January 2011 - Blackherbals.com

African Traditional Herbal Research ClinicVolume 6, Issue 1 NEWSLETTER January 2011FEATURED ARTICLESDomestic Violence, including Legislation, Statistics andAttitudes toward Domestic Violence; The Availability ofProtection and Support Services Uganda:LegislationUganda ratified the Convention on the Elimination ofAll Forms of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW) in 1985 (UN n.d.; The Monitor 10 Feb.2008; AI 30 Nov. 2007, Sec. 3.1). In addition, Uganda'sConstitution accords women "full and equal dignity ofthe person with men" and prohibits "[l]aws, cultures,customs or traditions" that undermine their welfare,dignity or status (Uganda 1995, Art. 33; AI 30 Nov.2007, Sec. 3.2). Nevertheless, Amnesty International(AI) indicates that there are certain customary laws andpractices concerning land ownership, marital customsand child custody norms that conflict with CEDAWand women's constitutional rights (ibid.). For example,marital rape is not recognized under the Penal Code,since consent to marriage is interpreted as consent tosexual activity under customary law (ibid.). Accordingto AI, domestic violence including marital rape mayonly be dealt with under the lesser criminal charge ofassault which carries with it a lower maximum sentenceof up to five years imprisonment and does not deal withother forms of domestic violence, including sexual andpsychological violence (ibid.).Uganda has no specific law in place prohibitingdomestic violence (The Monitor 10 Feb. 2008; US 11Mar. 2008), and a draft domestic violence bill has"languished" for years in parliament (Freedom House2007; The New Vision 28 Sept. 2007). The domesticrelations bill was tabled in December 2003, but wasshelved in 2005 after it came under attack from bothlegal and parliamentary affairs committee members andthe public (WorldChanging 1 Dec. 2007). In 2006,President Yoweri Museveni declared that the bill "' ...was not urgently needed'" and debate was halted (ibid.).However, following a mission to Uganda in March2008 by the African Women Leaders Project (AWLP),an 18-month initiative by the Club of Madrid to supportwomen leaders in four African nations includingUganda, President Museveni reportedly made a publiccall for its "speedy passage" (AWLP May-June 2008).Cited in AWLP's May-June 2008 newsletter, the Speakerof the House of Assembly indicated that he would ensurethe bill's passage before the end of parliament (ibid.).In the Kawempe Division in Kampala District, a by-lawwas passed in October 2007 (Raising Voices n.d.a; TheNew Vision 9 Oct. 2007), that makes it possible toimpose a fine on or demand compensation from aperpetrator of domestic violence (ibid.). The by-law alsoprovides for a fine to be imposed on anyone who "abusesor physically hurts" a community member or authorityfigure who intervenes or comes to the aid of a victim(ibid.). According to Raising Voices, a non-governmentalorganization (NGO) based in Kampala that works towardpreventing domestic violence (Raising Voices n.d.b), it isthe first by-law to be passed in Uganda that addressesdomestic violence (ibid. n.d.a). Raising Voices is aproject of the Tides Center, a registered Americancharitable organization (ibid. n.d.b.).Statistics on and attitudes toward domestic violenceIn August 2007, the Uganda Bureau of Statisticspublished a report indicating that 68 percent of evermarriedwomen aged 15 to 49 years had experiencedsome form of violence inflicted by their spouse orintimate partner (Uganda Aug. 2007, 293-294). A 2006study by the Uganda Law Reform Commission yieldedsimilar data, indicating that 66 percent of both men andwomen respondents had experienced domestic violence(CEDOVIP 2007). The United States (US) Department ofState reports in its Country Reports on Human RightsPractices for 2007 that a 2006 survey indicated that 70percent of women had been physically or sexually abused(US 11 Mar. 2008, Sec. 5). This survey also found that 60percent of men and 70 percent of women in Ugandacondone "wife beating" (ibid.). This attitude reflectsstatistics published by the United Nations Children'sFund (UNICEF) in its 2008 report, which indicates that77percent of women aged 15 to 49 years feel that spousalContinued on page 9-8- Traditional African Clinic January 2011