Justice Tibatemwa, HW Naigaga shine in World Bank Gender Book
Hon. Lady Justice Prof-Lillian Tibatemwa
It is raining accolades for Hon. Lady Justice Prof Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza (PhD) and Magistrate Grade One, HW Naigaga Winfred Kyobiika, after their works were published in a World Bank sponsored book entitled "Gender, Judging and the Courts in Africa: Selected Studies".
The book provides a timely and broad-ranging assessment of gender and judging in African judiciaries. Amongst the 15 contributors, Hon. Lady Justice Prof Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinzaand HW Kyobiika are the only Ugandan contributors.
Hon. Lady Justice Prof Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza contributed a paper titled "Sexual and gender-based violence in Uganda during the COVID 19 pandemic: New and old lessons for the criminal justice". She contends that the pandemic re-energised efforts to evaluate the systemic barriers faced by women in their attempt to access justice.
Hon. Lady Justice Prof Tibatemwa assesses the response of Uganda’s criminal justice system to the current crisis. She asserts that whereas emergencies such as the pandemic may escalate women's vulnerability to sexual abuse, neither sexual abuse nor the barriers to women's access to justice are creations of the emergency. Both are rooted in patriarchy.
The paper throws light on how community perceptions can affect judicial interpretation of a sexual encounter between a man and a woman. Hon. Lady Justice Prof Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza therefore urges stakeholders to adopt a gender perspective in their work through planned action, which may include legislation, administrative processes, policy programs, or emergency measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID19 pandemic.
HW Kyobiika's contribution is titled "Judging beyond gender: Maternal and Infant Mortality as an emerging gender-related issue in Ugandan Courts". HW Naigaga discusses that there are no discernable patterns that neatly categorize the voices of men and women judges in advancing gender-related issues. She argues that both male and female judges are capable of promoting issues related to gender as much as they are capable of discarding. HW Naigaga recommends that to increase positive jurisprudence on gender-related issues, both men and women need education and training.
The 2021 publication is available for sale on the Routledge website.
Posted 11th, November 2021
