opinion
By Atuki Turner
24 September 2008
Refer to your editorial on bride-price (dowry) on September 9. Thank you for highlighting the plight that bride-price (dowry) subjects women to and giving it your editorial that recognises both the significance of addressing the problem as essential to women’s equality and subsequently development.
Indeed the situation for women has been taking a worrying trend as you rightfully pointed out. The provision for divorce to be possible only after two years is a case in point. Many countries have now recognised irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a lawful ground for divorce.
Moreover this is under the “No Faults” principle, which means that no one party need be responsible for the breakdown and divorce is therefore less stressful. The “two-year cooling off period” will not address the problem.
Even more serious is the current Domestic Violence Bill that proposes to make domestic violence a civil offence. Once again many countries have already moved forward to enact legislation criminalising domestic violence. The presumption in the current proposal is because people tend to confuse “domestic disputes” with “domestic violence.”
The sad reality is that domestic violence invariably involves serious assault, grievous bodily harm, even murder such as in the case of Sharma Kooky, or the case in Tororo where MIFUMI ( a women rights advocacy organisation), and police exhumed a body and confirmed murder of a woman by her husband.
The Law Reform Commission argues that these are already covered under the Penal Code Act. But what they do not appreciate is that domestic violence as a crime happens in intimate relationships, in the absence of witnesses and is much harder to prove with the current criminal procedure.
This state of affairs undermines women’s rights to equal protection under the law and by the State. That’s why other countries (South Africa) have squarely placed domestic violence in the realm of criminal law with the police playing a central role in combating the offence. Making it a civil wrong denies the sense of urgency of the police response to a crime.
For example when a woman is being beaten to death and she calls the police- what will the police do? They will probably record it as a domestic dispute and refer the woman to the village Local Council. The next day she will be reported dead and quickly buried because it is unlikely that a suspicious death verdict will be reported.
MIFUMI’s work with the police since 2001 has raised women’s confidence in the criminal justice system and improved police response to domestic violence in Tororo. A joint resolution was signed in 2003, and we continue to hold regular monitoring sessions. This has enabled 5517 women to overcome the personal risks associated with reporting, and to explore options between 2003 and 2007, in the end taking that delicate step to overcome domestic violence.
Making domestic violence a civil offence will automatically water down such progress and entrench obstacles that women face including the negative community attitude towards them, which leads to apathy and lack of support when women seek safety and justice. Civil society organisations, women activists and human rights defenders who try to involve communities in ending violence are viewed as people who want to break up families.
This fuels the stigma and shame that keeps women locked in violent relationships and leaves children vulnerable to abuse.
Women who report domestic violence suffer backlash from the community. Her house and crops may be burnt, property destroyed, children taken away and she is subjected to constant threat of further violence from the community and the perpetrator.
It is only by criminalising the act that a clear message can be sent out that there is no place for domestic violence in our society, and that perpetrators will be held accountable. We therefore appeal to the Parliamentarians and Law Reform Commission to do something extra for women by making domestic violence criminal. Doing something extra for women is the call to action of the Millennium Development Goal No. 3 on gender and women equality in Uganda.