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Sampaul Nakhaima
Chief Editor
The Makererean
themakererean.wordpress.com

UN STUDY ON WHY MEN IN ASIA RAPE

Makererean UN Correspondent

Why do rape perpetrators commit such acts?

In the first of its kind, a multi-country survey looked at how widespread rape and sexual violence is in six Asia-Pacific countries. And it also asked why.

A quarter of the men interviewed, said they had raped a woman or girl.

The report published in the medical journal The Lancet also brought insight into the socio-economic circumstances of the men who rape.

The study by the Partners for Prevention, comprised of several U.N. agencies, asked 10,178 men about their lives. They gathered information from the following countries: Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka.

How widespread is rape?

The questionnaire did not contain the word "rape."

Instead, participants were asked questions like whether they ever "forced a woman who was not your wife or girlfriend at the time to have sex," if they ever "had sex with a woman who was too drunk or drugged to indicate whether she wanted it" or forced a partner, when she did not want to.

Here is the percentage of respondents who said they had raped a partner or non-partner.

In most countries, between one in five reported perpetrating a rape, although Papua New Guinea leads this proportion with more than half.

Rape of women in marriage was much more prevalent than non-partner rape, the survey found.

Rape is globally condemned 

When does it start?

Early. More than half of respondents who raped a non-partner first did so as a teenager, with most of their first crimes occurring between the age of 15 and 19.

The study's authors say this "reinforces the need for early rape prevention if one is to intervene before the first rape is committed."

What's the likelihood of repeat offenses?

High. Nearly half of the respondents who said they had committed rape, perpetrated the crime on different women.

They were asked how many different women they had raped:

        55.4% said they have raped 1 woman

        28.3% said they have raped 2-3 women

        12% said they have raped 4-10 women

        4.2% said they have raped 10 or more women

Are women always the victim of sexual violence?

No.

        6.2% of respondents say they have raped a man and a woman as a single perpetrator

        30.2% of respondents say they have raped a man and a woman among multiple perpetrators (with others/in a group setting)

Why did they commit rape?

Sexual entitlement means a man feels he has a right to have sex, despite what the woman wants. Some respondents expressed they were bored, so rape was a pursuit of entertainment. Punishment was also cited as a reason, saying that some wanted to punish a female or was angry with the person.

Are there consequences for the rape?

Prison sentences were rare, with less than a quarter of the perpetrators receiving jail time. The study found:

55.2% said they felt guilt

        35.7% said they were punished by friends or family

        32.5% said they were arrested

        22.9% said they were sent to prison

What's the background of a repeat rape offender?

Men with a history of victimization, such as experiencing childhood physical or sexual abuse, emotional abuse or neglect in childhood, were more likely to commit sexual violence than those without such a past, according to the study.

It also found that men who were poor or had no high school education were more likely to have raped in a group setting.

        50% of multiple perpetrators had no high school education

        74.8% of multiple perpetrators had ever married or co-habitated

        60.5% of multiple perpetrators experienced childhood physical abuse

        43.1% of multiple perpetrators rarely or never had their father at home

CAUGHT IN-FLAGRANTE

The Police may be drunk with POMBE

By Zahra Abdul

   For starters, I do not know much about this Public Order Management Bill and don’t lay any claims on how it operates as a law. My colleagues chide me about it, some crazy ones who indulge in the bitter, have even gone so far as naming it POMBE (name for local brew). While I have read inexplicably negative reviews about it, intellectual parliamentary discourse has never been my thing, until POMB hit me in a recent incident in Mengo, which had me transformed ...well, you could say “POMBE-CALLY”.

   You would think I must be certifiably insane for even renaming this POMB, but yesterday I was arrested by the police for sitting down with a friend in a public place opposite a church in Mengo. At that point it didn’t occur to me that, sitting next to a highway would incur us the wrath of the police. Yet in this case, we were faced with an unwavering policeman whom we tried to explain to that we had no ill-will with anyone, and anything. Yes, you guessed right. He asked for 50K, we jammed.

   That refusal earned me and my friend a stint on the “holy torture” rack of a police station in Mengo. They threatened to detain us overnight and take us to court the next day. POMB-E was really in force here. But we stood our ground and refused to be hoodwinked, and we were released after 20 minutes. Those 20 minutes of hell, turned me literary almost pink. I intimated to a friend about this, and he pointed to POMB, like “gal, which rock have you been living under lately, didn’t you know?” Rightly or wrongly, I was shocked by what for me was a revelation, my first experience at a police station, and with this POMB thing, probably many more to come. Perhaps it’s just me. Maybe I am just paranoid. Perhaps the rumours I have heard of heavy government hand if you were found seated in twos or threes eating your chicken is not true. 

