Over 700 cases of Gender Based Violence in Kisoro fueled by lockdown

Over 700 cases of Gender Based Violence in Kisoro fueled by lockdown

By Kate Atuzarirwe.

A report from the office of the Probation at Kisoro district local Government has revealed that more than 700 cases of gender based violence have been recorded since the lockdown in March 2020.

The Government of Uganda decided to institute a countrywide lock down back in March 2020 following the breakout of the deadly corona virus disease.

Uganda has since experienced two major lockdowns. The last lockdown was recently lifted partially following pressure on Government from the public.

Kisoro district probation officer Kampire Moira said domestic violence has been on the rise with more than 490 cases recorded in a period of one and half years.

Other cases that have been recorded include;

• Neglected babies- 170
• Early marriages- 50
• Teenage pregnancies- 45
• Juveniles appearing before court – 50

Kampire explained that majority of the cases are as a result of poverty at the household level as well as majority of youth in the villages being idle.

“On average, I receive at least two cases of defilement from the community. This is quite alarming because the girl child is very vulnerable during the Covid- 19 pandemic”, Moira said

She called on parents in the community to find ways of spending more time with their children and monitoring their activities to ensure they are engaging in productive work.

Politicians Speak out

The Nyarubuye Sub county LC III chairperson Ernest Bukyokori said early marriages and teenage pregnancies are on the rise because majority of the youth have abandoned the idea of returning to school because the pandemic has continued for so long.

Vomuhabura recently aired a story of children engaging in sugarcane business. https://vomuhabura.com/kisoro-school-going-children-resort-to-sugar-cane-retailing/

Annual Crime Report 2020 – Crimes on Increase

Domestic Violence: 17,664 cases of Domestic Violence were reported to Police compared to 13,693 reported in 2019, giving a 29% increase.

Of 18,872 people who were victims of Domestic Violence, 3,408 were male adults, 13,145 were female adults. 1,133 were male juveniles while 1,186 were female juveniles.

Rape: 1,519 cases of rape were registered compared to 1,528 cases reported in 2019, giving a decrease of 0.5%. A total of 1,521 women were victims of rape.

Murder as a result of Domestic Violence: 418 cases were registered in 2020 compared to 360 cases reported in 2019, giving a 16.1% increase. This is because of lockdown where families were at home.

A total of 440 people were killed as a result of aggravated domestic violence, of whom, 213 were male adults, 169 were female adults, 33 were male juveniles and 24 were female juveniles as compared to 373 people killed in 2019 as a result of domestic violence, of whom, 175 were male adults, 141 were female adults, 37 were male juveniles and 20 were female juveniles.