Sexual and gender based violence in Uganda: Experiences of sexual violence among women and girls in Pallisa and Kisoro districts

This baseline report describes a survey which forms part of a series of activities under the Action for Development (ACFODE) project, ‘Prevention of Sexualised Violence against women and girls in rural areas of western (Kisoro District) and Eastern (Pallisa District) Uganda. The specific objectives of the survey were to: establish and understand the magnitude and the nature of sexualised violence (SV) in the Pallisa and Kisoro as of December 2009; establish the level of awareness of SV within the communities and by other stakeholders; find out existing mechanisms of coping with SV; and identify interventions/strategies currently used and their challenges. The following are among this report’s recommended measures for addressing critical SV issues:

- Conduct life skills training
- Develop mechanisms for coping with SV
- Form male action groups / increase male involvement
- Create an anti-sexual violence structure
- Enhance the capacity of anti-sexual violence advocates
- Produce a documentary of voices on SV
- Strengthen existing institutions handling SV
- Coordinate SV-related interventions by different stakeholders
- Strengthen networking
- Network with schools
- Revive clubs, legal aid services and sensitisation on girl child education
- Conduct mass/community SV sensitisation