Locations16 Days of Activism 2024: From a GBV Survivor to a Community Champion
November 25, 2024
Audrey Ayeta, at Genesis Skilling Center in Malaba district. She partners with the EU-UN Spotlight initiative, to train school dropouts, teenage mothers and GBV survivors.
According to the Uganda Police Force (UPF) Annual Crime Reports of 2021-2023, thousands of cases in relation to domestic violence and sexual assault are reported annually. In 2023, over 14,681 cases of domestic violence and 14,846 cases of sexual assault were reported. These figures have either remained stagnant or increased each year. It should be noted that both men and women experience all forms of violence in the country, but women and girls constitute the majority of victims.
Ayeta Audrey a resident of Malaba, one of Uganda’s border districts, is a survivor of gender-based violence and trafficking. After graduating from university, she got married and lived a happy life together with her family. However, with years passing by, her husband's behavior changed. He began to beat her in public and never listened to her. She said his bad behavior and disrespect continued until she could no longer endure it and decided to leave.
Pupils of Genesis Primary school in Owesit Kalait, Malaba district.
"While at my parents' house, my friends told me of an opportunity to work as a restaurant attendant, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I quickly applied through a recruitment firm, and I was selected along with a group of other women. We were promised a salary of $542 per month. Upon arriving at my new workstation, I discovered that I had been assigned a role of a domestic worker, not a restaurant attendant as I had been told. I was forced to accept this position as I had no other choice. I began working at a mansion housing three men, it was here that I was subjected to severe violations and often received little or no pay. To make matters worse, I was frequently trafficked to other locations and countries" she said
After years of enduring human rights abuses, Audrey finally manages to return home, broken, and in pain. “On return I was immediately admitted at Mbale Regional Referral hospital, to treat the wounds I had sustained while working abroad" she said. It was at this point that she meets a focal point of the European Union – United Nations Spotlight Initiative (UN-EU Spotlight Initiative), an initiative implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in her community with a complete focus on ending all forms of violence against women and girls.
Audrey Ayeta and some beneficiaries during a session at Genesis Skilling Center, where survivors of gender-based violence are trained in various skills such as tailoring, shoe making, brick making, bookmaking to mention
Audrey became one of the first beneficiaries for the EU-UN Spotlight initiative, receiving a start-up grant and firsthand training, in tailoring, shoe making, brick making, teaching, bookmaking. She even went a step further and started a group of 15 women, bringing together those who hadfaced similar challenges. Today, Audrey is a proud owner of Genesis primary school, Genesis Skilling Center and a Joint Bookstore, where she trains survivors of Gender based violence, including street children, former victims of trafficking, street walkers, widows, and orphans.
I am happy that my life has improved significantly, and I am now inspiring others in my community with my story. I have opened a skills center that trains survivors of gender-based violence, street walkers, school dropouts, teenage mothers and street children. I have also opened a primary school and a joint bookstore where my employees are former survivors of gender-based violence. I am grateful to UNDP for transforming my life through the UN-EU Spotlight initiative.Audrey Ayeta, GBV survivor
Audrey’s story is one reason why UNDP, continues to support the Government of Uganda to fight for a country free of violence against women and girls. This perversive issue is a persistent barrier to human development, as it harms individuals, families and communities, increasingly putting pressure on social and economic costs.
UNDP’s achievements under the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative
In partnership with the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office, UNDP established a GBV shelter and reception center in Amudat and Terego respectively, providing survivors with safe spaces for support services, including legal aid and vocational training. Male champions were also engaged in community campaigns to combat harmful practices like early marriage and female genital mutilation.
In partnership with Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, UNDP has recognized 40 private sector companies with gold, silver and bronze seals for their contribution in promoting gender equality, women’s participation, leadership and elimination of gender-based violence in the workplace. Makerere University became the first Ugandan public institution to sign up for the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions.
As part of the pre-events for the 2024 Elgon Half Marathon, UNDP organized community awareness walks in Amudat and Tororo, reaching over 10,000 individuals. These walks focused on raising awareness about ending gender-based violence (GBV), promoting violence-free communities, and advocating for access to sexual and reproductive health rights, as well as the goal of ending HIV/AIDS by 2030. Additionally, UNDP facilitated dialogues between refugee and host communities, engaging 2,444 participants in discussions on preventing domestic violence, forced and child marriages, and GBV. These efforts are integral to building safer, more resilient communities.
Gender equality, the fifth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), is the unifying goal for all 17 SDGs. Achieving it is essential for realizing goals such as ending poverty (Goal 1), ensuring food security (Goal 2), promoting health (Goal 3), providing education for all (Goal 4), fostering decent work (Goal 8), and reducing inequalities (Goal 10). Inequality undermines social and economic development, hampers poverty reduction, and erodes individual self-worth. As we approach this anniversary, it is crucial for all of us to strengthen our commitment to eliminating violence against women and girls, and to continue advancing gender equality as a cornerstone of global progress.
Audrey Ayeta at the joint bookstore in Tororo where she displays and sells books they make. Below are some beneficiaries making books.
By Joel Akena, Communications and Partnerships Associate