The United Nations defines violence against women as “any act that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”

Violence against women and girls is a serious major human rights and public health concern. Violence against women encompasses a wide range of abuses, from physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family and in the general community.

Violence against women takes many forms including battering (beating, slapping), sexual abuse of women and girls (rape including marital rape, coerced sex, harassment), female genital mutilation, intimidation and sexual harassment at school and at the place of work, forced prostitution, trafficking for sex and sex tourism, child marriage, widow inheritance and cleansing (both of which increasing HIV infection risk), intimate partner violence, dowry-related violence etc.

In Uganda, violence against women is widespread.
The 2006 Uganda Demographic House Survey (UDHS) found that:

• 60 percent of women (15-19) years had ever experienced physical violence. With 67 percent of those who had experienced physical violence saying an intimate partner was responsible.
• 39 percent reported experiencing sexual violence. With 44 percent of women who had experienced sexual violence saying their current husband or partner was responsible.
• 24 percent of the women reported forced first sexual encounter.

Though violence against women is very rampant, the shame associated with it may contribute to the fact that most women often suffer it in silence, afraid of repercussions and stigma and never tell anyone.

The abused women and girls are more likely to suffer from depression, loss of self-esteem, anxiety, sexual dysfunction and many reproductive health problems including miscarriage and still birth, premature delivery, HIV and Sexuality Transmitted Infections (STIs), unwanted pregnancies and abortions.

Rape is having sexual intercourse with a person without the person’s consent. Rape is also having sex with a person who is unable to give consent because she or he is impaired or unconscious e.g. drunk or drugged, physically or mentally challenged.

In case you are raped, a health centre should be your first stop. Ask for post exposure prophylaxis, a drug that must be taken within 72 hours to prevent possible HIV infection and for an emergency pregnancy contraceptive.

Then proceed to the police and report the case. The police will then refer you to a police surgeon who will examine you and make a report.

Thank you for the concern about your friends. You must be a true friend to worry and want to help. Naturally, we can never predict the exact “problems” that our friends will get but we could consider and explore certain general challenges and ways in which you could help in that kind of situation.

Your friends could contract sexually transmitted infections like Gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV/AIDS, and more. They could also end up with a pregnancy, in case they engage in unprotected sexual intercourse or miss use a condom.

Your friends are also at a risk of building the foundation of their relationship on sex performance, which would lead to a quick break up should one of them not match up to the other’s satisfaction.

Your friend could even be accused by the girls’ parents for defilement because the girls is less than 18 years. According to the Uganda law, have sex with a girl of less than 18 years is illegal wthether consensual or not. Defilement carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

With a few of those sample challenges, you as a friend could share with them more knowledge on the risks of engaging in sex, and help them preoccupy themselves with activities that would divert their attention from the desire to engage in sex.