Regional Campaign to Challenge Violence against Women and Girls living with HIV in Eastern Africa

Background:

Violence against women and girls is rooted in gender-based discrimination and social norms and gender stereotypes that perpetuate such violence. The United Nations defines it as “any act of gender-based violence (GBV) that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. Given the devastating effect violence has on women, efforts have mainly focused on responses and services for survivors.

Despite considerable progress on health outcome indicators over the past three decades, societies are still failing women at key moments in their lives. Not everyone has benefited equally from recent progress and too many girls and women are still unable to reach their full potential because of persistent health, social and gender inequalities and health system inadequacies.

Violence against Women and Girls is present in all societies and takes different forms in different contexts. Global estimates published by WHO indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. In Uganda wife battering is widely accepted, with 58% of women and 44% of men believing that it is justified for a man to beat his wife (UNDP assessment report – 2015). Early marriage and pregnancy stand at 22.3% for young people between 12-17 years (UNICEF, 2015). In Kenya, the 2014 KDHS showed that 45 percent of women and girls aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence and 14 percent have experienced sexual violence. In Tanzania, Discrimination, abuse and violence against women and girls (VAWG) is wide-spread and common and is due to patriarchal and traditional norms. and the TDHS, 2015 estimated that teenage pregnancies (27%); violence against women and girls including those with albinism (40% physical; and 17% sexual violence); Female Genital Mutilation (10%), a custom which in some areas can encourage teenage girls to drop-out of school and get married; and HIV/AIDS, which affects 5.8% women.

The deadly COVID 19 pandemic has caused devastating consequences that include alarming rates of morbidity and mortality including in Eastern Africa. The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting women and men differently. Gender inequalities are typically worsened by crises and the coronavirus context is no different, as women are hit harder by its effects.

COVID-19 has overshadowed all other critical ailments, directly affected access to critical women’s health services such sexual reproductive health services HIV services inclusive.   While the different governments’ efforts/measures were put in place to prevent and control of COVID 19, most measures were sudden, reactionary and lacked a human rights perspective. According to recent news stories, violence against women and girls has been accelerated further and has taken the different forms increased intimate partner violence, sexual violence, difficulties in accessing food and health social services

The International Community of Women Living with HIV Easter Africa launched a one year Regional campaign on Eliminating violence against women and girls living with HIV The campaign that calls to action the policy makers, decision makers and duty bearers to take action against all forms of VAWG through formulation and implementation of policies and programs aimed at reducing the vice was launched on 27th November /2019 during the commemoration of the 16 days of Activism against VAW/G.

ICWEA recognized 16 GBV champions led by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Henk Jan Bakker, and others from different individual from all walks of life  – culture institutions, Religious affiliations, students, young People living with HIV, Women Living with HIV, Sex Workers, Senior Police Officers, Media personnel, Representatives of foreign Embassies, Government officials to mention but a few. The Champions will mobilize their constituencies for implementation of the action plan; conduct resource mapping  and establish opportunities for leveraging support on Elimination of Violence Against Women & Girls and to organize constructive engagement meetings with different stakeholders to deliver on their mandate.

The campaign’s theme “Together we raise to End Violence Against Women and Girls  is aimed at

• Creating awareness, challenge policy and decision makers to invest and put a focus on ending GBV/VAW/G during this error of COVI-19
• Advocating for integration and delivery of comprehensive services including SRH services
• Rallying support among women and girls who have faced the violations to rise up and demand for their rights
• Catalysing the initiatives of different organizations and individuals in coordinated, multi-layered and multi-sector action to prevent VAW and provide effective support to VAW survivors.

ICWEA has a wealth of trained advocates across the 5 Eastern Africa countries – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda and has created a social media platform where the advocates are able to share updates on the current situation across their countries and what women and girls are facing as a result of the current COVIFD situation in their countries. 

