| dc.description.abstract | Physical violence is any act of gender-based assault that results in or is likely to result in physical and psychological harm or suffering to a person. It is embedded in society and pervades all socioeconomic, gender and cultural groups, having a devastating impact on the lives of survivors. This study aimed at assessing the determinants physical violence in Central Uganda. A total of 4325 respondents from Central Uganda were included in this study. The data was analyzed at univariate, Bivariate and multivariate levels of analysis.
The study found out that women’s education level was associated with physical violence in central Uganda. Women with no education were more at risk of experiencing physical violence as compared to those with primary, secondary and higher. The study also found out that parity was associated with physical violence. Women with no children had lower odds or were less likely to experience physical violence as compared to with children. The study also revealed that husband’s alcohol consumption had a significant relationship with physical violence. The study also found out that age at first cohabitation had a strong relationship with physical violence in central Uganda.
It is therefore recommended that Law reform is a necessary first step in ending violence: There must be an existing legal framework for victims to seek legal redress. There is a need for the government of Uganda to comply with its international obligation to protect women against all forms of violence, whether occurring in the private or public sphere and to strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of government agencies to address domestic violence, and to develop a model for intervention on a nationwide scale. There is need for the women activists to continue lobbying and advocating for the enactment of legislation on physical violence that is in accordance with international legal obligations.
Furthermore, Laws to protect women and children are essential. Victims should have the right to stay in the home in cases of physical violence; it is the perpetrator who should be removed from the residence in such cases. Home should be a place of safety. Therefore, the fact that a crime is committed in the home should be regarded as an aggravating factor. Physical violence is a criminal offence and the appropriate laws should be used. Perpetrators’ programs should not replace effective action against perpetrators under criminal law, and must not be used as a substitute for justified penal sanction.
Finally, there is a need to continue empowering women economically in order to reduce their over dependency on their husbands, which is one of the main causes of physical violence | en_US |
