January 2011 - Blackherbals.com

Continued from page 33 - African Women in UK SilentlySuffer Domestic ViolenceAfter she moved to London from Nigeria, GraceAnyanhu* also suffered domestic violence but when shetried to leave her marriage she found it impossible tocontinue living in the UK because her visa didn't allowher to work.When her husband burned her with an electric iron shewent to the police but he told the court she had showedup in the UK with the scars. She was scared ofdeportation and of being shunned by her community soshe didn't go to court to identify her husband as theperpetrator. The case was dismissed and she later soughtasylum.It is difficult for local organisations to help women insuch circumstances.Refuges, a safe house for women and children escapingdomestic violence, has a separate home from womenfrom African and Caribbean backgrounds. It providesimmigration and asylum seeker support and attempts tohelp women mitigate family, community and religiouspressures. Meanwhile, Southall Black Sisters, a resourcecentre offering services to women experiencing violence,estimates it is approached for help by more than 600women every year.Sadly, the struggle of some African women does not endwhen they leave Africa, where a good number suffersimilar abuses every day. For those like Kanu andAnyanhu, the dream life they thought they would find inEurope has become a nightmare worse than the one theyleft behind in Africa.*Names have been changed.Mariama Kandeh is a Sierra Leonean journalistcurrently living in London. This article is part of theGender Links Opinion and Commentary Service.http://allafrica.com/stories/201012160570.html☻☻☻☻☻☻Uganda: Domestic Violenceand HIV Bedfellows - the Taleof Kalangala's BatteredMothersBy Chris Kiwawulo8 December 2010New VisionWhen Florence had a domestic brawl with her husbandtwo years ago, the man beat her up and she left theirhome.Florence had come with her 13-year-olddaughter of another man from Masaka to Bunyama Islandin Kalangala district, but on leaving, she left the girlbehind. On returning after six months, her husband haddefiled the girl, impregnated her and infected her withHIV/AIDS. The man, Stephen Minaani, was arrested andis now facing trial in Masaka High Court as the girl isfighting for her life with HIV.This appalling story is one of the dozens of cases thathappen on several of the 84 islands that make upKalangala district, where the HIV/AIDS prevalence iscurrently estimated at between 17 and 20%, reveals Dr.Edward Muwanga, the district HIV focal person. "Theprevalence was as high as 30% between 2001 and 2008and more in some areas."The national prevalence stands between 6.5% and 7%. Inother cases, Muwanga says, married men go for sexworkers or women other than their wives after they havehad brawls at home. The head of the Police child andfamily protection unit in Kalangala, Grace Night, saysthey receive about five cases of domestic violence everymonth and about four cases of defilement by fathers (bothbiological and step)."Worryingly, majority of the fathers who defile theirdaughters are HIV-positive," Night says. Police, togetherwith NGOs, have, therefore, started a sensitisationcampaign to curb domestic violence as a proactivemeasure to avert the spread of HIV, especially amongyoung girls.The biggest challenge is lack of funds to access all theislands that make up Kalangala district. She also notesthat some men run to the mainland or other islands aftercommitting crimes. She, therefore, calls for funds toestablish a mobile court that will enable islanders accessjustice and deter more crime.The HIV prevalence rate worsens in Kalangala when newpeople with infections go to the islands. In a crammedenvironment where the population of women is waylower than that of men, sharing is a common practicewhich has largely contributed to the rise in the prevalencerate. For every 150 men, there are 100 women, saysMuwanga, adding that the presence of high riskpopulations like sex workers, fishermen, boda bodariders, truck drivers and shambaboys working in palm oilplantations exacerbates the problem.The island's population is about 63,000 people and this iswhat Government budgets for when it comes to healthContinued on page 35-34- Traditional African Clinic January 2011