Domestic Violence and Teachers’ Performance in Uganda: Interrogating Female Teachers’ Experiences in Secondary Schools in Kitgum District

Abstract

Domestic violence can impact the survivors and the places where they work in many ways. A qualitative study interrogated domestic violence and the performance of female secondary school teachers in Kitgum District with a focus to assess how domestic violence affects the teaching roles of female teachers in secondary schools in Uganda, explore the female teachers’ perspectives on how domestic violence affects their administrative roles, describe how the female teachers affected by domestic violence cope with the challenges of domestic violence while performing duties and explore support available in school to survivors. The study was conceived within the socialist feminist philosophy and underpinned by radical feminist theory, both contained in the applied ethics dominion. Narratives of 20 female teachers and 23 headteachers experiences were collected through in-depth interviews. Findings reveals that the multiple roles of teachers, undertaken within a domestic violence environment greatly impacts service delivery of teaching and interpersonal relations resulting in poor performance in the roles of these teachers. Female teachers affected by domestic violence negotiate through the challenges using both formal and informal ways but with limited support from their places of work. The study recommends for supportive policy frameworks mainstreamed as tools for remedy, coping and resolutions to empower female teachers and headteachers on support systems for female teachers affected by domestic violence to allow them supportive work environment. This study adds international dimension to literature on domestic violence and suggests practical ways on strategies for intervention to mitigate the impact of domestic violence in schools. The study suggests for a similar study on all female employees in school settings to be carried out, and on the male teachers as well. It further suggests that longitudinal studies on female teachers be conducted to consolidate the findings on experiences of female teachers and impact of domestic violence in schools.