School of Women and Gender Studies (SWGS) Collections
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ItemIntimate partner violence : lived experiences of women survivors from the Gulu gender-based violence shelter, Northern Uganda(Makerere University, 2025)The study investigated the lived experiences of women survivors of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the Layibi community of Gulu District, Northern Uganda, focusing on the mental health effects of IPV, women survivors’ coping strategies, and their preferred mental health care needs. Using qualitative data from women who previously stayed at the Gulu Gender Based Violence (GBV) shelter, the research examined how the post-conflict legacy of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency and the COVID-19 lockdown have intensified IPV in this context. Findings revealed that disrupted family structures, altered gender roles, and weakened community protection systems increased women’s vulnerability to multiple forms of IPV including physical, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse; often occurring simultaneously. Some survivors normalized controlling behaviors as ‘love,’ complicating their recognition of abuse. The mental health consequences include depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse, which often overlap and hinder recovery. Survivors used both emotion and problem-focused coping strategies, including prayer, journaling, seeking shelter, and social support. However, limited shelter capacity, social stigma, and weak legal and healthcare systems posed significant barriers to accessing support. The study highlighted the need for culturally sensitive, trauma-informed mental health services, as well as long-term, holistic interventions such as support groups and art therapy. Policy recommendations emphasize increased funding, specialized training for law enforcement and healthcare providers; and multi-sectoral collaboration to enhance services for IPV survivors. This research contributes new insights into how post-conflict fragility and pandemic challenges intersect to shape IPV experiences in Layibi, Northern Uganda and calls for survivor-centered, context-specific interventions to improve mental health outcomes.
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ItemUnmasking the male gaze and its effects on female students: case study of Makerere University(Makerere University, 2023)The purpose of this study was to analyse the different ways through which the demanding male gaze affects female students of Makerere University. The study adopted an exploratory and qualitative case study design of research to collect primary and secondary data. The methodology used was qualitative research methodology. The sample comprised of 84 students (65 female students and 19 male students) taken through an in-depth study, 17 students in two different Focus Group Discussions, 6 key Informants interviewed and 5 students observed. The male gaze was found to be evidenced at the University by the attitude men have towards women in the way of commenting on and judging the female students’ dressing, presentation and appearance in public. Men present an unending list of expectations on female students to suit their own desires. This control places female students in a lower status and objectifies them to suit men’s desires. The objectifying male gaze is particularly harmful to female students on campus. The male gaze was found to portray the desire to sexually own the woman’s body and set a pace to own the woman’s body by demanding that the body be presented in the way the men want it to be presented to them Although the male gaze had negative effects it also gave power to women over men. The female students used the male gaze to insert power over men to achieve academic success by bargaining and negotiating academic and financial support. The female gaze was not uncommon among the female students on campus. Some female students did not care what men’s interest was in the way of their presentation but rather presented themselves for their own satisfaction. The study recommends that male students be engaged to discuss concepts like the male gaze that hinder the progress of female students. Dialogues on sexuality should be regularly organised by the student’s guild and the Gender mainstreaming directorate to address the negative effects of the male gaze.
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ItemMarket stalls as a space for women’s socio-economic empowerment in Kira Municipality(Makerere University, 2024-12)The study assessed whether Market Stalls are a space for women’s Socio-Economic Empowerment of in Kira Municipality. The study objectives were: were to explore the women’s access to and the use of market stalls in Kira Municipality; to investigate socio-economic status of women using market stalls in Kira municipality; and to analyze whether access to and use of market stalls has led to socio-economic empowerment of women in Kira Municipality. The study used a cross-sectional research design with both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Quantitative data was gathered from 90 respondents using a self-administered questionnaire from women with market stalls. Qualitative data was collected from 2 municipality officials, 2 political leaders, 3market leaders, 3 focused group discussions each involving 8 respondents and 10 in-depth interviews with women working in market stalls. The study findings indicate that women in Kiira municipality found it easy to access stalls in the market. The study went deeper to understand whether access meant use, given that one can access a stall but may not use it. Indeed, some of the participants reported lack of capital as a constraint to make effective use of their stalls. Access to credit was found challenging as financial institutions require a lot from women to access credit which many women cannot meet. Relatedly, effective use of stalls requires women to have business and entrepreneur skills. Unfortunately, findings indicate that some groups of women especially those ones with none and primary level of education find it challenging to calculate the interest rate and the profits. Concerning whether access to and use of market stalls has led to socio-economic empowerment of women in Kira Municipality, the study establishes a double-edged scenario. One is that some of the women particularly those that had stayed longer in the market or those that had proved resilient, indicate aspects of empowerment. These aspects include women’s improved agency and decision making regarding the use of their money, decision making at home, their ability to contribute to the running of their homes including paying school fees, paying health care bills, buying food among others. However, the same study shows that some women are just „hanging‟ in the business. They only manage to eat or feed their families but cannot easily show whether they make profit or not. They do not have property as a result of working on the market stall and they reported stress related to the multiple roles they have to juggle out. As Naila Kabeer narrates, these women’s work in the stalls seems to be a „distress sale of labor‟. In this case therefore, stalls a capable of empowering women. However, the constraints to women including lack of capital, limited business skills, lack of trusted and affordable credit, and gender norms among others may constrain women from achieving meaningful empowerment.
