Northern Uganda is still recovering from the impacts of over 20 years of civil war between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The aftermath of displacement and resettlement, psychological trauma, reintegration of former combatants, children born in captivity, land conflicts and sexual and gender-based violence continue to worry communities. The region exhibits the lowest indicators in the country in terms of poverty, economic and social opportunities and human development.Gender Equality
Our tactics
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We collaboratively leverage our access, power, resources and relationships to strategically influence policy and practice. We aim to advance feminist agendas through our work with policy makers, funders and activists in regional and global spaces. We also work to influence feminist and women’s rights movements to centre historically oppressed movements as part of efforts to strengthen our collective power and influence.
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We use our convening power to facilitate dialogue and strategize on key issues. We connect our members and allies with one another, sharing and exchanging resources, ideas and action across relevant issues. We organize and facilitate spaces to strengthen and engage across movements, to imagine and envisage new futures, to develop effective influencing tactics and to co-create powerful agendas and processes. .
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We provide services to gender based violence survivors directly and through partners: first-line support (church, empathetic counseling, safety planning, and referrals), health care (clinical management of rape and sexual and reproductive health and rights), legal support, psycho-social support, economic opportunities, and referral system strengthening.
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We work to mobilize our members and the movements we support to strengthen collective action in solidarity with feminist causes and defenders at risk. We build partnerships, engage in active listening and ongoing, long-term, solidarity. We work with defenders to build a body of knowledge and support networks of solidarity on protection and wellbeing.
Gender Based Violence.
GBV has devastating outcomes, including but not limited to: homicide, suicide, lifelong disability, mental illness, substance abuse, sexual and reproductive consequences, poverty, social exclusion, and impacts on children. It is used to prevent people, particularly young women, from making choices about their bodies, health, education, work, and lives.
The COVID-19 crisis has worsened GBV across the world. Lockdowns and stay-at-home measures are increasing conflict due to the loss of employment and income, food insecurity, and illness; keeping women at home with abusers and keeping girls out of school; disrupting access to police, healthcare and shelter; breaking down family and community support structures; and increasing child marriage and trafficking.
Our Initiatives
Advancing Universal Rights and Justice
We monitor, document and make visible how anti-rights actors are operating and colluding in multilateral spaces and support feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements and allies to counter their influence and impact.
We develop accessible, action-oriented analysis on the state of resourcing for feminist movements. We aim to influence funders’ policies and practices, deepen and sustain funding for feminist social change, and support movements’ needs and strategies.
Resourcing Feminist Movements
We unearth, co-create and amplify feminist realities, proposals and narratives and in doing so, contribute to making visible feminism in practice, inspiring exchange and joint action, and providing spaces for strategizing, thus increasing the collective impact and power of feminist alternatives.
Co-Creating Feminist Realities
Our work aims to: