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Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict“Priorities for Uganda”
Walter Richard AlikerAg. Director, Refugee Law Project
Presentation to Mini-Summit held at British High Commission, Kampala, Tuesday 9 June 2014
Preamble: Global Agenda– International Protocol on Documentation and
Investigation of Sexual Violence– Supporting Human Rights Defenders– Enhancing Military Capabilities–Undertaking Domestic Legal Reform–Humanitarian Protection and Support to
survivors
Priorities presented below are based on RLP’s work and experience on conflict
related sexual violence since 1999
Improved documentation of conflict related sexual violence
1. Systematic screening for experiences of sexual violence provides a strong evidence base
Case Study: To date RLP has screened 1,266 refugee men and boys in 2 refugee settlements in Uganda and 758 urban refugees (Women and Men) for incidents of sgbv (318 m & 440 f).
The screening results suggests that for every two female victims there is one male victim.
Such screening allows: • Early identification of reported cases• More confidential access to medical and psychological services by
survivors• Breaking taboos and norms on discussion of experiences of sexual
violence• Needs- and Evidence-Based Resource Allocations
2. Documentation of SGBV cases must and can be improved– When Screening and provision of necessary medical and
psychosocial support is followed by In-depth interviews of survivors, this generates:• Detailed evidence for national and international
courts of law seeking to prosecute perpetrators• Evidence of the need for legal reforms
– Strengthen research on conflict-related SGBV
Re-engaging communities for effective SGBV prevention
• Working with survivor-led support groups can greatly strengthen response and prevention to SGBV– RLP has worked with women and men in a number of survivor groups
which have responded to SGBV through: • Making peer referrals to service providers such as RLP• Providing members with social support• Developing their own campaigns and community outreach activities in the
fight against stigmatisation of victims and survivors• Having a voice in policy spaces which provides key insights
– RLP also supports existing community structures to prevent conflict related sexual violence through:• Improved reporting of cases and establishing early warning systems• Acting as eyes and hears on the fight against SGBV• Addressing gaps in what is provided by the formal systems (e.g. helping
survivors to rebuild social networks)
Re-engaging state parties
• Government is the anchor for all developments; be they negative or positive– Government is required for implementation and
follow-ups of action plans and agreed resolutions– Government can itself be a perpetrator of conflict
related sexual violence (e.g. “They Slept with Me”)– Government has powers and regulates work of civil
society and international bodies (e.g. suspension of RLP’s activities 2014)
NB: Without support from government, all efforts towards prevention of SGBV can easily be frustrated.
Advocacy for legal reforms
• There is need to fix loose ends in domestic and international laws:– E.g. Uganda’s Penal Code Act does not recognize the rape of
men. The Definition of ‘Rape’ in the act only mentions women and girls. Rape is defined by UPC § 123 as:Any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind or by fear of bodily harm, or by means of false representations as to the nature of the act, or in the case of a married woman, by personating her husband, commits the felony termed rape.
• There is need to engage legal and medical students as well as legal and medical practitioners in the process. These are future ambassadors in the discourse
