Discrimination and violence against women

African women have been plagued by discrimination and brutality against them. Domestic violence and coerced marriage against the will of the woman have both occurred. Women in Uganda have fought against domestic abuse by pleading for equitable protection of their rights. In Uganda, traditional customs and practices that discriminate against women’s rights have been a major factor in the delay in passing legislation against marital rape.

According to Ugandan legislation, forcing a woman into marriage is illegal. Article 31 of the Republic of Uganda’s 1995 constitution states that ‘Marriage shall be entered into with free consent of the man and woman intending to marry.’ Sules’ father commits a crime to force her into marriage without her consent. He goes against the law by discriminating against women (Moehler, & Marchant, 2016)

The Ugandan constitution under article 24 demands for respect on human dignity and protects against inhuman treatment. This means that women just like men should get full respect and dignity. Any person who engages in torture or degrading act is entitled to punishment due to breach of the article. On article 33, the law protects the right of women. Section one requires equal dignity of both men and women. It states that cultures, customs, laws and traditions that go against the interest, welfare or dignity of women be prohibited. Sules’ husband violates the law through violent and inhuman treatment. Such cases and many others in Uganda still exist. In 2013, Uganda Bureau of Statistics reported that 70% of women aged between 15 and 49 years who have ever been married in Uganda had experienced violence from their partners. In the same year, new Vision reported that there were 2,461 victims and 1,339 cases of domestic violence in Uganda (Birdhistle, Mayanja, Maher, Floyd, Seeley, & Weiss, 2013)

Under section 123 of the penal code act cap 120, rape occurs even under the confines of marriage, where a partner is deemed to have sex without their consent. The law provides death sentence as the maximum punishment for rape case. Under section 2 of the Domestic Violence Act, a person who engages in domestic violence is imprisoned not less than two years, or a fine. Sules’ husband is subject to punishment for rape and domestic violence offences according to the Ugandan constitution.

Sules’ husband goes against the Domestic Violence Act 2010 which protects women against domestic violence consistent beating and raping his wife. Her husband is a perpetrator of marital rape; a non-consensual sex where Sules is the victim. The law provides the rights of a married couple to enjoy conjugal rights. If a spouse forcefully engages in sexual intercourse with his/her partner, then they are subject to criminal action. Just like Sule, many other women in Uganda are subjected to marital rape. According to a report by the Federations of Uganda Women Lawyers, between 1999 and 2001, an average of 114 cases of marital rape where women were victims had been reported. This contributes to the 20 percent of women who report cases by their husbands according to the police statistics in Uganda (Lane, 2015).

Problems encountered by experts while trying to ascertain if sex was non-consensual

One of the problems encountered in ascertaining a non-consensual sex is self-doubt among the victims. The victim is not really sure whether to blame the perpetrator or themselves for the act of rape. In a case where alcohol influenced the act, then there is always a problem to get enough information from the victim. The victim feels that he/she might have contributed to the act as a result of taking alcohol. They also do not know clearly what happened during the act as a result of influence from alcohol. It might be they cooperated in the act but are not in a position to remember exactly what happened. Or, they would have been forced to the act unknowingly. Such unclear cases make it difficult for experts to determine exactly whether it was consensual sex or not.

Secondly, Ugandans still embrace their traditional customs that mostly favor men and discriminate against women. Their traditions require women to be submissive to their men and are deemed to do what pleases them. Such beliefs still make it difficult for women in Uganda to strongly come out and clearly state that they are subjected to marital rape. As a result, when a woman comes out to report marital case, she finds it hard to disclose everything about their husband. They choose to partially give the required information to protect their marriage.

The third problem is the issue of HIV infection among married couples. The law provides the right for a married person to enjoy conjugal rights. This becomes a controversial issue. For instance, HIV infected husband would demand his conjugal rights from his wife without the use of a condom. This brings a problem in determining whether the situation is a marital rape or fulfillment of marital rights. In another instance, HIV infected woman may find it difficult to satisfy his husband sexually due to deteriorating health and decreased libido. Demand of sexual pleasure from his husband may be difficult to determine whether it is a marital rape or a fulfillment of a marital right. HIV is an epidemic that has affected a large population in Uganda. According to UNAIDS, 1,400,000 is the number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in 2011. 7.1% of this number is adults aged between 15 and 49 years who are sexually active. It further states that 22.4% of the sexually active infected people never use condoms. This shows the prevalence of HIV infection among married people in Uganda (Lane, 2015).

PART B

Questions to ask the molested teenager

Questions concerning child molestation are sensitive to the victim. The questions should be structured in a way that does not hurt their emotions. Molestation of a child involves forcing a child to perform oral sex, being forced to masturbate an adult, or being touched in an inappropriate manner. Susan clearly shows reactions that come as a result of child molestation. She feared talking about it and instead started reacting as a result of the physical abuse from her brother. Getting connected to her would be the best way to seek answers from her.

Here are the questions to ask the teenager:

Tell me exactly what your brother was doing to you.

This question seeks more information from her. Then it will give out an idea of what might have happened to her.

Is that the reason you were cutting yourself with razors and burning yourself with cigarette?

This will let her explain the extent to which this particular case has affected her.

Why didn’t you talk about it? Did he tell you not tell anyone?

The question will let her explain about any threats from the brother and reveal the reason why she runs away from home.

Current concerns

One of the concerns is the extent of the effect of this molestation. It is not clear about the health status of Susan. Her private parts might as well been extensively destroyed by his brother. She might not disclose the whole act as it is due to fear and being conscious about his brother as well.

Another concern is whether to report the case to the police or to solve it using home remedies such as creating connection with the child and helping her overcome the impacts. Such can include involving a psychologist. This brings a concern on whether the psychologist will have a great impact on her due to the long term effect of the act. Involving the police in the case would mean difficulty in retrieving answers from questions concerning past events that the child or the parent might not remember. Also, providing evidence about the case would be a problem.

An appropriate intervention

Treatment and social intervention is appropriate in dealing with Susan’s case. First, it is good to let Susan get medical treatment. This will help in determining whether there has been any physical damage to her as a result of the molestation from her brother. There exist therapeutic day care services that address the issues of emotional behavior, physical problems and behavioral issues that come as a result of child molestation (Lanyon, 2013).

In addition to that, social intervention will be addressed by psychologists present in the health care centers. She will be taught how to socially interact with her peers without engaging in quarrels and fights, as well as how to deal with situation at home. This will help her manage the effect and adopt good behavioral tactics (Lanyon, 2013)

References

Birdhistle, I., Mayanja, B. N., Maher, D., Floyd, S., Seeley, J., & Weiss, H. A. (2013). Non-consunsual sex and association with incident HIV infection among women: a cohort study in rural Uganda, 1990-2008. AIDS and Behavior, 17(7), 2430-2438.

Lane, R. (2015). Tina Musuya: leading the fight on gender-based violence in Uganda. The Lancet, 385(9977), 1501.

Lanyon, R. I. (2013). Theory and treatment in child molestation. Treatment of Offenders and Families, 6, 126.

Moehler, D. C., & Marchant, E. (2016). A multi-dimensional model of participatory constitution making and legitimacy. Retrieved January.