DRDIP’s multi-sectoral approach will tackle GBV/VAC in refugee hosting districts

YUMBE: Poverty, illiteracy, religious misinterpretation and drug abuse are some of the key instigators of Gender Based Violence and Violence Against Children(GBV/VAC) in Yumbe district according to data available at the district social welfare department.  Other instigators are: negative cultural norms and practices, peer influence, irresponsible parenting, lack of sexuality education and male desire for young girls.

Participants during the GBV/VAC meeting Yumbe

Jamal Kiira, the Yumbe District Senior Community Development Officer in charge Gender, revealed that a total of 343 cases have been reported since last year.  Kiira was attending a GBV/VAC stakeholders’ engagement meeting organized by the Office of the Prime Minister’s(OPM), Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP) Monday at Yumbe District Local Government headquarters.

Of the 343 cases recorded; defilement is the most rampant at, 123 according to the district report, consequently followed by child marriages at, 104. Physical abuse cases stand at 71, and forced marriages, 48. Other cases include; psychological cruelty at 43, denial of resources at 17 and other sexual exploitation cases such as rape is 10.

Supported by the World Bank, DRDIP is currently introducing a GBV/VAC pilot project in selected districts of; Yumbe, Terego, Madi-Okollo and Adjumani where findings from a consultant is being shared and IEC materials disseminated. Different stakeholders are attending these engagements, sharing experiences, reflections and recommendations.

Yumbe Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Steven Oloya while addressing the multi-sectoral meeting yesterday noted that, despite prevailing absence of physical violence, GBV/VAC is a silent war that must be fought.  Oloya urged stakeholders to shift from a sector-based approach to a program based methodology, calling upon cultural, religious institutions and police to integrate their ideas on how to reduce cases of violence in the district.

The CAO recognized DRDIP as one of the most successful Government projects partly because of mainstreaming several cross-cutting issues including: environmental and social safeguards, livelihoods and infrastructural reinforcement, adding that, “the aspect of GBV/VAC even deepens the social safeguards facet”.

In her opening remarks, DRDIP Project Manager, Caro Brenda Lorika pointed out that the GBV/VAC component will build capacity and strengthen referral systems for victims. She called on the district leadership to support resource persons deployed in their districts including consultants by allocating them space and time to allow effective implementation of the pilot project.

Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development, Senior probation Officer, Rogers Goloba advised participants to take advantage of the child helpline, 116 that serves twosome role of reporting violence against children and GBV.  Goloba said the district action centers were established to strengthen reporting to the national center.

World Bank’s, representative observed that the project should be able to add value to what has already been done or what is being done, calling on the different stakeholders to be able to understand their roles and work collaboratively towards realizing a violence free community. 

The official from the Bank revealed that more heartbreaking stories come from refugee hosting districts. “we need to do something together to change this”, she said, stressing that it would be better to mitigate the problem rather than responding throughout. “Broken homes lead to broken communities, broken society, citizenry and to a broken country”.

Yumbe Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Vuni Vuyaya remarked that, it’s everyone’s responsibility to fight GBV/VAC in the community. “Children innocently suffer most times because they have no choice of another home, we must mitigate such violence and set the children free. I know that we can’t eliminate it completely, but we can reduce the magnitude”, adding that, “change must begin with every one of us, and DRDIP has given us the opportunity to do this”.

The goal of the GBV/VAC pilot project is to enhance capacity of selected DRDIP districts to prevent, mitigate and respond to GBV /VAC cases. The intervention covers: risk mitigation, prevention, response and generation of evidence and learning to inform future scale-up efforts.