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Direct Link to Full 72-Page Amnesty
Report:
I Can’t Afford Justice
– Violence Against Women in Uganda
Two thirds of victims of domestic violence say it was perpetrated by an intimate partner
© Amnesty International
7 April
2010
Amnesty International has urged the Ugandan authorities
to provide support for women seeking justice for sexual and domestic violence
in a new report highlighting the barriers faced by the victims.
I Can’t Afford Justice –
Violence against women in Uganda documents the economic and social
obstacles to justice, including the costs of criminal investigations and
discrimination by government officials.
Victims are left facing inadequate responses by police, having to pay for the
cost of police transportation to arrest the accused, forensic examination fees
and other expenses related to the investigation.
Some official responses to sexual violence also reflect a widely held attitude
that the women are to blame for sexual violence in a country where the
government often appears to promote “preservation of the family unit” ahead of
justice for victims.
“The failure of the government to protect and support victims of sexual
violence undermines the quest for justice,” said Widney Brown, a senior
director of Amnesty International. “Lack of government resources and political
will mean that perpetrators rarely face justice. Women in
Violence against women and girls in
The report documents several personal accounts highlighting how the police,
prosecution service and the courts are underfunded and understaffed. These in
turn become obstacles to women accessing justice as the criminal justice system
lacks the resources to provide these services to victims.
“When I went to the police station they asked me for money for fuel which I did
not have. My husband beat me again but I gave up going to the police because
they always ask for money which I don’t have,” one victim told Amnesty
International.
There is no state-run shelter for victims of gender-based violence. Women are
also turned away from charity-run shelters due to lack of space and legal aid
institutions are overwhelmed with cases of gender-based violence. Many women
endure violent situations simply because they have nowhere else to go.
Official attitudes mean many women feel that they have no choice but to accept
mediation and stay in a violent relationship in spite of the danger because
they have no viable means of supporting themselves or their children. As a
result, many women are stripped of their right to be free from violence and to
the equal protection of the law.
Even when the police finally take a report seriously, there are few systems in
place to protect the victims. Counsellors at a women’s shelter told Amnesty
International about a 13-year-old victim who reported years of sexual violence
by her father. She has come forward to report the rapes but now faces
intimidation from her relatives and fears her safety. Her case worker
believes she is not safe where she is right now.
While the report exposes the need for the government to adequately resource the
criminal justice system to ensure that perpetrators of violence against women
can be brought to justice, it also reveals that the government has not taken
some basic measures to make the system work for women.
For example, there is no privacy for the victim whose report is taken in a
public office even as she is required to give intimate details of the violence.
Many women Amnesty International spoke to said they were subjected to
humiliating lines of questioning about their private lives and prior sexual
conduct by inadequately trained police and defence lawyers.
The government of
“The Ugandan government needs to take a hard look at its laws, policies and
practices and close the vast chasm between its rhetoric of respect for women's
rights and its abject failure to protect and fulfil those same rights,"
said Widney Brown.
Amnesty International urges the government to take immediate action to provide
survivors of violence against women with legal support and related health,
safety and shelter needs.
It should also take steps to prevent violence against women by addressing its
root causes by transforming discriminatory attitudes and remove the obstacles
impeding women’s access to justice.
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