Iteso Cultural Leaders Move to Curb Gender-Based Violence Through New Guidelines

What the report says

Iteso cultural leaders from Uganda and Kenya have endorsed new family and gender relations guidelines intended to reduce gender-based violence and discourage harmful customary practices. According to Nile Post, the document was launched during a gathering in Tororo with hundreds of cultural leaders from both countries and was developed with support from the International Justice Mission (IJM).

The guidelines are meant to help the Iteso Cultural Union promote healthier family relations, protect the rights of women and children, and encourage communities to handle serious abuse cases through the formal justice system rather than only through traditional dispute-resolution methods. Lawyer Valentine Itebu used the event to question punishments that he said violate women’s dignity, while IJM’s Emmanuel Emwamu said many incidents still go unreported or are handled outside the criminal justice system.

The Nile Post report says the initiative responds to wider concerns in Teso about how violence against women and children is addressed, with cultural leaders expected to reject practices that perpetuate abuse. Andrew Ochole, the prime minister of the Iteso Cultural Union, said the guidelines arrive at a time when families are facing serious challenges, including broken marriages and weak adherence to cultural norms.

The cultural leaders are now urging Iteso communities to use the guidelines as a reference for restoring family values, strengthening parenting and settling disputes peacefully. More broadly, the move reflects a growing effort in parts of Uganda and Kenya to align customary leadership with formal legal protections in cases involving gender-based violence.