CSOS CALL FOR CONCERTED EFFORTS TOWARDS ELIMINATING GBV

L-R: Arua City Town clerk David Kyasanku, AKF country Director Willington Ssekade, Arua RCC Salim Kumakech, Arua District chairperson Alfred Okuonzi and Arua city Mayor Wadri Sam Nyakua. Photo by Anselm Ojaru.
 
By Anslem Ojaru
 
Arua City
 
The Civil Society Organisations symposium has been resolved with key stakeholders emphasising on the need to address the concerns on gender inequality.
 
The three days symposium that gathered over 35 civil society organisation within and outside the country centered on solutions and strategies of addressing GBV fostering collaboration and compliment the works of the government.
 
Damaline Amaguru country project coordinator for advancing gender equality through civil society under Aga Khan Foundation states that the engagement drew recommendations by the local government authorities to address Gender Based Violence.
 
“There are recommendations from the local government to increase on male engagement because they  contribute to violence and for us to change the narrative we really need to bring them on board to address cases like teenage pregnancy, sexual gender based violence and also intimate partner violence which is actually not factored in most of our interventions .”
 
The Human resource for SADUC Oconabongo Hassan Changa says the submissions will help them streamline gender issues into their interventions.
 
“16 days of activism has come in time to see how best we can improve gender issues which needs to be mainstreamed in our intervention in the grassroots it is actually very good to have such kind of platforms to see how best  we can move to  next level  to address gender issues in our community.”
  
However the local council 5 chairperson for Arua district Alfred Okuonzi argued that the CSOs should look beyond addressing gender based violence.
 
“I think they need to look at the 17 goals of SDG not only gender based violence because they are many causes of GBV, I think all the 17 goals they need to implement it in totality so that they drive the agenda of eliminating GBV and  violence against children by 2030.”  
  
The symposium also aimed at strengthening partnership relationship between the civil society organisation and the government in terms of ensuring that policy actioned frameworks are in their interventions. 
 
 

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