Even simple gatherings like this one will be enough to provoke the police

Maybe the rumour of a heavy government hand if you were found whispering to someone is really a myth. Eh... the lugambo in Uganda, especially on social media has gone off the rails. You could easily debunk this myth, until it happens to you. And while POMB gives the police instant gratification, the buzz on social media shows otherwise, and suggests it has left the nation wheezing and riddled with this lugambo. In fact while the police could see in Deputy Speaker, Jacob Oulanyah (who helped pass this law) a super-hero, critics out there see a law that was passed recklessly. I am not sure it was, but I surely witnessed its potential to be abused, in fact I am on bunkenke (tenterhooks) now. Yet, on the other hand, I am not sure if my arrest had anything to do with this POMB thing. Maybe I appeared idle and disorderly? Yes, when it comes to my yoghurt, I can be overly protective, and show certain ferocious signs, but folks...I was in Mengo, and the nearest “yoghurt” or semblance of one as far as my eyes could see, was a cow mowing nearby.

Such actions by police will no longer be news

    So next time you sit down to eat your much prized fried cassava, think twice. You never remember these things but the crapulence this POMB could bring to your life, makes it worth considering every time you walk out. Personally, I would remove this POMB thing instantly, because “Pombe-cally” it’s getting into the heads of the police. Keep your eyes peeled folks. Pop some popcorn as you watch this POMB saga unfold. Sit back and watch the end of Kaboozi-cating on a bench as we know it. Would it be “prosaic” of me to suggest that with this law, the police have the potential of getting drunk with power? Well, over to you Afande Kayihura

WHEN YOU CAN’T FIND THE LECTURE ROOM

By Kam Sam

I’d always thought it was only toddlers who could get lost. The other groups I had exempted from not being lost were the staggering drunkards who mistook enguuli for bushera, the villagers who thought bulbs were calabashes and the whites who pride in their ignorance of everything that is African.

   Little did I know that I risked being charged with forgetting to include freshers on my list. This lackadaisical mistake I’d committed would actually incite the police into a ‘shoot-to-kill’ operation. I’ll never forget the day my bosom friend, Eric attended a year three class on the very first day his long feet sneaked into the University’s gates (and by university, I only mean Makerere-no apologies). The lecturer, a slim lady professor with glasses that seemed heavier than her was the instructor. Eric told me that he kept gazing at her waiting for the glasses to overpower the wiry woman.                                                                                        Eric didn’t pick anything from the lecture; not even the topic; not even the course. The only thing he learnt was that he was lost.

   Ayayayaya!!! I can recall the day Susan almost missed an exam. She looked for the lower lecture theatre at the then faculty of arts for half an hour. She rotated around the same place in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. She then moved upstairs and downstairs. She could not find the theatre. She thought it had migrated. She then realized that was a bad thought.

   I can write thousands of such experiences. But in this series, it is as important to a fresher as salary increment is to Makerere dons, to understand that being lost is not abnormal. Blessed, therefore, are the freshers who will heed to my sweet PLAN B prescription;

1.      Asking for direction is neither illegal nor subject to taxation. No one will charge you under the Public Order Management Bill (POMBE) for not seeking Kayihura’s permission to stop any person and politely sing, “Excuse me, hi, can you please help direct me to the dean’s office”. And by the way Makerere students are as helpful as statehouse is to Luwero war veterans. And I’m not saying you will be given sacks of money for seeking help when lost. What I mean is that they will give free services, no terms, no conditions. Students do not behave like Maria Kiwanuka, who thinks it’s wise to tax water.

2.      Get used to your college during internship. It is too much high school swagger that makes most of you shun orientation. But of course that swagger ends up getting you into more troubles than those in the OPM.

3.      Lastly, know a few of your course mates and give them a call whenever you are lost. Just load ‘pakalost’(not pakalast because it no longer lasts ever since the warid-airtel. Looks like the bride secured a high interest loan from loan sharks to throw a party and perhaps pay dowry).

