INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

1. INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE • Ipv does not have a strict legal definition however it is loosely related to gender based violence. • It mostly occurs amongst people who are close to each other like friends who become intimate, eg classmates ,colleagues workmates relatives and even spouses. • Intimate partners do not have a legal obligations and rights like married people so it is easy for IPV To take place and go unnoticed or unreported.

2. Cont. • Ipv is quite prevalent among the youth in both the offenders and the offended. most of the youth are not aware that even what they are committing is a crime so it mostly goes unnoticed • The existing societal believes do contribute to ipv for instance if a girl is violated the blame is on her as she is said to either she dressed inappropriately, entertained the man

3. What constitutes Intimate Partner Violence? Violence perpetrated by an intimate partner is widespread globally. It includes: • Physical violence (e.g. slaps, punches, kicks, assault with a weapon, homicide); • Sexual violence (e.g. rape, coercion and abuse includes use of physical force, verbal threats, and harassment to have sex, unwanted touching or physical advances, forced participation in pornography or other degrading acts that often persist over time and are accompanied by threats on part of the perpetrator);

4. Employer employee e.g Secretary –boss, • Teacher -student relationship, close friends who may later start dating etc • Its is a form of relationship that does not have rights and obligations where a spouse has an obligation towards enjoying or allowing the other to enjoy conjugal rights

5. African culture where women have been socialized to say no when its so believed that a no is a yes. • They dont easily agree to sex and men no easily been accustomed to be stronger than a woman and the mostly use force to around women otherwise they will be taken to be weak. • Chastisement is allowed in most cultures as it said to be a way of showing love • The law enforcers- police response to such cases- issue of c

6. Gaps • The the burden of proof in Intimate Partner Violence is very high … • Ipv does not exist in our laws as it does not even have a legal provision and cannot be . • Art.43 of the const. talks of right to reproductive health care but does not provide for individual right for instance I have a right to my reproductive right I have a right to choose whom to have sex with when and how even if I am married etc • Art 21 has given state obligation to achieve progressive realization of these rights under art 43

7. SOA sec 23 def sexual harassment to be that which can be committed by someone in a position of authority especially in a public office. • That sexual harassment is only committed by pple in a fiduciary kind of relationship where one holds the other at ransom esp. on economic status • The Act does not take cognizance of the fact that sexual harassment can take plane outside the formal working environment.

8. Policy • Policy forms legislation-policy is the basis of legislation and lack of if will lead challenges in implementing . • SOA does not have a strong policy, It was allocated to the A G instead of Min of Gender & Social Development which has capacity and structures for training • SOA is not only limited to prosecution only but has elements of civic education to the public, implementers like health workers examine, the collect evidence etc –most cases are dismissed for lack of evidence

9. Cont. • The State law office does not have training capacity to train members of public and the implementers of the Act on SOA it only has prosecutorial powers under the office of the DPP • The process of reporting sexual offences is long and intimidating – one police doctor need to gazette several doctors to be able to deal with the high number of victims • In marriage rape is not criminalized why?

10. Policy cont. • SOA sec 38 criminalizes malicious prosecution any person who makes false allegation against another person to the effect that the person has committed an offence under this act shall be liable offence liable to punishment equal to offence he complained of….. This is quite harsh. it prohibits people from suing for fear of such technicalities . • Lack of awareness of SOA …provisions people don’t know that infecting another with HIV is a crime so most cases go unreported.

11. Wayforward • Family protection Bill which will come in handy to protect vulnerable groups like children however it has n • We must support lobby for this bill • Amend SOA • Lobby for a legislation on reproductive health rights • Outlaw and criminalize cultural practices that are repugnant to the constitution.

12. APROACHES TO ADRESS INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE • Public Awareness Mass media and public education campaigns to raise awareness of violence against women and HIV/AIDS have been undertaken separately at the global and country levels. Their impact on changes at the community level is arguably more limited. Nonetheless, public awareness campaigns create an overall favourable environment in which other activities on violence and HIV/AIDS can be undertaken by giving visibility to the issues and mobilizing public and political support.

13. Economic empowerment of women: • Microfinance and micro-credit interventions to improve household poverty and women’s access to resources, opportunities and choices employ a system of group-based lending to enable women to start small businesses. Evaluation of micro-credit programs suggest that they empower women by improving their decision-making in the household and have health benefits such as improved nutrition, child health and contraceptive use.

14. Strengthening laws and policies: Policies on domestic violence and related gender issues at the level of international treaties, national laws and legislations, and institutions play an important role in addressing violence against women and reducing women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. At the international level, the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW 1979) and the declaration of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS 2001) highlight the importance of violence against women for reducing HIV transmission and providing treatment and care for AIDS, and call on governments to develop and monitor legislations and related programs.

15. CONCLUSIONS AND KEY MESSAGES • Coercive sex poses a direct biological risk for HIV infection resulting from vaginal trauma and lacerations; • Intimate partner violence poses indirect risk for HIV infection in several ways: - Women with a history of violence may not be able to negotiate condom use; • Childhood sexual abuse, coerced sexual initiation and current partner violence may increase sexual risk taking (e.g. having multiple partners, engaging in transactional sex); - Women who experience violence may be in partnerships with older/riskier men who have a higher likelihood of being infected with STI and HIV; and • Violence or fear of violence may deter women from seeking HIV testing, prevent disclosure of their status, and delay their access to AIDS treatment and other services.