This study, commissioned by NAWJU, in partnership with IDLO assesses justice delivery for defilement victims in the past 13 years (2007 – 2021). The study focuses on amendments in the law of defilement enshrined in the Penal Code Amendment Act (PCAA) of 2007, which are now incorporated in the Penal Code Act (PCA) and the justice, law and order institutions, namely, the Uganda Police Force (UPF), Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the judiciary, that have the mandate to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate defilement cases.
It must be emphasized from the onset that the use of the term ‘victims’ is only intended to align the study with terminology in the legislative framework, and its usage in the criminal justice system. It is not intended to disempower or stigmatize those that have experienced defilement. The term ‘victims’ in criminal justice is defined as persons against whom crimes are committed.
In the Ugandan context, all sexual activity with persons below the age of 18, is illegal and technically termed ‘defilement’. There have been several reforms of the law proscribing defilement over the years, beginning in 1990. PCAA, enacted in 2007, is the most recent, with more reforms anticipated in the Sexual Offences Bill (SOB), 2019. Despite these legal reforms and other efforts at the institutional level in the justice sector, the incidence of defilement remains high across the country. Data from annual crime reports of the Uganda Police Force (UPF) for the past 13 years shows an initial decline of reported cases in the immediate aftermath of enactment of the PCAA (2007-2013) but an increase in subsequent years (2014 to 2016). Data on reported cases between 2017 to 2019 is inconclusive, but certainly higher than the immediate aftermath of the enactment of the PCAA. According to the 2020 Annual Crime report, there was a 3.8% increase in the number of reported cases in 2020, up from 13,613 cases in 2019 to 14,230.
The increase in reported cases in 2020 was reportedly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the concomitant national lockdown, which made children vulnerable to predators. The Uganda Child Helpline (UCHL), an initiative of MoGLSD reported that sexual abuse accounted for 20.1% of child abuse cases, with girls representing 98.9% of 4,443 children (4,394 female and 49 male) in March 2020. The report further revealed that 17% of the perpetrators were family members. A multi- agency report published in 2020 indicated that 60% of respondents had observed an increase in sexual violence against children during the lockdown in 2020. It was also reported that thousands of girls were impregnated during that period.
The main objective of the study is to assess the response of the justice, law and order sector to defilement throughout the justice chain in the last decade, and the role the legal framework has played in facilitating or impeding the actions by the sector
The study covers a 13-year period (2007-2021), which is the time between the enactment of the PCAA and May 2021, when the study was completed. A feminist approach, which places girls’ experiences at the center, forms the basis of the analysis. This approach recognizes the universality of female subordination in all spheres of life. This recognition informed formulation of the research problem, questions, and data analysis.
The study was conducted in Mbale, Tororo, and Kamuli (Eastern region);; Mityana and Rakai (Central region);; Kabarole (Mid-Western region);; Mitoma (South Western);; Nebbi (West Nile) Amuru and Dokolo (Northern);; and Napak (Karamoja) districts.
Qualitative research methods were adopted for the study. Primary data collection methods were individual and group interviews with key informants (including victims above 18 years) and focus group discussions (FGDs).