4.      Police. If you choose not to obey the above plan B rules, I can bet my father-in-law’s herd that you will get lost, but even then, I have another option for you. If you forget all the places at MUK, be sharp enough to remember the police station. Once you realize that you are lost run faster than Kiprotich and report yourself to the police or ask any policeman you see around to lead you to the police. There, you’ll be picked after radio announcements and you will automatically be deported. Until then, Kam Sam rebukes the spirit of being lost.

kamsam21@gmail.com

INTERNSHIP MEMORIES

 ‘I am sorry Editor, there was no story’

By Samuel Kamugisha

It’s a Saturday and being a weekend, I didn’t have to go to RHU for internship. No outreach. No nothing. Even if it were there, I would have flouted the rules, not because I’m a law breaker who deserves Afande Omara’s iron hand but because I could not miss Ngugi Wa Thiong’o whose books I’d read since I disobeyed my teachers to offer Literature in English yet many saw a scientist in me. I wonder what kind of doctor or engineer I’d have made. By the way, I’ve not broken many rules save for rules of engagement but on this day I could break all the rules.

    At the entrance, I signed in not as an intern but as a journalist working with the best University newspaper in Africa. I said the truth. I didn’t want to break the rule like one man who bragged, “God gave us ten, we broke them, Metternich has given us his, let’s see”. My friend Michael was busy enjoying with his camera. He must be having albums of pictures to present in his report. The guy’s camera flashed 1000 per second. He must have taken 1000s of trillions of pictures.

One fails to figure out what they will say when they reach the newsroom without the story

   Luck is very selective. Sitting in the gallery, I saw Loyce, an intern with UBC. Maaaama! Editorial policies suck. Loyce saw nothing sensible in what was said for over five hours, including what the author of ‘Devil on The Cross’ had said. One can run such a story by such an author whose writings entail words that hide bombs of meanings in them, at their own risk. Prof. Kamuntu, the minister of water, as if he’s the one who created it, had represented the president. Loyce had to wait for whatever the minister said in his master’s name. The minister read this boring script as Loyce took notes. She threw the gallery into prolonged laughter when she shouted, “Pardon!”  Owing to the boredom that the speech had plunged me into, I decided to take a nap. It’s Loyce’s laughter that woke me up. I’d already filed and sent my story to Africa’s most authoritative University news paper, THE MAKEREREAN and my story had begun trending like a hot chapatti on our blog as my sister struggled.

   As I rose to walk out, I saw Viola, an intern for a certain business weekly. There was absolutely nothing business-like about Ngugi, Nyerere, or the University Of East Africa that were immensely referred to that day. At least, nothing for the budding business paper. For more than five hours, there was no story. Her editor wanted the story to run the next two days. Thank God she’d time to attend other functions where she could luckily land on a juicy story. Wait, she’d not been parsimonious with her spending. I’ve actually known her for spending her money like a fisherman who has no idea whether the sea plans to swallow him the next day as he goes swiping through its waters for more fish.

   As Loyce struggled to jot down her story, Viola’s editor and field supervisor called to inquire how far she’d gone. The intern brazenly replied, “There was no story”.  Is that not story enough?

Kamsam21@gmail.com

        

WHO IS TO PAY THE 70% SALARY INCENTIVE?

The only benefit I saw in the 70% increment undertaken between MUASA and council is that it quickly dissolved the terse uncertainty of our university’s closure. Indeed! so soon, excited students exchanged and propagated messages through phones, facebook, twitter-social media was awash with the news, “all is settled, we will soon be back to campus, 7^th freshers and 14^th for continuing students” That is what we said. We still say so.

   Well, poor Makerere student, all is not yet settled. All is still on. The MUASA game is, though seeming at rest or a compelling limbo, still in play. We must recall so vitally that the 800% increment that had earlier been recommended by some committee in 2011, is not yet – by any speck – eroded off their money-thirsty memories.

Mak lecturers negotiating on the salary incentives

   Even Luis Kakinda, the MUASA spokesperson, hinted on it slightly, during a boycott arguing that of the initially promised sum in 2011(800%), they presently want at least 100% (I hope we don’t need rocket science to explain to us what the word “at least” means. For better interpretation the battle has in simple terms, just begun.

  The MUASA hawks have chosen to relay it in phase form and their half achieved success of the 70% of council’s move. Here, the greatest question is, “who will pay the money?”  Government? Hands up those who say ‘yes’; then, shame on you for you are greatly mistaken. Government priority is so distant from Makerere (keep in mind that Makerere is not part of the military nor an NRM party structure).  All through, it is the MUK private student that will settle the score by coughing more tuition and other fees.

