Sexual abuse, violence training critical to protect women and children from exploitation dur
Voices of trainees of sexual exploitation and abuse training
"I will train my colleagues at the police station on the core principles of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. As a female police officer, I also get unwanted comments and stares from colleagues whom you would expect to know these things. I will also share information with para-social workers on how to report and follow up cases of PSEA. Most cases fail to reach court because of corruption at the village level, where the victim's parents accept a bribe from the perpetrators and stop following up on their cases."
On 13-14 October 2022, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a joint training to empower different stakeholders from the districts of Mubende, Kassanda, and Kyegegwa on the protection of vulnerable groups from sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH) in the wake of yet another outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). More than 50 leaders, including probation officers, religious leaders, chief administrative officers, representatives from the Police and Judiciary, youths, teachers, cultural leaders, and representatives from non-governmental organizations attended the two-day training, from 13-14 October 2022, at ENRO Hotel in Mityana District.
Some participants and trainers shared their expectations of how the training will improve their work.
"Religion is the biggest influencer in local communities. During Jummah prayers, I take time off to sensitize people on gender-based violence and use the writings of the Quran to drive the message at home. We also visit local communities during functions and take these messages to families and schools. We offer counselling sessions and connect victims to relevant authorities, such as the police, for follow-up."
Sheikh Abdul Wahabu Busuulwa, District Khadi, Kyegegwa.
"As far as sexual exploitation and abuse go, schools have the biggest population of potential victims. School-going children often draw inspiration from teachers. We have trained teachers to be role models and have mechanisms for learners to report teachers who harass them. In secondary schools, we have adopted the structure of senior woman and man teachers to counsel and advise the adolescent children."
Athuman Wasswa, Education Officer, Kassanda District.
"The police response is usually slow, which affects the quality of evidence collected. When the cases get to court, they are dismissed, and the perpetrator returns to the community. This training will help eliminate these loopholes."
Dr. Robert Mutungi, Ag. Chief Administrative Officer, Mubende District.
"We have had to arrest local council one chairpersons who often connive with the abusers of women and children to settle matters out of court. This corruption has derailed the processing and hearing of cases in court because victims stop following up on their cases or do not know that they are supposed to follow up. My favourite part of this training is on handling evidence. Some stakeholders don't know that after a crime such as rape, DNA evidence needs to be collected immediately and stored under certain conditions. Some victims are told to shower and, in the process, we lose valuable evidence of a crime, which affects the cases when they are finally brought to court.”
Ditus Nsabye-Muzigata, Senior State Prosecutor, Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution, Mubende District.
"We have two refugee settlements in Kyegegwa District, but we don't have a shelter where we can keep women and children fleeing sexual and gender-based violence in their homes. Marital rape is high in the district, but several men don't understand it as a form of rape due to different cultures. There is a need for increased sensitization in local communities through radio programmes about gender-based violence and, most importantly, how and where to report such cases. At the moment, I use my personal number to receive cases. In the future, we need a dedicated helpline."
Hajat Kiggundu Sarah, In-Charge Child and Family Protection Unit, Kyegegwa District.
"The purpose of this training is to equip stakeholders involved in the Ebola outbreak response with knowledge on the protection of vulnerable people, especially children and women, from all forms of abuse and exploitation. We expect that the trained leaders can cascade this information to their lower cardres so we can begin to see some results. There will be follow-up and refresher training to meet the gaps in available community mechanisms to prevent sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment using lessons from the ongoing Ebola response efforts."
Everse Ruhindi, Equity and Rights Consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO
