The Gender Issues in Uganda: An Analysis of Gender-Based Violence, Asset Ownership and Employment in Uganda

This manuscript analyzed Gender disparities in Uganda including asset ownership and employment as well as Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and their persistence in Uganda. The study used a descriptive design with secondary data obtained from Uganda Bureau of Statistics-UBOS (2019). The study established that women are going through a lot of physical and sexual violence, and few of them are owning assets in spite of the efforts made by Government of Uganda and development partners. The study recommended need to increase on awareness in order to fight gender discrimination within the Uganda.

gender-based violence can include female infanticide; child sexual abuse; sex trafficking and forced labour; sexual coercion and abuse; neglect; domestic violence; and elder abuse (Blaser, 2012).

Study Purpose
The study goal is to analyze the Gender situation in Uganda.

Specific Objectives
i.
To assess the extent of Gender-based violence in Uganda.

ii.
To establish the level of Gender Asset ownership in Uganda.

iii.
To assess the level of Gender Employment in Uganda.

Research Questions
i. What is the extent of Gender-based violence in Uganda? ii.
What is the level of Gender Asset ownership in Uganda? iii.
What is the level of Gender Employment in Uganda?

Problem Statement
Women tend to be unprotected in the face of gender-based discrimination and workplace violence, i.e., sexual coercion and stigmatization offenders use power yet it affects productivity and talent (Kyatusiimire, 2020). There are increased death as a result of domestic violence (163), defilement (17,567), rape (1,572), indecent assault (548), Incest (72), domestic violence-not deaths (10,744) and human trafficking (375) this forced the youth to ask for a specialized hospital for victims of GBV (Nabatanzi, 2019b). A number of institutions have supported the call on GBV, i.e., Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in conjunction with the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) with support from UNFPA they conducted court sessions for affected victims in 2018 and the Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC) provide for appropriate health care to the victims of GBV (Nabatanzi, 2019b), ActionAid Uganda support in post management of GBV through giving capital to the victims to bring business and give shelter to women who have suffered GBV in their 10 shelters across the www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/uspa Urban Studies and Public Administration Vol. 3, No. 3, 2020 133 Published by SCHOLINK INC. country. They work with Judiciary, police, religious leaders and health centers in handling their GBV cases (Naigino, 2019). Student leaders in secondary schools across the country we talked to concerning GBV since some teachers take advances on these girls (Adriko, 2019;Akumu, 2012;Kasirye, 2018;Nangonzi, 2014;Ninsiima, 2013). Well as the new land law allows the man to consult with the wife before selling but it doesn't specify clear terms and conditions of owning part of the land. GBV cases have increased from 5001 in 2017 to 5359 in 2018, physical assaults (1876), emotional abuse (1127) (Achan, 2019d;Kyotalengerire, 2019). UDHS survey 2016 only 39% of women use contraceptives hence 4 out of 10 women are actually using them, 26-28% of women have unmet conception needs hence 3 of 10 women are willing to use them.
According to Public Health 59% of GBV are related to physical violence in lost arms, legs and others burnt acid, step mother mistreatment in line with burns, battering wives, use of drugs hence psychological trauma which end in economic violence. There is a Children and Women's Protection Unit at every police station they handle cases related to sexual offences like rape and defilement and filling forms is free of charge (Reporter, 2013). According to Hon. Miria Matembe rapists should be castrated or the penalty should be death (Kyotalengerire, 2019;Reporter, 2013).
According to the 2017 International Organization for Migration (IOM) baseline survey report on strengthening social cohesion indicated that domestic violence was at 47% and sexual harassment 33%.
Some places in Kampala have been known for rape, underage marriages and other forms of GBV and this affects more women than it does for men (Mukalazi, 2019b) and due to mistrust of authorities in Kampala a lot of cases go unreported (Mukalazi, 2019a;Musuya, 2018).
In Uganda GBV is traditional and discrimination began with what women shouldn't eat (chicken calling it taboo) to inheritance. Government of Uganda has put in place the legal framework and remedies to GBV not limited to empowerment. The introduction of universal primary and secondary education has facilitated independent decision making. The United Nations and European Union has embarked on new global, multi-partner, multi-year initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls in order to sustainable inclusive human development to enable Uganda to work on social beliefs, attitudes, perceptions on societal roles of boys and girls, women and men (Admin, 2020b;Eyotaru, 2016).
A lot has been achieved worldwide yet women in Uganda are still marginalized. The president of Uganda in support to end GBV of all forms by 2030 he condemned GBV and called it an act of cowardice, primitive and criminal (Kitunzi, 2020). According to some region's teachings, some people believe that a woman should submit herself to the husband as churches submit to Christ Ephesians 5:24.
Women continue to be painted voice less in line with their freedom of expression and speech.
Traditional if any person begins a journey and they first person they meet is a woman, they cancel the journey to go perform exorcist rituals because women are considered a curse or bad omen. The issue bride price (exchange of women with material gains) impacts on GBV. The beliefs, values, attitudes and artefacts support to evaluate and interpret, GBV in various communities. Since culture forms human behavior it concentrates on customs, traditions, usage, patterns and habits which is dependent upon control mechanisms that form the order behaviors (Admin, 2020a). Centre for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP) spends sh77b responding and treating GBV victims which rape cases results into teenage pregnancies and school dropouts (Agaba, 2018). Electoral process is when there are many cases of GBV against women because men don't them to exercise their rights. Uganda Women's Network (UWONET) empowers women in resource mobilization and encourages women to participate. According to UN Women the negative perception f society is stopping women to take up leadership positions (Joomlasupport, 2011;Nabatanzi, 2019a).
According to Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Uganda victims of GBV will receive free legal aid services. Women lack finances, confidence, walk long distances to seek for legal services.
There is Legal Family Desk (LFD) in communities that are most vulnerable to assist. increased acceptable vulnerable groups due to government projects across the county hence sexual assault, transactional sex, rape and forced/early marriage (Amamukirori, 2018;Mutegeki, 2017).
A number of legal frameworks in relation with gender violence in Uganda, i.e.,

Legal Framework
According to Kyatusiimire (2020)  3) Article 33 is about rights of women and Article 34 of the Uganda constitution is about rights of children. We also have also that prevents human trafficking. 9) The referral pathways for response towards Gender Based Violence cases in Uganda (2013) and the guidelines for establishment and management of GBV shelters in Uganda (2013).

4) Domestic
10) The regulatory framework has empowered State, Non-state and individual actors with effective tools to combat all forms of GBV, leading to a more holistic and integrated response to FGM and GBV.
11) The Beijing Declaration and other international and regional human rights instruments aimed at ending GBV, including in post-conflict and humanitarian settings.
12) The ratification of international human rights instruments, including The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, (Maputo protocol).
13) The National Action Plan (NAP) for the national implementation of UNSCR1325, 1820 and the Goma Declaration on Eradicating Sexual Violence and Ending Impunity in the Great Lakes Region (Goma Declaration) in 2008. This declaration was specific on protection from Gender-Based Violence (GBV) (Women, 2009

Challenges in Reducing GBV in Uganda
1) Gender based prevention and response policies exit; implementation is still a challenge.
2) Negative social norms and practices against women and girls.
3) Delayed passing of marriage and divorce bill into law.
4) High lending rates by banks, micro finances and SACCOs coupled with lack of collateral security among vulnerable women and girls. 13) The national development plan should integrate measure for streamlining GBV and equity into the programs country wide.
14) Those handling GBV lack training especially Police and sectoral agencies. The police just administer an emergency drug. The magistrates in court need to deal GBV victims in a special way.
15) Public Private Partnerships in advancing women empowerment, equality and equity at work places.
16) The politics of money is stopping a lot of enable boarded women from joining politics.

Ministry of Finance planning and Economic Development doesn't first track the implementation of National Gender and Equity capacity building plan and programs.
17) The ministry of public service doesn't support or has not engineered the mainstreaming of Gender Units/Departments across ministries in the country.
18) Limited economic opportunities which led to redundancy and alcoholism.
19) The existence of adverse cultural norms, practices and traditions, patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes that perpetuate violence against women.
20) A lot of gender norms and the perception that people have attach to these roles.

21)
There are a lot of unequal power relationships in work places and families. 22) Continued unchecked physical, emotional or psychological and sexual violence, and denial of resources or access to services due to corruption, i.e., police charges for the form.

23) Continued violence, i.e., threats and intimidation, sexual gender-based violence (SGBV)
inflicts harm on girls, women, boys and men and is a severe violation of several human rights.
24) lack of financial empowerment among women in marriage especially in the rural areas will be more vulnerable to gender-based violence.

Methodology
The study used a descriptive design in which only quantitative approaches were used. Descriptive research design was adopted in order to investigate the Gender situation in Uganda using descriptive statistics. The study used secondary data obtained from UBOS (2019).

Findings on Gender Situation in Uganda
This chapter presents findings on the extent of Gender-based violence, level of Gender Asset ownership, and level of Gender Employment in Uganda.

Extent of Gender-Based Violence in Uganda
This section presents findings on an assessment made on Gender-based violence in Uganda.

Prevalence of Physical Violence in Uganda
Physical violence results from: Pushing, shaking or throwing objects at a person, slapping, twisting one's arm or pulling hair, punching with his or her fist or with something that can hurt a person (UDHS, 2016). Furthermore, physical violence results from kicking, dragging or beating, trying to chock or burning on purpose, threatening or attacking a person with a knife, gun or any other weapon are also considered (UDHS, 2016). Therefore, the findings below present the prevalence of physical violence among gender distributed by area of residence and education level.

Figure 1. Gender Distribution of Victims of Physical Violence by Area of Residence
Source: UBOS (2019).
www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/uspa Vol. 3, No. 3, 2020 139 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Figure 1 above shows that women and men in rural areas reported more cases of physical violence compared to women and men in urban areas. Meanwhile, women (52.6%) in rural areas of Uganda reported more cases of physical violence compared to men (52.2%). In contrary, more men (49.9%) in urban areas reported cases of physical violence compared to women who were represented with a proportion of only 46.9%. It is concluded that physical violence in Uganda is more prevalent in rural areas compared to urban areas. It is stated according to WHO (2004) that the major cause of physical violence in rural areas is associated with lack of employment opportunities which has resulted into alcoholism and redundancy.

Figure 2. Gender Distribution of Victims of Physical Violence by Education Level in Uganda
Source: UBOS (2019).
Figure 2 above shows that women with no education (56.2%) reported more cases of physical violence compared to men in Uganda. It is also observed that women with primary education (53.3%) reported more cases of physical violence compared to men. However, it is evident that men with secondary education and more reported more cases of physical violence compared to women. This indicates that the risks of physical violence increased in men as their education level increased while the risks of physical violence reduced in females as their education level increased.

Prevalence of Sexual Violence in Uganda
This study looked at the prevalence of sexual violence among gender and distributed according to the area of residence and education level. The findings are presented below in different figures;   The results presented in Figure 4 above show that women reported more cases of sexual violence among those with no formal education, primary, secondary education and more. On the other hand, findings show that people with no education or lower education level are more at risk of sexual violence in Uganda compared to those with high education level.

The Level of Gender Asset Ownership in Uganda
Assets can be either physical or financial. However, this study mainly analyzes the distribution of physical assets among men and women in Uganda. The findings are presented below in different figures;

Figure 5. Distribution of Furniture Ownership among Men and Women at Household Level in Uganda
Source: UBOS (2019).
The study findings reveal that furniture is owned more by men (31%) at household level compared to women (28%). The study shows that more males are owning furniture at household level because they are employed more compared to women.

Figure 7. Distribution of House Ownership between Men and Women in Uganda
Source: UBOS (2019).
The results presented in Figure 7 show that house ownership in Uganda is dominated by men with a proportion of 31% compared to women who stand at 28%. However, it is observed that there has been a significant improvement in houses owned by women though slightly below that of men because women are nowadays engaged in entrepreneurial activities where they earn and invest in houses.

The Level of Gender Employment in Uganda
In Uganda, employment status has gender issues basing on the sector of employment and hours of work.
Due to life-long discrimination and job stereotyping, most women work in low-paying and lower-status jobs with little decision-making or bargaining power. Therefore, this study presents the findings on gender employment in Uganda.

Figure 8. Gender Distribution of People by Industry of Work in Uganda
Source: UBOS (2019).  Figure 8 show that majority of the sectors in Uganda employ more men while the few employ more women. For instance, more men are employed in agricultural, manufacturing, education, construction, transportation and storage, and other sectors. However, women only dominate in trade and accommodation and food service activities. The findings imply that majority of the sectors in Uganda employ more men as compared to women. Few women are employed in majority of the sectors in Uganda because women tend to work in less risky jobs that are more likely to be informal due to flexible hours of work but offer little pay (EPRC, 2017) (Note 4).  The study revealed that more women (13.2%) in the working age population are more unemployed compared to men (5.8%) in Uganda. The high level of unemployment among women in Uganda is due to limited skills, low education level and limited opportunities in the job market.

Conclusions
Despite the efforts made by the Government of Uganda and development partners towards fighting gender disparities in the country, the findings from the study indicate that there is persistent growth in gender biases in area of violence, asset ownership, and employment. The study established that women are going through a lot of physical and sexual violence, and few of them are owning assets. In addition, it was established that few women in Uganda are: employed in majority of the sectors, engaged in paid employment, employers, and majority of them are unemployed compared to men. Therefore, there is need by government and development partners to design interventions that fight disparities in the country.

Recommendations
There is need to increase on awareness in order to fight gender discrimination within the country. For instance, there is need to change the norms and beliefs of people in the society who believe that should not; own assets and engage in productive employment. This would enable to fight inequalities in employment and asset ownership in Uganda.
There are various laws and policies which were drafted to fight gender biases but have remained on paper without being implemented. Therefore, the study suggests that there should be implementation of laws and policies that emphasize equality in employment, asset ownership, and fight violence against women.
Executive, legislature, parliament, civil society should commitment to fight gender-based violence by tighten the law governing labor export. Key leaders like president and religious leaders to come out strongly and continuously speak against harmful practices against girls and women in the attention of serving the interest of women.
Political will in woman empowerment, equality and social justice for women in social transformation by government to enforce the law on female genital mutilation on commercial sex exploitation against girls and women should be stop.
The local council chairpersons, local government, regions and central government through its ministries should enforce laws against violence of girls and women since its fueled by attitude so change of attitude will yield positive results on the fight of GDV through their implementation plans.
Government needs to support non-governmental organization working to prevent violence against women and girls.
"Members of the community should be able to discuss practices that contribute to GBV in their respective areas with the aim of stopping the vice".
Uplifting women and girls status in society so as to increase their contribution to the socio-economic transformation of the country.
There is need for civic awareness about the rights and freedoms as well as dignity of humanity, religious, cultural and political leaders must all get involved first by stopping forthwith the religious and cultural practices that marginalize women and children. Otherwise, government and civil society efforts to fight gender-based violence without addressing the histology and entire ecology of this social injustice.
"In order to curb the problem, there is need to train Police, medical officers, judicial, social workers, journalists and other group of professionals on how to handle rape cases, both victim and culprit.
"There is continued to engagement of men and boys to help change social and cultural norms so that gender equality is upheld in rural communities this will enable the vice to stop. Communities should pledge not to stop until the world upholds the inherent dignity and rights of every woman and girl." To prevent and respond to GBV through supportive private sector workplace policies and structures by working with private sector.
Uganda has the whistleblowers' protection act, 2010 but there is low awareness on its guidelines which has hampered reporting of GBV due to fear of whistleblowers losing jobs especially the subordinates hence there is need for corporate collective against GBV.
There is need for companies to work out their corporate culture on how GBV can be prevented at work for different companies on their way to work and at home.
Mobile court sessions for GBV survivors, as well as the engagement of communities, religious, cultural and political leaders using multi-sectoral channels.
Registration of companies, vetting, screening, cancellation and termination of licenses agencies that are non-compliant with regulations and signing Bi-lateral agreements with those specific countries where we export labour. Need for reliable data, Local council, local government, regional, national and international commitment to address GBV.
There is need to provide women SACCOs with skills in sewing, bicycle mechanics, basket weaving, microfinance, safe water, agriculture and adult education programs. This will reduce boredom, redundancy and empower rural women to earn a living and make decisions.
There is need to create new and more sound dynamics free of GBV, allowing them to become equal partners in their families and communities.
The government needs to strengthen efforts to establish specialized courts to handle GBV and related cases.
Government needs to committee funds to violence against women in Uganda if the vice is to be dealt with efficiently and effectively.
The 2004 amendment to the Land Act of 1998, requires spousal consent to sex, but does not recognize coownership of land between spouses.
Utilize the digital online platforms present new forms of violence that target mostly women and girls.
International community, governments, multilateral organizations, and grassroots-level advocates, to address and prevent violence from occurring by working with all systems of government.
Follow the core focus of gender-based violence according to united states of America which include; gender equality and women's empowerment, foreign policy, women's empowerment is critical to building stable, democratic societies; enforce open and accountable governance; focus international peace and security; to increasing vibrant market economies; and to addressing pressing health and educational challenges.
The US National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security; the Gender-based Violence Scale-Up Initiative and evaluation of the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) and efforts to incorporate gender-based violence programming into humanitarian response activities is needed.