Arthur Baguma
9 March 2009
Kampala — SIXTEEN-year-old Nakinganda was orphaned at a tender age. To make ends meet, she got a job as a housemaid for a single working mother in Makindye, a Kampala suburb.
One day as she was washing dishes, she accidentally broke two plates and a glass. For this crime, her boss beat her, leaving her with serious injuries. Nakiganda nursed her wounds quietly for a week. She did not report the incident to the Police or LC for fear of losing her job. She still works for the woman. . Nakiganda is among the many people who suffer domestic violence silently.
However, the approval of the Domestic Violence Bill by Cabinet last week has cast a ray of hope for people like Nakiganda. Activists against domestic violence say the Bill largely addresses the issues of domestic violence in its entirety. Once passed into law, domestic violence will be outlawed. The offenders will be prosecuted and convicted in courts of law.
Gender experts have for long suggested the need for legislation which specifically handles domestic violence. The current laws do not cater for domestic violence in its specialty.
According to the Bill, a person in a domestic relationship, who engages in domestic violence, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding forty eight currency points (sh96,000) or imprisonment not exceeding two years or both.
However, some people argue that penalties should be more punitive to deter likely offenders. Most perpetrators of domestic violence are usually rich and their victims are their dependants with little or no income or gainful employment.
"The issue of the penalty should be debated again because sh96,000 cannot be a deterrent factor for people who commit violence. The penalty should be harsh for the offenders if the law is to yield results," Geoffrey Kayanja a city advocate observes.
His concern is echoed by former ethics minister and renown women activist Miria Matembe. "I haven't looked at the Bill, but I think the sanctions against offenders should be deterrent - you see most of these rich men beat up their women and will have no problem paying the little money.
The sanctions must be categorised according to the gravity of domestic violence. Someone can slap you while another can cut off your arm, so the law should categorise the gravity of the violence when penalising the offenders," Matembe says.
The Bill also proposes that Court, may in addition to imposing a fine or imprisonment, order the offender to pay compensation to the victim of an amount determined by court.
The Bill, according the gender and labour minister, Gabriel Opio, if passed into law, will ensure fairness when dealing with domestic relations between a man and a woman and other people in the domestic setting, including housemaids and children. Opio argues that the law should not be looked at as a law for women.
"Men should not be scared, the law is not intended to protect only women, but all victims of violence in homes. Sometimes the men are the victims - they are beaten by their partners," Opio said. He says before the end of the month, the Bill will be presented to Parliament.
Tina Musuya, an anti-domestic violence advocate, notes that the approval of the Bill is timely
"More often victims have no where to turn to," Tina Musuya of the Centre for Domestic Violence Prevention observes.
The Bill provides for protection and relief of victims of domestic violence. It also provides for the procedure and guidelines to be followed by court in relation to protection and compensation of victims of domestic violence.
It also provides for the jurisdiction of court, including the issue of protection orders and to provide for empowering the family and children court to handle cases of domestic violence and related matters.
Matembe argues that passing the law puts us a step ahead in fighting domestic violence. She says the law make domestic violence a puiblic issue and not a private matter as it has been.
"If you see your neighbour beating his wife, you will be obliged as a concerned citizen to intervene. No one is going to say that you are interfering in a private domestic issue,"Matembe says.
She, however, warns that enforcement agencies like the Police and courts of law should treat domestic violenceas a criminal issue instead of always telling the man and woman to "go home and solve your domestic problem".
The domestic relations Bill was split into two-. The Marriage and Divorce Bill 2009. The other is the Moslem Personal Bill 2009.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
