They say justice delayed is justice denied and this was being experienced by victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). To address the issue, the Government through the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) with the support of the UNFPA recently carried out special court sessions with the objective of fast-tracking the disposal of SGBV cases and improving the experience of the victims in the justice system in the pilot high courts of Mbale, Soroti, Moroto, Gulu, Mbarara, Bushenyi, Mukono, Criminal Division Kampala and Masaka and Chief Magistrate courts of Nabweru, Sironko, Kapchorwa, Lira and Iganga.  

The sessions were targeted at improving the experience of survivors/victims of SGBV as they interface with the criminal justice system through emphasis on victim-centred and gender-sensitive approach; promotion of a coordinated and integrated approach among the role-players in the chain of justice; and strengthening of the investigation, prosecution and adjudication functions in the management of sexual offences.

As a landmark success, the special pilot session saw the disposal of 50 SGBV cases per court in one month from November 12 to December 15, 2018.  Overall, the objective of the pilot was met with unprecedented success leading to the disposal of over 788 cases against the target of 650 cases.

DOWNLOAD SGBV REPORT CARD

Editor's note: The SGBV Pilot project report card was published in the May 23- June 24 2019 Edition of The Public Lens Newspaper (p. 6-7).