A GBV Advocate in Tanzania said much as their country did not lockdown, there was an increase in cases of violence as it was being reported in the media. She added that there was no data on most cases and because of that, some of the women and girls who face the violence were unable to get justice.

While from Rwanda, an advocate shares that women and girls had to go through involuntary disclosure for some of the women and girls as they had to show their Treatment cards to the security so be allowed walk beyond their local communities, Equally in Uganda, the young women shared the difficulties in seeking permission to the Resident District Commissioners (RDC) and at the local level the Local leaders to get permission to go for their routine treatment. In addition when the peers also tried to deliver the ARVs to those who could not walk the long distances, it further resulted into the  un intended, un planned partner notification, leading to intimate Partner Violence.

Across the Eastern Africa, advocates reported that with the lock down in some countries that lasted over months, this was the first time men and women are staying home which exposed the women to the probable perpetuators of the violence. Women and young women living with HIV who used to leave home to look for their own means to fend for their children were left dependents yet the men are not readily providing. In addition there had been no deliberate effort for the women and girls living with HIV in such circumstances to be prioritized for the food distribution in some of the countries like in Uganda. This has resulted into mental torture and increased mental break down. 

Limited access to the most needed essential services including to their monthly ARVs, refills and Sexual reproductive Health services, including maternal health services, HIV prevention and STI treatment, anti natal services, women and young women reported to deliver on the road sides, loss of lives of babies, and the mothers due to the inability to access the maternal health services especially in Uganda. Well as the access to the Anti Natal services  rules  were softened for those in the last trimester when the pregnancy is visible   it became difficult  for pregnant women in the first and post natal period  to convince security about the conditions.  Mothers living with HIV would not abide by the eMTCT guidelines

ICWEA has social media platforms, (twitter, facebook, and whatsapp ) ICWEA has continued to engage in the campaign shared related messages to the campaign from advocates and the champions. ICWEA harshtags   #womenspeakout, #ICWEAStrongerTogether are trending on the twitter platforms

Key elements of the campaign include

• Access to SRHR is a fundamental human right
• Evidence based advocacy is critical
• Duty holders and particularly women and girls should be at the centre of planning and managing the pandemic
• Human rights and gender responsive approaches should be applied while proposing measures for preventing and controlling COVID 19
• All human lives are equal and must equally be protected

What we want to see

• Increased attention to cases of VAWG by policy and decision makers
• Reduced cases of VAW/G during the COVID 19 lockdown
• Improved community and health systems to respond to SRHR issues of women and girls during COVI-19 in target countries
• Decisions taken by the policymakers especially during this time of COVID, take into consideration gender and human rights perspectives

We are seeing steady progress in the campaign, In a meeting with advocates, they reported that:-

“We are advocating  for the change of the police form so that it can be filled by the person facing violence and not the medical personnel” shared an advocate from Tanzania.

A Kenyan champion said Kenyans are starting to speak out on violence and holding perpetrators accountable.

“Other people are speaking up but for real victims are not. The violence is so bad that victims are fearing to come out” she said.

How you can participate in the campaign

• Create and share messages personalized messages on SRHR, GBV, Care and Treatment
• Report cases of violence and share any information that will be beneficial to this campaign  
• Participate and encourage other women and Girls to participate in evidence gathering channels
• Share video footage on violence Against Women from your country to enable the team come up with documentary that covers  the realities of VAW in Eastern  Africa
• Engage in social media, follow us on our digital platforms and create content that adds value to the campaign
• Recommend influential people that we can work with within Eastern Africa
• Participating and encouraging people to take part in our upcoming webinars, Tweet chats and other digital engagements
• Identify hotlines in each country we can partner with to offer immediate support to victims of violence

• Creating awareness on GBV, being our contact points to the media when there is  interview  to be done or tell their story
• Participate in formation and coming up of Position papers on violence during covid-19 when the time comes.

About the Campaign

The campaign will until end of November 2020 and in phases: SRHR, GBV, Care and Treatment by use of webinars, messages and Digital content.