Women sleeping in markets at risk of sexual violence-Activists

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Women activists have criticized the move by women to sleep in markets.

President Yoweri Museveni in his directives advised vendors to sleep in markets to halt further spread of COVID-19.

In a webinar organized by Civil Society Organization, Reach a Hand Uganda, Tina Musaya, the Executive Director Center for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP) says that the safety of women who sleep outside is not guaranteed because they could be easily sexually exploited.

On Tuesday, President Museveni applauded women who sleep in the markets and said that they will be given tarpaulins to help protect themselves from the rain and mosquito nets to protect them against the possibility of contracting malaria with exposure to mosquitoes.

However, Musaya notes that while the president is encouraging this, there should have been extra mechanisms that the women are there safely.

Elizabeth Mushabe, a Gender and HIV Specialist working with the UN Women said that the COVID-19 outbreak should guide the government to come up with systems to guard against future shocks in the economic arena since women are bearing the biggest burden of care.

She said since women are the majority in the social sector, it puts them at risk of infection whenever such epidemics came up and yet there are no specific programmes that are targeted at women-specific interventions.

She said the women roles are unfortunately going unnoticed.

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