Gender and sexual vulnerability of young women in Africa: experiences of young girls in secondary schools in Uganda

Abstract

Sexuality is part and parcel of students' experiences of schooling manifested in personal friendships, relations and social interaction. These encounters constitute sites within which sexual identities are developed, practiced and actively produced through processes of negotiation. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in 14 selected secondary schools in Central and Western Uganda, the study illuminates gendered sexual vulnerability within patterns of social interaction and young girls gendered experiences and negotiation of their sexuality. The study reveals that through social and discursive practices, students construct complex gendered relations of domination and subordination that position boys and girls differently, often creating gender inequalities and sexual vulnerability for those gendered as girls. Girls' vulnerability is characterised by confusing and traumatic experiences fraught with double standards and silences. Typical of these experiences are complex tensions and contradictions surrounding constructions of sexuality that are predicated upon unequal power and gender relations characterised by homophobia, misogyny, control of female sexuality and sexual abuse and exploitation, all which work against girls' expression of sexuality. Gender sensitive sexuality education is identified as a valuable site of intervention to address such vulnerabilities and promote gender equality and equity in society.

‘Sex education should be taught, fine…but we make sure they control themselves’: teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards young people's sexual and reproductive health in a Ugandan secondary school

“…This is consistent with Mirembe and Davies (2001) and Muhanguzi's (2011) characterisation of gender roles in Uganda, as well as the representation of girls and boys in the PIASCY documents discussed above. Stereotypes of dominant masculinity and vulnerable femininity appear to be reinforced at the school through teachers' informal advice to students outside the classroom as well as the formal curriculum and interactions between girls and boys in the classroom:…”

“…The reinforcement of gender stereotypes which portray girls as 'the weaker sex' may be increasing their susceptibility to STIs including HIV, as well as early pregnancies which ensure the loss of their educational opportunities. Mirembe and Davies (2001) and Muhanguzi (2011) have identified aspects of the school environment as a potential risk to young people's SRH in Uganda, including sexual relationships between teachers and students, but given the potential sensitivity of this topic, it was not raised during interviews with teachers in this study. Only one of the participants from outside the school (Mary, Straight Talk representative) referred to transactional relationships between teachers and female students, but this was in a university context.…”

“…The official construction of national culture from a policy document is perhaps not the most authentic reflection of a country's socio-cultural context, but the construction of 'normal' sexual behaviour, 3 as well as the construction of problematic femininity and dominant masculinity, 4 in the PIASCY documents seem consistent with Muhanguzi's (2011, 722) recent description of the sexual landscape in Uganda as one characterised by, 'homophobia, misogyny, male domination, female marginalisation... [and] control of female sexuality'. Mirembe and Davies (2001) and Muhanguzi (2011) are among those who also argue that, as a result of the perpetuation of socio-cultural phenomena such as 'hegemonic masculinity, gendered discipline patterns, sexual harassment and "compulsory" heterosexuality ' (2001, 402), schools in Uganda cannot simply be viewed as agents of change which promote students' SRH, but can themselves constitute a risk factor in the lives of young people. Moralistically informed responses to SRH are inevitably gendered in Uganda, as they are all over the world (Stone and Ingham 2006, 201), with 'sexual double standards' and 'common strands of gender inequality rooted in patriarchal beliefs' characterising the norms relating to gender and sexuality in the country (Wolff, Blanc, and Gage 2000, 304;Mirembe and Davies 2001, 402).…”

School Violence, Mental Health, and Educational Performance in Uganda

“…One survey of .1400 children found that .80% had experienced caning and slapping by teachers. 7 Qualitative studies also highlight that Ugandan girls experience sexual violence and harassment at school but are unable to report it for fear of reprisals, 8 similar to other African settings. 9,10 In this article, we report on the prevalence of physical, sexual, and emotional violence and neglect experienced by children attending primary school, both from school staff members and others, including parents.…”

“…Tests administered in groups were silly sentences (which tests reading and cognitive ability, scoring [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], spelling in English (scoring [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], and basic math (scoring 1-40). Global educational performance score relative to peers was computed by adding up the number of times a student scored in the bottom third of the overall distribution for each individual educational test, divided by the number of completed tests.…”