According to the Uganda Police Force (UPF) Annual Crime Report 2019, Old Kampala Division had the highest domestic violence incidences with 449 cases, followed by Lira with 399 cases and Amuria with 375 cases. Furthermore, 14,232 people were victims of domestic violence, of whom 2,908 were male adults, 9,978 were female adults and 670 were male juveniles while 676 were female juveniles.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refers to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) as harmful acts directed at an individual based on their gender, rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms. From the above UPF figures, it is clear that females, particularly adults, are more susceptible to violence than the male counterparts.
Thankfully, young innovators are paying attention to this worrying vice and coming up with mobile applications to help address it. Centres4Her is a digital platform designed by a team of innovators led by Mr. Terrydon Wamboga to link survivors of violence to available post violence services nearest to them through a mobile app with ease and confidentiality.
With funding from UN-Women through Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) ResilientAfrica Network (RAN), the innovators have been able to bring their idea to life, refine the Centres4Her app as well as test and pilot it among target users. Following a mini-Launch of the pilot phase on 12th November 2019, the Cenres4Her app was exhibited during the 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, held on 27th and 28th November 2019 at Makerere University.
Film is a great asset when it comes to raising awareness and Bed of Thorns, a Ugandan production on GBV, was the Centres4Her go-to in reaching out to Makerere University students. With support from the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate (GMD), Centres4Her organised two screenings of the movie on 28th February and 13th March 2020 for the Colleges of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) and Education and External Studies (CEES) respectively. A total of 119 participants attended the screenings which were followed by brief discussions about GBV and how the Centres4Her app can help its victims.
As we go into yet another festive season and associated merrymaking, it is important that victims of the few unfortunate incidences of GBV are made aware of an avenue through which to easily and confidentially report these cases as well as seek help.
Centres4her may be downloaded from the Google Play Store
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