bungonkho and Bufumbo against GBV: • Conduct dialogues on the dangers of over drinking and also network with the authorities (police and local councils) to control drinking among men as a means to stop GBV in families.

• Scale up parenting skills to the larger community focusing on problem solving, financial planning and budgeting as a family.

• Sensitize girls and boys about the dangers of bad touches and how they can respond in case it occurs.

• Promote the Good School Approach.

The unsung heroes who spend their days and nights fighting hard to end GBV: Community-based trainers Field Assistant District Based Trainer Para-social workers Sinovuyo facilitators Project beneficiaries How they are making it work: • Through parenting sessions at group and household level.

• Home visits and counseling.

• Youth club platforms.

• VSLA group platforms.

Using participatory theatre to fight GBV: The youth, VSLA and SINOVUYO parenting groups are fighting GBV through role play and drama skits Lwambogo PEEC youth club demonstrated how the girl child is denied a chance to go to school by being given away for marriage before the age of eighteen in exchange for a cow. She is saved by friends who report the case to the Local Council chairperson and then to the police where a case file is instituted and the young girl is withdrawn from an early marriage.

The play ends with celebration after the girl returns to school and completes her education.

People are also happy that the perpetrator faced the law.

The youth in Mbale through their Youth Clubs have learned their rights and responsibilities. They now know where to report cases of abuse and how they can protect themselves against GBV.

Members of Bukhatoko Yetana VSLA also presented a skit where men did not allow their women to participate in income generating activities at the beginning of the project, accusing them of adultery.

After receiving skills, in their first cycle share-out, women began saving and acquiring assets. These tangible results encouraged their husbands who now go to the VLSA with them.

Bukhatoko Yetana VSLA saved up to USD 1,700 in their first cycle.

SINOVUYO parenting groups articulate what happens in their homes The group of teens presented the different GBV scenarios in their homes, echoing the critical need for both parents to raise children.

Parents in Bungonkho and Bufumbo have learned to manage anger, to solve problems in their homes, listen to their children and spend special time with their families.

GBV stories of change Beatrice’s story The para-social worker was going to visit a woman they had learned about in the community. The woman’s situation was dire: Beatrice Nandutu had been a victim of GBV for more than two years in a place she called home, by her own husband and father of her nine children.

Beatrice’s husband denied her land on which she would cultivate some food for the family. He beat her up and finally got another wife and left home. He only appeared once in a while to further disrupt Beatrice in the home.

“One day, my children and I ganged up and hit him: he fainted and I had to leave home for fear of arrest. My children couldn’t continue with their education.

Namutosi, Beatrice’s elder daughter got a job as a house help and the younger children stayed home alone.

When the para-social worker visited Beatrice’s home, he found her children sick and without food.

The process to reunite Beatrice and her husband took a long time but the para-social worker did not give up. He provided them with counsel until the family was came together.

Namutosi is back home: she enrolled for a nursery school teaching course. Beatrice’s other two children, Rachael and Derrick are also back in secondary school with the aid of the OVC plus initiative.

Beatrice’s code MB-09-0337-07

Amoni’s story Amoni admitted beating his wife The 48 year-old from Bufumbo sub-county in Mbale District says it was very hard for him to come to terms with the man that he was. He promised it would never happen again and his wife forgave him.

Amoni, his wife and children worked hard on their farm, growing bananas for sale. Amoni made irregular appearances on the farm as his wife and children worked hard. But in the harvest season, Amoni sold off all the bananas, paid school fees for his children and retained the balance for his personal use, leaving nothing for his wife.

“I was deceitful. We made profits which I did not declare to my wife. When the money got finished, I sold off what was meant to feed my family.

Amoni became violent with his wife, he regularly beat her up. Their children witnessed abuse and their performance in school declined.

The para-social worker supported Amoni’s family with counseling. His children have since joined youth clubs and their class performance has improved.

Amoni now has full knowledge of what he needs to do as a man, a father and a husband. Today, he says he’s trying to make amends for his previous actions by having special time with his family.

Amoni’s code MBL-03-0370-07

Kadijja’s story: Like any other child, Kadijja had hopes for a good future. At age 16, Kadijja got herself into a relationship with a man who she thought was equally young, and she conceived!

Things seemed okay when she started a life with her man until two years after their new born.

In and out of hospital, Kadijja’s man was: and when she asked to know about his health status, he beat her up.

He was abusive until her mom picked her. When Kadijja went for HIV testing, she was found positive: devastated, she attempted to commit suicide.

Through counseling, Kadijja joined a youth club, completed her programming pathways and decided she would start a new life. She is now a seamstress and earns one and half a dollar each day. She is also saving in a VSLA to help her meet her daily needs.

The teen has become an inspiration for her peers to tell them about the risks they face – she is making a stronger impact on young people.

Kadijja’s code MB-03-0107-02

What are you doing about GBV?