Uganda women's economic empowerment loan fund

“Policeman allegedly defiled 14 years old and abandoned her with a child” is the headline of a story published on “Entebbe News,” an online publication that is one of my daily sources for news. I immediately clicked on the link and read the story. Instantly, I was disappointed with the wording of the headline.

In the story is included the fact “Police Spokesperson Kasirye confirmed that their officer defiled the girl, but he said that the girl was already pregnant when she was defiled.” In which case, I wonder why the need for the word “allegedly” in the headline. It is confirmed that he defiled.

Was it the case that the accused defiled the victim or he in fact raped her?

In the story, the words “rape”, “defiled” and “sexual exploitation" are used inter-changeably. The three are all sexual offences but are not all the same crimes.

“Rape is unlawful sexual activity, most often involving sexual intercourse, against the will of the victim through force or the threat of force or with an individual who is incapable of giving legal consent because of minor status, mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception.” Source Britannica.

According to the story, the victim says on one occasion the accused “kidnapped her on her way from school.” And in other incidences, when she reported to Police and was instead “charged with theft and fraud” and detained in Police custody. That the accused “continued to harass and rape her in Police custody.”

Accepting the victim’s narration of what happened to her, I would have preferred a headline without the word “alleged” and has the word “rape”. According to the victim the accused engaged in sexual intercourse with her by force; he harassed her (meaning he threatened her); and she is four years younger than the age, 18 years, she can give legal consent to sex.

“Under Ugandan law, any person who has sexual intercourse with a girl below the age of eighteen is guilty of defilement (also referred to as statutory rape in other jurisdictions).” Source AfricaBib.

Also, in the story, it is reported Probation Officer, Nankuzze characterised what happened to the victim as “sexual exploitation.” Accepting the victim’s version of what happened to her, the accused abused the power and trust encoded among members of the Uganda Police Force.

However, it is not clear from the story if the accused profiteered using the victim in sexual engagement.

“Sexual exploitation is any actual or attempted abuse of power or trust for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting commercially, monetarily, socially, or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.” Source ActionAid Uganda.

The manner in which the journalist who wrote the story and the duty bearers quoted in the story in word diminish the crime by using less emotive words in describing the crime and avoiding the word “rape” is disturbing. Sadly, it is consistent with the tendency in Uganda to blame victims of sexual gender-based violence. An attitude that deters victims from reporting and worse more, for those who report, traumatizing them into not pursing justice.

In the story it is reported, Police Officer “Kahuma told her not to tell anyone that Police would prover her support.” Whereas, in my case it wasn’t sexual violence, but another form of gender-based violence, I personally experienced this unacceptable and unprofessional conduct of police officers. Harassing and intimidating victims of sexual and gender-based violence to settle with the aggressor and not take the matter forward.

When a victim refuses to be silenced, as seemingly is the case with the victim of the story, my experience is that rotten apples in the Police Force, such as the accused and his colleagues will swing in action and go at war with the victim. Among the things they may do is to make sure that the case isn’t properly evidenced. In some cases refusing to take statements from those in support of the victim.

Or, such rotten apples in the Police Force, will deliberately present insufficient evidence to the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution, as in hide the evidence and not present it. Guaranteeing the case file will not proceed to a court of law, on grounds of insufficient evidence.

This is why I take with a pinch of salt the part in the story in which it is reported that “Police Spokesperson Kasirye said the victim withdrew the charges against the police officer while at the State Attorney’s Office.” Sadly, though, withdrawing of charges by victims of sexual and gender-based violence is the norm.

Societal pressure against victims of sexual and gender-based violence victims is stacked so high that if those who would support the victim are scared off and silenced. This is a feasible reason, for the part in the story where it is reported about the victim that:

“She (the victim) was staying with her aunt Ainembabazi, but later she left her in a rental at Kinoni Town Council, now she does not have money to pay rent.”

A sad state of affairs, but which more informed and responsible media reporting can contribute to changing for the better. Using mostly the words of the story headline, my preferred version of the headline would have been:

“14 years old pregnant girl accuses policeman of raping and abandoning her with child.”

And in the story I wouldn’t have let the duty bearers get away with the ‘cover-up comments’ they made. I would have called them out.

HOW YOU CAN HELP TO END SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

Research funded by "Development Market Place: Innovations to Address Gender-Based Violence show promise in targeting individual and risk factors associated with violence." It is within this optimism that our CPAR Uganda “Uganda women’s economic empowerment loan fund” project for which we are fundraising is located.

A US$ 10 (about Shs. 40,000) contribution to our community loan fund will enable three vendors to access weekly loans for produce buying and selling; livelihoods that will enable them to put food on the table for their disadvantaged families.

Thank you to all our supporters and donors who have already made contributions your enabling us to positively change lives little x little. We still need your help. Please spread the word and encourage others in your cirlce to support the fight against sexual and gender-based violence through the economic empowerment of disadvantaged women in Uganda.

Links:

• Story published in Entebbe News that provoked this report
• Situation analysis - gender based violence in Northern Uganda
• Research - innovations to address gender-based violence

I am excited that for the first time ever, I have taken the initiative to register my social enterprise to benefit from a Government Project.

AF is now registered and, if approved, may benefit from the “Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW),” project that is being implemented by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU).

Two of us at AF have already signed up for training on:

• Beekeeping
• Food preservation
• Mushroom growing
• Yoghurt making

We, at AF, hope to soon finalize an on-going audit of our associate farmers – out growers of our flagship product, Atorot, our brand of organically grown and sundried calyces of hibiscus sabdariffa fruit - in Pallisa. We hope that through AF, our associate farmers will benefit from GROW.

It is our hope to expand the production of Ebaale, our brand of organically grown and dried oyster mushrooms to increase production volumes in Pallisa; as well establish production in Entebbe; and branch into selling of fresh mushrooms.

Our plan is to re-open our AF Shop, once in the city, but will now be at Entebbe. Our loyal customers within the Kampala metropolitan area need not worry, our delivery services to you will resume.

“GROW is a government of Uganda 5-year project with a development objective of increasing access to entrepreneurial services that enable female entrepreneurs to grow their enterprises in targeted locations, including in host and refugee districts,” according to the project website.

My gratitude goes to Hon. VS for shaming ‘elite women’, such as me, into becoming pro-active to know what is on offer for women development. ‘Elite women’, that is, who are in position to better access and to facilitate other women to access opportunities, such as GROW.

Hon. VS’s advocacy was the final straw that I need to take the decision to visit PSFU and the GROW project secretariat in Kampala, in order to find out more. During my exploratory visit, I learnt that GROW has two major ways that it is established to support women businesses:

• Technical support – including training and other business support services
• Access to Finance – loans at lower interest rates of 10 percent per annum that will be made accessible through select banks.

We, at AF, are getting our house in order and are delighted of this opportunity that may help us revive and grow our business better as we were when I gave a TED Talk sharing our success story. Yes, we have taken major hits in the past that brought us to our knees, but with the opportunity of GROW we now have hope for explosive revival.

Another reason why I took the initiative to register AF with GROW is so that, as the Managing Director of CPAR Uganda, I may lead by example; and access knowledge which I may use to make informed proposals to our Board of Directors on how CPAR Uganda may facilitate women to benefit from GROW. 

Particularly, how beneficiaries of our CPAR Uganda “Uganda women’s economic empowerment loan fund” may benefit from Grow.

Links:

• Text of TED Talk - success story of AF social enterprise model
• GROW Project website