   Don’t take my word for it. Let’s make some simple hypothesis; government is only paying for less than 10% of all MUK students’ tuition and if our lecturers are to have 70% increment, (or even 800% as the trend seems driving to that) then it will still only cater for 10%. In this case, it will offer 7% of the promise and the remaining 63% and the remaining is on us the students.

  At this point I will partially agree with Prof Venansius Baryamureba (whom we, in unison, excommunicated from our home of ‘intellectuals’) who argues that the demands were unfair on account of the uneven nature in which they were relayed. It is hard truth to tell here, but it’s a fact. Our teaching assistants (Bachelor’s level) are paid an average of UGX 1.7 M (USD 654) which is simply an overpayment in comparison to other teachers at that level.

   Now, if teaching assistants are to ascend to 800% increment, will it still be fair? Hands up, again, those who back MUASA. Well, we may argue they are a special case (MUK being 4^th in Africa.) But of all the staff below the rank of ‘senior lecturers’, less than 1% have had a single publication or meaningful research; so, what quality have they contributed to our continental score?

   Those who deserve increment are senior lecturers, associate professors because these have gross underpayment if we were to make any appropriate comparison. After all, each of these senior staff has published at least three books and is more active in research, and that is what matters in university qualitative assessment. So those are a special case.

SAFE MALE CIRCUMCISION A CHOICE WORTH MAKING

By Enid Keren Nabumati

The campaign for safe male circumcision, initiated by the ministry of health and endorsed by President Yoweri Museveni has been embraced by various medical facilities in Uganda. This is so because different studies have proven that the practice lowers the risk of HIV infection among men and also promotes penile hygiene.

   Unlike in the past where circumcision was practiced only among religious denominations like the Muslims, tribes like the Gishu and Sabiny among others, it is now a national health concern and cuts across all communities countrywide.

   As compared to the rudimentary methods of circumcision that were used in the cultural arena, which were as primitive as using the same unsterilized blade to cut more than one candidate, and which on many occasions resulted into spread of STDs and other related ailments, the equipment used in medical facilities now is modern and does not pose a very great risk to a patient. The operations are done more carefully to ensure that bleeding is minimal and that the risk of contracting HIV and any other illnesses that could arise from poor hygiene is reduced.

Many young men have decided to take on Safe Male Circumcision 

   A prospective method called Prepex is being researched upon and this, if used, not a single drop of blood is lost. Researchers think that if this method is put in place, it will bolster greater response from the public towards circumcision since one of the greatest fears that most men have is losing blood.

   Despite the fact that the ordinary system of clinical circumcision has received some remarkably positive response, the effectiveness of Prepex is expected to marshal greater response because it reduces on the pain and bleeding experience.

   The campaign is being promoted through advertisements. Medical personnel also do physical outreaches to institutions especially schools to convince the public to take part. Surgeons have also been trained on how to safely carry out the operation. It is also free of charge in government hospitals because it has been facilitated and those who charge for it have their own pecuniary interests.

   Studies show that the earlier one gets circumcised in terms of age, the faster the healing process. Despite the fact that circumcision is not being enforced by the authorities, it is highly advisable that the youth do it in order to promote good health. However, it is no guarantee for them to live recklessly because the protection it offers is not 100% assured.

DEALING WITH A WRONG MAN WHO DOESN’T DESERVE YOU

 ‘You are far too pretty to sit and weep for a wrong person who doesn’t deserve you’ Doreen Nasasira tips the lady Makerereans on how to stop sobbing for men who pride in breaking their hearts;

Stop the excuses. If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away. If he doesn’t want you, you cannot make him stay. Stop making excuses for a man and his behaviour; allow your intuitions to save you from heart aches.

   Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that is not meant to be, slower is better. Never live your life for a man before you find that one who makes you truly happy.

    Do not stay because you think it will get better. You will be mad at yourself later for staying when things are not better.

   Avoid men who have got a bunch of children by bunch of different women. He didn’t marry them when he got them pregnant. Why would he treat you more differently?

   Maintain boundaries in how guys treat you. If something bothers you, speak up

   He is a man, nothing more, nothing less.

   Never let a man define who you are.

   You cannot change a man’s behavior.  change comes from within.

   Never borrow someone else’s man. If he cheated with you, he will cheat on you.

   A man will only treat you the way you allow him to treat you.

