Scovia was born and raised in Uganda. It’s a place of hospitable people, vibrant cultures, and magnificent natural landscapes. It’s the place she calls home.
Yet according to Uganda’s Bureau of Statistics, Uganda is also a place wherenearly every woman and girl experiences physical or sexual violence—or both—from a young age.***
This was true for Scovia. When she was just 16 years old, she was sexually assaulted and became pregnant. This changed everything she wanted for her life. Because with a child, she wouldn’t be able to stay in school.
She gathered all the courage she could and confronted the perpetrator for what he had done. She tried to demand that he help her in taking care of her child, but he refused to take any responsibility. He mocked Scovia’s poverty, claiming that he was too powerful and she had no way of holding him accountable.
When she courageously tried to confront him again, she was beaten unconscious in public and he took her baby. She tried to go to the police. But she had no money and could not afford to start the legal process.
Scovia was at a loss for what to do; she believed she had no power to seek justice.
“When an influential and more powerful person abuses you, it’s not easy,” she says. “The court process is expensive and daunting. I thought there was no hope. I thought I was burdening my poor mother.”
What she didn’t know at the time was that there was an entire community of justice-seekers on her side. Kind people like you supported IJM so we could walk with her.
Soon after, Scovia met IJM Uganda staff. Her perspective shifted and she began to see her situation with hope, saying, “when you seek help from the right person, you will receive help.”
After that, it was only a matter of time before we were able to help her reunite with her baby; navigate the justice system with expert legal support; access essential medical care and specialized counseling; and receive vocational training in tailoring.
Now, she talks about her experiences to encourage fellow survivors. “I want women who have faced abuse to know that there is someone, somewhere who can help,” she says. “You can seek help from IJM. IJM came into my life and made me who I am today. I am a better person today.
Now, I want to be a woman who stands for other women and girls. I want to share my story so that other women and girls know that for what they are going through, there is someone, somewhere who can help them and make their voices heard.
If I could speak to someone who is still out there suffering, I would tell her that justice exists.”
There’s something beautiful and powerful about Scovia’s mission to lift up women and girls like her.
But she can’t do it alone. She needs people just like you—people whose hearts are big enough to hold all women and girls dear and fight for their healing and justice at the same time.
Every step of Scovia’s journey to healing, every powerful choice she made to rebuild her life… It’s all evidence of what you can help us do for more survivors just like her.
As you read this, another young girl like Scovia is experiencing life-altering violence.
That young girl deserves a community of loving justice-seekers championing her cause—people like you and the rest of the IJM team to stand with her.
With a caring gift today, you can help more women and girls access therapy, receive legal support and begin vocational training or education to rebuild their lives.
*** Uganda Bureau of Statistics. (2021). National survey on violence in Uganda
1: Violence against women and girls. Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
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