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ItemExamining women's experiences in the process of accessing and utilizing national identification documents in labour migration: a case of women labour migrants in Uganda(Makerere University, 2024-12)The purpose of the study was to examine the experiences of women in the process of accessing and utilizing and utilizing national identification documents in labor migration. The study focused on the women labor migrants in Uganda, aged between 18 to 35 years. These particularly included women returnees from middle east as well as prospective young women migrant workers in the process of traveling to middle east for work My motivation to write about topic was the ever increasing demand for the national IDs despite its mandatory nature for one to have one. Also, the increasing demand for the passport by the labor migrants of whom majority are women. Holding a national identification document is not only a means of accessing state-provided social services, but a question of identity and citizenship. Although national identification processes significantly bestow citizenship on individuals and also facilitates service delivery to individuals, quite a significant number of women find challenges in registering and accessing these national identification documents. In Uganda, just like many countries, gender-based differences in both formal and informal laws and regulations make it more inconvenient for a woman than a man to obtain an ID or the foundational documents needed to get one. This additional burden combines with other aspects of gender inequality that put women at a disadvantage such as high literacy levels, constrained mobility outside the home, to contribute to a wide gender gap in ID access. Gaps equally exist in use of national documents. Therefore, this study intends to explore the experiences and the challenges women labor migrants interface as they apply for the national IDs, and how this affects their rights. Comprehensively, the study contributes towards enabling the reader to appreciate how gendered, seemingly neutral state processes like issuing national identification documents can be. The study utilized the qualitative approach through Key informants and In-depth interviews as well as observation. This approach brought forward a wealth of previously and current untold stories of women labor migrants. The study results demonstrate that the main reasons why women apply for national IDs is to access social services, the mandatory nature of possessing an ID to qualify as citizens, and to be able to travel for work as migrant workers. The results further illustrate the experiences of women in accessing and using national IDs, and the challenges women labor migrants face in using the national IDs. Some of these experiences were sexual pacification, bribery and exertion and giving false information. The main challenge faced in using national IDs was ID confiscation. Conclusively, my study highlights the need for the government of Uganda to centralize the ID processing system through creating a one stop ID processing center that can incorporate different institutions that process IDs. Once the Ministry of Internal Affairs, NIRA and the Directorate of Interpol and International Relations are merged under one umbrella. This too will limit government expenditure, reduce unnecessary movements, curb corruption and reduce costs and other resources spent in pursuing IDs from different places. The government urgently needs to address the sky rocketing underemployment and unemployment, gender mainstream its sector, as well as break the national ID monotony by availing and alternative or supplementary IDs or documents that would serve to access essential services.
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ItemGender disparities in program outcomes and post-program trajectories in Palabek Refugee Settlement, Lamwo District(Makerere University, 2024-12)This study explored the influence of gender on economic empowerment programs in Palabek Refugee Settlement, focusing on disparities in participation, benefit receipt, and post-program outcomes. The primary objective was to examine gender differences in access to financial services, asset ownership, financial literacy, and household decision-making. A mixed-method approach was utilized, involving quantitative and qualitative data collection. The sample consisted of 150 respondents, selected through purposive and random sampling. Data were gathered using structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. The findings revealed significant gender disparities. Women, particularly married women and those with lower education levels, faced considerable barriers in accessing credit, owning land, and participating in household decision-making. Only 30% of women accessed formal credit, compared to 39% of men, and women were 40% less likely to engage in financial inclusion programs. However, women with higher education levels had better access to financial services and assets. The study recommended implementing gender-sensitive financial inclusion programs, policies to increase women’s economic participation, and vocational training to address these disparities. Future research should focus on the impact of financial inclusion on women’s economic empowerment and explore the relationship between decision-making and women’s economic outcomes in refugee contexts. This research highlighted the critical need for gender-responsive policies to foster the economic empowerment of women in refugee settings.