Ugandan Authorities Say persisting Lockdown is increasing domestic Violence

By Musaazi Hamza
Kampala, Uganda (RTN) - Acts of physical, sexual, psychological and economic torture within communities in Uganda have become a serious reason of worry among elders.

These (elders) are continuously troubled by the rising cases of brutality among people that may cause many to lose their lives.

Since the start of the lockdown in March 2020, a lot has been happening, distressing many tremendously, and creating wounds on their hearts that will never get cured throughout their life time.

During the first 14 days of the lockdown Uganda had so far recorded 328 cases of domestic violence and 102 other cases of child neglect in a report addressed to the nation by the Police Deputy Spokesperson Polly Namaye at the Uganda Media Centre.

Due to the unfriendly situations that people were not used to, such as curfews, lockdown of the country and quarantining of individuals,

Many have been caught outside the law and subjected to punishments they never wished for in life such as imprisonment, impounding of their vehicles and many more.

This has led to an increase in cases of violence compared to those that were being recorded by the Uganda police before the lockdown was implemented.

Violence transpiring within the corners of Uganda can be broadly categorized into 3 kinds: self directed violence, interpersonal violence and collective violence.

Self-directed violence:

This is a kind of violence where one is a victim to him or herself. Many individuals across Uganda are psychologically traumatized.

For instance: currently some fathers in poor families are psychologically traumatized due to the increased spending on basic needs at home without earning and increasing liabilities such as rent.

Many have ended up inflicting pain to their bodies unknowingly causing mental diseases and continuous headaches due to over thinking on how they are going to face their families that are badly in need of food yet they (fathers) have nothing to provide.

Interpersonal violence:

This is violence between individuals i.e. two parties such as family and intimate partner violence.

For instance: wrangles between husband and wife across many families. This is as a result of people living together for long hours but without contributing to the family, as they used to before the lockdown.

The husband wakes up very early in the morning and spends the whole day sitting without helping out on anything at home and afterwards he demands for food on time.

Such has sparkled off quarrels in homes to an extent of fighting and injuring one another.

Children especially the female are being engaged into sexual intercourse by their uncles and relatives at home due to the increased idleness among them hence gazing and creating sexual imaginations towards such innocent souls.

Many girls have been raped leading to increased pregnancies and hence their future of continuation with studies after the lockdown being put at stake.

Collective violence:

Is violence committed by larger groups of individuals and can either be social, political and economic.

At the very start of the lockdown, people had a negative attitude to anyone believed to have come from foreign countries such as United Arab Emirates (UAE) badly affected by the corona virus.

Currently, any patient who recovers from COVID19 is being rejected by the community even after being cleared by the ministry of health.

If the discharged person persists and goes to live in the former community, natives attack him or her to an extent of destroying his or her property.

Security organs such as the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF), Uganda Police Force (UPF) and the Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) through their spokespersons: Brig. Richard Karemire, Mr.Fred Enanga and Mr. Frank Baine and continuously cautioning all those involved in such acts to improve otherwise the iron hand shall be applied.