Hon. Justice Dr Bamwine(PJ) speaking at the second National Symposium on Justice for Women and Girls
The Principal Judge, Hon. Justice Dr. Yorokamu Bamwine, on December 6, 2018 delivered a keynote address at the second National Symposium on Justice for Women and Girls at Hotel Africana organized by Uganda Law Society.
He said Uganda is making good progress against Gender Based Violence (GBV)."As a country we have laws and a clear strategy direction but the challenge is in implementation of the legal framework to create a conducive environment for women and girls to access justice more effectively and efficiently."
However,he noted with concern that there are delays in investigation, prosecution and adjudication of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) crimes.
"There are poor case handling methods, including exhibit mishandling, poor statement recording and other out dated evidence admission requirements such as Trials within Trials before evidence of a child of tender years and / or confessionary statements can be made part of the record."
He added that in spite of the setbacks, the Judiciary is in the process of setting up a specialized GBV Court. "Such courts are effective in that Judiciary staff have specialized skills, can be trained to be gender sensitive and can use innovative ways to expedite trials."
He noted that a pilot project is already under way with 14 on-going sessions at different courts.
The Principal Judge said the results of this project, with support from United Nations Population Fund, will inform the next course of action.
He said there was need to strengthen stakeholder engagement through offering support to District Chain-linked Committees. "We think strong DCCs have a big role to play in the fight against GBV through mobilization of resources,ideas and even sensitization of the populace."
The Uganda Law Society (ULS) President, Mr. Simon Peter Kinobe, called upon the State to enhance its responsibility in protecting the rights of women and the girl child, since statistics in Uganda show that the rate of violence is increasing by 16.7%.
He pledged ULS continued advocacy to ensure women receive access to justice.
UNWomen Country representative Dr. Maxwell Hadatou pointed out that Uganda loses Shs77 billion every year due to violence and gender based cases.
Posted 11th, December 2018
