KAMPALA: No funds to implement Domestic Violence Act

By MERCY NALUGO

More than three years after Parliament passed the Domestic Violence Act (DVA), 2010, it remains on paper and is lying idle at the Ministry of Gender as there is no money to implement it.

The DVA, passed in 2009, provides for the protection of victims of domestic violence and seeks to punish the crime perpetrators.

Women activists under their umbrella organisation, the Domestic Violence Act Coalition and the Centre for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP), are now demanding that government avails the funds to have it implemented.

Launching an interpreted version of the DVA in Kampala as one of the activities to launch 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Activism, the CEDOVIP executive director, Ms Tina Musuya, said the Act is not helping society since it has not been implemented.

“We call upon the government to allocate funding towards the implementation of the DVA 2010, learn about its benefits, reach out to those experiencing domestic violence and stop it,” Ms Musuya said.

The Ministry of Gender has issued a certificate of implication but Mr Mubala Mabuya, who represented the Minister of Gender, Ms Rukia Nakadaama, said the ministry is in the process of costing the Act with a view of including it in the budget.

The speaker, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, called on government to prioritise the Act and look for resources to have it implemented. Every November 25 to December 10, the civil society joins the rest of the world to raise collective voices to mark the 16 days of activism against domestic violence.

Source: Saturday Monitor (01/12/2012): http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/No-funds-to-implement-Domestic-Violence-Act/-/688334/1633676/-/lu8vi9/-/index.html