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.

The right to rehabilitation of refugee survivors of torture is critical to the restoration of their human dignity. The study examines the extent to which the right has been realized in Uganda. The study explores the adequacy of the legal framework for the rehabilitation of refugee survivors of torture, their rehabilitation needs, available mechanisms, and challenges, before making appropriate conclusions and recommendations. The study adopts a qualitative methodology in the form of a desk review of primary and secondary sources, field observations, and key informant interviews and interviews to answer the research questions above. A total of twenty-seven (27) participants contributed to the study. These included nine (9) service provides from six (6) state and non-state actors, and eighteen (18) Kampala-based Urban Refugees of Congolese origin who had suffered torture in their country of origin or during transit en route to Uganda and had arrived in Uganda between 2011 and 2021. The study participants were interviewed after obtaining the necessary ethical clearances from the University School of Social Sciences Research and Ethics Committee (MAKSS REC), and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST). The study established that although the right to rehabilitation for survivors of torture is provided for by various international and regional human rights instruments, it is not expressly stipulated within the domestic legal framework. Domestic law provides for judicial-based rehabilitation of survivors of torture experienced within Uganda’s territories. The study further established that refugee survivors of torture in Uganda have several interlinked rehabilitation needs, ranging from medical, psychological, social, livelihood, legal, protection, and general needs. Even then, there is a lack of a specific government programme for the rehabilitation of such survivors. Medical and psychological rehabilitation services are part of the general health care system, and as such survivors of torture, including refugees, seek rehabilitation from public and private health facilities, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs). NGOs also provide social, economic, livelihood, and legal services aimed at the wholistic rehabilitation of survivors of torture, while each government ministry, department, or agent is expected to provide the services that fall within its mandate. However, the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of rehabilitation services is hampered by various challenges. These include an inadequate legal and policy framework as a basis for mandatory provision of rehabilitation services, lack of a systematic identification process of survivors of torture; limited capacity of service providers manifesting as inadequate human resources including language interpreters, health supplies, goods, and services. The refugee survivors of torture also face gender-based barriers to accessing rehabilitation services, and the challenges caused by the changed circumstances occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic The NGOs at the center of rehabilitation service provision are largely donor-dependent, leading to a lack of adequate financial resources for sustainable service delivery. Uganda should therefore conduct a comprehensive review of its domestic legal and policy framework to bring it into conformity with international human rights standards. Such steps would include, amending the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act to categorically provide for the right to rehabilitation of survivors of torture and for the State's obligation to provide holistic rehabilitation services for all, including survivors of torture experienced outside Uganda, through judicial and non-judicial mechanisms; enacting a legal aid policy and Act, revising the Refugee policy to include systematic identification of survivors of torture and the provision of livelihood support to urban refugees, and amending the minimum health care package to include trauma rehabilitation. Government should additionally fund NGOs providing rehabilitation services, and together with development partners increase funding for the rehabilitation of survivors of torture. Government should deliberately build the capacity of the health sector, including skilling the existing human resource to handle survivors of torture; and enhance collaborative efforts among stakeholders for effective service delivery. This would facilitate the provision of services towards the realisation of the right to rehabilitation of refugee survivors of torture.

The core goal for establishing BY-RANGE pharmacy will be to provide pharmaceutical products that are of superior quality, affordable and meet the health demands of matugga community. It shall be a retail pharmacy with a range of pharmaceutical products like medicines of all classes, medical devices, sundries and cosmetics. The BY-RANGE pharmacy will be situated in Matugga next to the Delta gas station on Bombo Road. It will be located on the same street in the same building as D's restaurant. The project will be financed from the directors’ savings. The pharmacy will be open Monday to Sunday from 8 am to 10:30pm with two working shifts one running from 8am to 5pm and the second shift 5 pm to 10:30 pm. Dully qualified personnel shall be employed in the pharmacy to provide optimum pharmaceutical care to the patients. Dr. Kawooya Byron will be the technocrat and active director of BY-RANGE pharmacy because of his extensive expertise of the pharmacy industry spanning a period of around 6 years. The other two directors will be the major financiers. The professional team shall consist of 1 pharmacist, 2 pharmacy technicians and two nurses All employees and directors are expected to protect the image of the pharmacy internally and externally and also market the business. We anticipate to break even within a period of 10 month from the start of operation.