On his part Xavier Ejoyi, the Country Director, Action Aid the book has come at a time when they are having the 16 days activism against Gender based violence adding that this is the time they need to address their mind against SGBV . He notes that the book book will help the survivors get justice all the time.
The Judiciary has revealed that lack of Witness Protection Measures has greatly hindered justice dispensation in cases involving Sexual and Gender Based Violence -SGBV.
According to the Principal Judge, Dr. Flavian Zeija, cases of SGBV have been increasing every year and they are complex in nature right from investigations to trial.
He says however that lack of adequate funding, inadequate victim and witness protection measures, society/family pressures and lack of sufficient legal references have been some of the challenges affecting successful prosecution of sexual and gender based offences.
Zeija made the remarks on Friday while presiding over the launch of the National Sexual and Gender Based Violence Bench Book which has been drafted by Action AID a non for profit organization , in consultation with the Judiciary which was led by Justice David Batema as the lead consultant.
While at the launch, Zeija said that it will provide reflective counter measures to demystify the complexities in trying SGBV crimes. The Bench Book provides a source of precedents and an analysis of leading judicial decisions on SGBV cases in Uganda and best practices from other jurisdictions. It also incorporates the learning from the experiences of the special sessions of SGBV and child friendly courts.
Dr. Zeija is optimistic that the 402 paged bench book will serve as a very helpful tool for judicial officers, legal practitioners and other actors to handle SGBV cases with precision.
He also says he is confident that this Bench Book will also trigger what he describes as meaningful debate on the existing investigation, prosecutorial and adjudication gaps and how to address them.
He wants each judicial officer to be furnished with a copy and other stakeholders in the fight against SGBV crimes as they prepare to train the judicial officers and legal practitioners to familiarize them with what the Bench Book entails.
On his part Xavier Ejoyi, the Country Director, Action Aid the book has come at a time when they are having the 16 days activism against Gender based violence adding that this is the time they need to address their mind against SGBV . He notes that the book book will help the survivors get justice all the time.
Laura Criado, the Program Coordinator UNFPA said the launch of the Gender Based Violence Bench book is a milestone towards a collective fight against GBV in Uganda.
The head of Australian Embassy Development Cooperation in Uganda Katja Kerschbaumer said they have handled several special sessions in the country where more than 2000 Sexual Gender Based Violence cases have been disposed off. She says the book should be used to end the emotional, physical and financial effect of Gender Based Violence.
Registrar High Court Rosemary Bareebe who was representing the Chief Registrar Sarah Langa Siu has commended the development partners and Justice Batema for spearheading the process of coming up with the book.
According Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2021, more than one in three women (36%) had experienced sexual violence, most often from a partner; 28% reported victimisation by sexual violence in the past year.
