Women and girls with disabilities in Arua City have decried the rampant sexual abuse meted against them by men especially in Public spaces. They disabled women cried out during a dialogue code named “safe space conversation” organised by Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa-SIHA Network, an indigenous African women’s rights organisation in Arua.
Some of the women with disabilities note that they normally face such abuses in public spaces like markets, health facilities and even in offices where they often go to seek for services.
Mercy Maneno, explains that sexual harassment against women with disabilities remains highly invisible and undocumented form of injustice meted against them. She says the perpetrators have resorted to targeting visually impaired women and girls under the apparent impression they cannot identify the perpetrator.
Mercy Monica Ocotoko, the executive director of Women Effort for Inclusive Development explains that sexual harassment against women with disabilities takes different forms. She however has challenged the women to overcome the social barriers to report such abuses to relevant authorities for redress.
Meanwhile, Rahema Minallah, who works with FIDA-Uganda Arua Office says in the last three months their office received and handled 20 cases of neglect, sexual harassment and violence against women or girls living with disabilities. According to Minallah, the government needs to increase awareness about the legal rights of women and girls with disabilities.
The Persons with Disabilities Act, 2006. prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in all aspects of life. According the persons with disability situation profiling study 2022, Arua city alone has 4,779 persons living with disability of whom 2,448 (51%) are women.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) report 2018 indicate that 36 per cent of female children 5-17 years with disabilities experienced physical or sexual violence.URN
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