   All men are not dogs

   You should not be the one doing all the bending, compromise is a two way sheet

   If a relationship ends because a man was not treating you as you deserve, then  you cannot be friends. A friend wouldn’t mistreat a friend.

   The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

   Always have your own set of friends separated from his.

   Never let a man know everything. He will use it against you later.

   Don’t over make him feel more important than you are even when he has more education or a better job.

   Do not make him into a quasi-god.

YOUTH IN NATION’S BUILDING-THE JOSEPH MODEL

By Peter Gumisiriza

Youths are the power house of any nation and how tomorrow will be like can easily be seen in the kind of youths a nation has. Uganda is at a historical cross road and there is a cry for divine intervention from every corner. If this nation will therefore experience any radical transformation and emancipation, it must begin with the youth.

   I want to draw the attention of our nation to some of the roles Joseph played in changing his nation and the timeless, conventional principles and action plans he employed, which I believe our youth  in the Uganda context can equally emulate.
Joseph presents a good picture of what God expects from our youth if our nation will also experience positive changes. Youth with great destiny arrangement, with passionate commitment to God, and determined resilience are those God want to breed to take up leadership responsibilities.
Scanning through the biographical details of Joseph, one appreciates the following facts in the story of his life:
     Moved by vision. Joseph was able to see beyond the “now”, immediate and mundane things of this life.  God gave him a vision of a great tomorrow. Joseph’s dream became his main stay and hope. He never gave up because he believed in God who gave him a transformational dream. One major problem we have to contend with as a nation is the great number of visionless youth that will be taking over the affairs of this nation.
     (2) Processed by opposition. With the birth of a great vision in Joseph simultaneously came strong oppositions. No one is after an obituary. Joseph’s vision of greatness attracted to him much opposition. Despite the much opposition, Joseph refused to bargain or compromise his destiny. He saw opposition as concomitant situation necessary for the fulfilment of his great dream. Joseph’s opposition eventually pushed him to a great position.(

    (3) From the simple to the complex – Joseph’s leadership position did not start from the palace but it began while he was in his father’s house. Many of our youth today do not want to follow the divine metamorphosis, but will rather prefer to jump the cue. Your skills must be developed using “simple” situation before moving to greater height. He passed the skill text in his father’s house, in Potipher’s house, among the prisoners before God brought him to the palace. It is not how soon you get to the top that matters but how long you stay there. What will sustain your stay at the top is the capacity you build through simpler situations you encountered on your way up.
    (4)  Living today with tomorrow in view. Joseph is an example of a strategic planner. He had the understanding of the divine revelation indicating what economic situation will be like in Egypt for a space of 14 years. Joseph came up with a strategic economic policy that can bring about an establishment of a reserve to meet the future need. Most of Uganda’s politician today lack this skill and attitude. Some of our leaders are bent on devouring the provisions meant for the next 100 years within on fiscal year. What a contrast? We need youth who will be conscious of tomorrow and  today and who can come up with long term strategic plans that can leave a reserve for the generation yet unborn.

gpeterlinn2012@gmail.com

JACKIE’S ADVENTURES

How I lost my virginity

Excitement floors in my already heated curious mind, the fantasy was becoming true, the constant hope, imagination was finally becoming a reality, I could not wait to tell the tale of a venture into this scary new territory ;away from my mother’s authoritative voice and love!

    So the final day had come, the innocence had to be trashed to the recycle bin and emptied out, the Friday night lights glowing down on to my innocent face.

    Dressed in a black little dress that left nothing to speculation, I was off to meet the man of my dreams.  My heart picked up speed slamming against my ribs with so much force that I thought they might crack.

    As I neared to the guards at the entrance, I knew I was saying goodbye to the little girl in me and embracing the woman in me.  That particular night was my little women’s day.

    Eyes glittering with anxiety, sweaty palms, my heart in my throat! Constant doubts play in my tiny protected mind as different voices of morality; subconscious all whisper, “Is it the right decision? I think you are making a wrong choice!”, the hushed voices fade into the background as I raise my chin with determination to lose the virginity or die trying.

   I entered into a club for the first time in my life, the other world where I could see men hit on each other, women dance closely to each other, dressed in all kinds of clothes; the long-held fantasy was now a reality!

   The music was so loud that I could not hear my voice amidst the loss of my virginity to a new guy called Kampala club.  He might not even remember my name or be excited that he was my first but I definitely lost my innocence!

   So stop frowning and cursing and become happy for the little girl for discovering the other side of life!!!