Access to gender justice in Uganda : a feminist analysis of the experience of victims of rape in the reporting and prosecution processes

Abstract

This study is a feminist analysis of how victims of rape experience the criminal justice system as they report and prosecute cases and the impact that this has on their access to justice. Anchored in feminist theory, the study takes the position that male-perpetrated rape against women is a crime of sexual violence and that it is a common experience in the lives of girls and women and causes great harm to the survivors. This marks a significant departure from the common law position that considered rape as an offence against ‘morality’ rather than as assault against the person. The study explored three main research questions. First, what is the implication of the definition of rape in Uganda’s Penal Code Act for victims of rape? Secondly, what legal and institutional frameworks exist for the protection of the rights of victims of rape in the reporting and prosecution of rape cases? and thirdly, what key issues and challenges do the victims of rape face in the reporting and prosecution of rape cases and how do these impact on their access to justice? Through a qualitative analysis of the functioning of Uganda’s legal system as experienced by victims of rape, the key findings show that the definition of the crime of rape in Uganda is artificially narrow and that victims of rape who report and prosecute cases do so in a patriarchal colonial criminal justice system that is massively rigged against them. Secondly, rape survivors are re-traumatized in a context fraught with shame, stigma, victim blaming, poverty and a criminal justice framework where they have no legally-defined position, rights or voice. Third, the criminal justice system does not provide substantive access to justice for women who report and prosecute cases of rape; instead they experience the process as a series of continued gendered violations. In sum, the justice they undergo is highly gendered. The study concludes that many of the difficulties that women face in the criminal justice system are an inherent aspect of the patriarchal colonial common law adversarial criminal justice system and cannot be wholly addressed by legal and policy reforms without rooting out those of patriarchal structures and legacies. The study therefore recommends a recourse to restorative justice which will guarantee full and comprehensive justice and accountability for rape survivors.