Amnesty Intl. report says judicial system failing women in northern Uganda

Human rights group Amnesty International today accused the Ugandan judicial system of failing to act against the widespread rape and sexual abuse of women in the war-affected northern region. A new report, entitled "Uganda: Double Traumatized," says that women victims of gender-based violence in northern Uganda face "insurmountable difficulties in trying to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice." These include community stimatization, under-staffed police posts, document fees, a lack of government medical doctors (only 8 in Acholi in Lango) to verify injury, and weak judicial institutions. Amnesty's report further says that government officials and military officers are among those responsible for the abuse. "The utter lack of justice faced by women and girls who are the victims of sexual violence requires the immediate attention of the Ugandan government and the international community," said Godfrey Odongo, Amnesty's researcher in Kampala. "The justice system in northern Uganda ignores, denies, and tacitly condones violence against women and girls and protects suspected perpetrators," the report concludes. Read the full report here.