Building Bridges
Collective efforts that involve community and cultural leadership is required to strengthen approaches to End Violence Against Women & Girls.
Tracking leading causes of VAWG
Imbalance of power and poverty continue to lead the infliction of Violence Against Women and girls. We (Uganda) have one of the highest rates of Intimate Partner Violence Worldwide. More than 56% of women between 15 and 49 years have reported experiencing IPV or SGBV in their lifetime.
African culture makes women more vulnerable and generally limits their ability to explore opportunities that may improve their capacities to fight poverty and improve their livelihoods. Perceptions that became norms continue to influence how girls and boys are treated causing different reactions from society towards women and girls participation and development. This limits Girls and women's potential to thrive in the world that is so diverse with opportunities they could benefit from.
In addition - COVID-19 led to a decline in women employment in Uganda (From 49% in 2019 to 48.6% in 2021: World bank). More effort is needed towards improving women's capacity to get into and stay in work. With the passing of the Employment (Amendment) bill 2022, our focus remains on education and capacity building to ensure that women are informed, treated well and given equal opportunity at work.
Role Models
Women remain the backborne of the agricultural sector in Uganda. 76% of the workforce in agriculture are women although food production remains very low. Please note that majority of women farmers continue to labor but their male counterparts (husbands or male relatives collect bigger percentages of these profits) We are holding on facts that more women are getting into leadership positions with 34 seats in the current parliament held by women.
With efforts from civil society a few laws have been amended to fit current situations for women and girls. Educating masses about these improvements is crucial at this moment to boost access to support services that aid enforcement. Follwoing Article 5(a) of CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) whose obligation is to the states, our efforts are directed to community, cultural and local government leaders to support community group efforts to end violence and bad cultural norms that limit women and girls potential.
The shaping of gender roles in our culture is heavily affecting women and girls potential to thrive. The BBW approach considers this narrative and works with key players to inform, influence and empower communities and cultures to understand their role in causing change in the lives of women and girls.
Where We Stand: Safeguarding & Empowering Women & Girls
efiug supports a great deal of sector engagement education and systems stregnthening to support fairness and equal opportunity to women and girls at community level.
Take Action
There are lots of ways to get involved with efiug’s work to advance equity. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of women and girls.