Security and Violence against Women

after which they are often tired, stressed and busy with other obligations (such as caring for dependents).18 In order for street vendors and their associations to influence policy, they need to be organised with wellestablished effective channels of communication with urban authorities.19

In 2019, the KCCA Regulation of Street Trade Ordinance 2019 was discussed. The purpose of the ordinance is to provide a legislative framework that will allow orderly hawking and vending on the streets. Under the proposed ordinance, all vendors and hawkers are expected to register with KCCA, have a special street trading license, identification numbers, uniforms, among other issues. KCCA’s hope this will spur an increase in the purchase and sale of goods and allow for greater economic activity that will promote the welfare of Kampala residents. According to the ordinance, street vendors grade one and two are to pay sh210,000 and sh78,750 respectively, while hawkers’ grade one and two will pay sh112,500 and sh60,000 for their trading licenses. The traders will also be required to pay for their uniform at sh50,000. The uniforms will be in different colours depending on divisions where they will be operating. Kampala Central (green), Nakawa (blue), Kawempe (red), Rubaga (orange) and Makindye (yellow).20

To ensure that the law becomes an effective instrument for gender justice, we demand the following:

1.

2. Government to implement the ‘KCCA Regulation of Street Trade Ordinance 2019’ including the translation of the law into different languages to enhance legal knowledge among the street vendors.

Government clarification on just and fair regulations including license fees, designation of spaces and time of operation.

3. Designation of a women street vendors’ leadership representative at different levels of decision making – in political parties, Council/ Local Government, Parliament, Market Associations and Traders Associations.

A secure environment is a prerequisite for any type of business, yet for women street vendors, security is a major concern while they are working and travelling to and from their places of work. Street vendors worry about their own security, and the security of their goods and customers. They view security and safety as an economic priority, and not simply one of personal safety. As a result of this some vendors have formed voluntary associations to fight crime, while the police are often viewed as collaborators since they do not arrest some known criminals. The women street vendors have also resorted to moving in groups of five between 2:00am – 6:00am in the morning to enable them buy fresh merchandise at a wholesale price.

The insecurity in the streets is sometimes used as an excuse to evict street vendors. In Uganda, sites for street vending are viewed by urban authorities as dens for thugs and robbers. The Uganda case study has observed that aggravation of city thefts and insecurity in Kampala were used by the city authorities as grounds for

18  Graeme Young (2018): De-Democratisation and the Rights of Street Vendors in Kampala, Uganda. Available online via https://www. researchgate.net/publication/326355554 19  Winnie V. Mitullah (2005): Street Vending in African Cities: A Synthesis of Empirical Findings from Kenya, Cote D’ivoire, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Uganda and South Africa 20  Juliet Waiswa (2019): KCCA to regulate street vendors. Available online via https://www.newvision.co.ug/news/1503255/kcca-regulate-streetvendors

evicting vendors from the streets in 2001. It was argued that due to the overcrowding in the streets, pick pocketing and petty thieves were rampant in the streets of Kampala.

Street vending is also seen as a potential threat to public security. This often comes from the fear that street vendors may be criminals. Petty theft is the most common concern in this regard, but one KCCA official claimed that criminals would disguise themselves as street vendors in order to commit house robberies, doing “their surveillance during the day” before returning “preferably in the night to execute their mission”. The idea that criminals can pose as street vendors due to the low entry costs that characterize street vending has echoes in the similar (if more outlandish) fear that terrorists may do the same.21 The cause of violence against women is rooted in gendered power relations that create social, political, and economic imbalances of power, among others. Domestic violence is highly prevalent in Uganda, and men are most often the perpetrators. For the safety of women street vendors, we therefore demand:

1.

2.

3. All relevant constitutional bodies and civil society should work to improve the culture of peace as a key condition for promoting human security and social justice.

The Government must ensure that the Domestic Violence Act 2010 is implemented and structures resourced without compromising its spirit, intent and purpose.

Provision of street lighting and CCTV cameras.

4.

5.

6.

7. The executive committees of parish/ward and village councils must engage in “self-help projects,” recruit for security/law enforcement bodies, communicate with other levels of government and monitor activities.

The Government must enact a suitable family bill – Marriage and Divorce Act and the Sexual Offences Bill and an inclusive plan for social security.

The Government must reform police stations and court facilities to make them gender sensitive and responsive. This must be facilitated by the provision of training and enhance the role and response of the police when dealing with cases of domestic violence.

The Government must create special mechanisms for supporting survivors of gender-based violence, before, during and after judicial processes. This must include legal assistance as well as interim and long-term medical, psychological and material support.

21  Graeme William Young (2018) Informal Vending and the State in Kampala, Uganda. St. John’s College