GIRLS, WOMEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED IN IDP CAMPS
By Alice Emasu

February 24, 2004 – (New Vision - Kampala) That night, he called me to him. I went obediently expecting him to ask me to do something for him like to take some drinking water.

Instead, he told me to sit next to him, and he started to feel my breasts. I pushed his hands away in disgust. I was so embarrassed I wanted to insult him. He told me to lie down but I refused. He raped me. I cried out and begged him to stop, but instead, he pushed his hand into my mouth and threatened to kill me if I didn't stop. He raped me three times that night.In the morning, I crawled out of his hut and went to one of his wives. I thought she would console me but she scolded me and told me that she was not my mother to nurse me! I crawled around, boiled water and nursed myself.

My hip joint felt like it was coming out of its socket and my private parts were very painful. I could not urinate without crying out in pain. I could not believe it when two days later he called me again and raped me twice. My life went on like this for a month," narrates Mary who escaped from a Lords Resistance rebel camp in Sudan four years ago.

This is one of the stories in a study conducted by the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children (WCRWC) entitled, "Against all odds: Serving the war on adolescents.

Founded in 1989, the UK-based CRWC works to ensure that refugee and displaced women, adolescents and children are given protection, access to improved livelihood such as health and education services. It operates under the auspices of the International Rescue Committee.

The study, conducted in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, points out sexual assault, exploitation, slavery and prostitution as major forms of sexual abuse during camp captivity.

The abuses are common today especially among girls and women living within major towns and IDP camps in northern Uganda.

"The perpetrators and their tactics vary by location. They include the LRA, UPDF, refugees, neighbours, family members and adolescent males," the study reveals.

In nearly every interview, the adolescents described personal knowledge of rape and defilement either against themselves or their peers. It indicates that the adolescents, both boys and girls, reported that rape and defilement exist in most IDP camps, the Achol Pii Refugee settlement and in non-camp settings in northern Uganda.

Some girls reported that schools, especially in Kitgum, are being used as rape sites in the evening. Unfortunately, there is no central reporting system, few services for survivors and cases are rarely followed up.

The girls also fear public shame should they report the cases to the authorities. Besides, some parents seek cash payments from the perpetrators, thereby making the assault public knowledge.

"Without adequate security, adolescent girls and women are forced to choose between their fear of the LRA attack at home and the fear of rape during their nightly flight into town," Matthew Emry, WCRWC project manager said.

Emry attributes rampant sexual abuse of girls and women to night commuting which started about three years ago after the Government launched the Operation Iron Fist military offensive against the LRA.

"In response to the operation, supported by the United States, the LRA increased its attacks on civilians and its abduction of young people," the study says.

"Night commuters are only a small portion of the 1.2 million people who have been internally displaced by the conflict in northern Uganda. In addition to sexual violence, night commuters face harsh conditions while searching for sleeping space. Many of them are forced to sleep outdoors, exposed to rain, wind, mosquitoes and unsanitary conditions," Emry says.

Generally, the study indicates that many night commuters, especially the adolescent girls, contract respiratory tract infections, malaria, diarrhoea and scabies.

They also face increased risks of HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancy as a result of sexual violence or unprotected sex.

Many girls in Gulu, including those living in the six IDP protected villages, name rape and defilement as their third most important concern behind insecurity, abduction and murder and displacement.

Rape and defilement, the study states, is unrelenting violence which causes girls to endure terrible psychological and physical harm, including increased teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and other health concerns.

The study observes that girls who have not been raped also suffer from constant fear that it will happen again any time.

It specifically points out increased responsibilities for basic survival as superceding education, lack of access to higher education especially among girls and inaccessible land which leaves adolescent dependent on humanitarian assistance.

While young people in northern Uganda may have few opportunities to influence community decisions, the study says, many are actively asking for help from adults around them.

Recommendations

Government should:
*Stop all night commuting especially for the girls and women

*Enforce national law to end rape and defilement of women

*Prosecute all the perpetrators of sexual violence in the north especially the
UPDF soldiers

*Establish national programmes to increase professionalism of the Ugandan and Sudanese armies, including education on human rights, international humanitarian legal standards and protection of refugee and the internally displaced

*Strengthen collaborative work with district officials, NGOs and civilians to improve Ugandan army security patrols, particularly around IDPs camps, refugee settlements and in schools

*Implement affirmative action education programme for children and adolescents in conflict areas

*Establish a special fund to pay for secondary education of students from the north

From: http://allafrica.com/stories/200402240517.html