Outcome UGA_D_1.1

Inclusive and Accountable Governance and Women’s Access to Justice

Equal participation of women in local decision-making processes is critical for prioritising women’s needs in local governments (LG) agendas and attainment of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In Uganda, LG councils have powers enshrined in the LG Act, 1997 to make and implement development plans based on locally determined priorities; make, approve and execute LG budgets; raise and utilise resources according to their priorities; and make ordinances and byelaws, among other roles. Women’s participation and representation in LG councils open avenues to enter arenas of political decision-making and advance women’s interests as such opportunities enable women demonstrate quality leadership and it then creates legitimate channels for higher levels of leadership. In Uganda, women constitute about 46% of total elected representatives in LGs (UBOS, 2017). A recent study by FOWODE (2020) confirms the composition of leaders in primary leadership positions in the local governance structure is still dominated by men, with women representation considerably low, especially in top positions. Specifically, the following are reported as percentages of the top district leadership positions occupied by women; District Chairpersons (2.6%), Vice-Chairpersons (26.5%), Chairperson District Service Commission (16.8), District Speakers (13.7%) and Chief Administrative Officers (14.5%). To overcome the observed low participation rates, UN Women supported civil society organisations (CSOs) make deliberate efforts to conduct community awareness sessions to sensitise people about the importance of women’s participation in politics. During 2024, most of the sensitizations were done in the refugee and host community populations to encourage women participation in leadership within and outside the settlements. Women’s representation on Refugee Welfare Committees (RWC) in Adjumani increased from 54% in 2022 to 55% in 2023/24. Within the various community leadership structures such as VHTs, Food and water committees, women’s ability to provide leadership within their communities improved with 35.5% (178 out of 500) of the women trained in leadership taking on various community leadership roles.

Inclusive and Accountable Governance and Women’s Access to Justice

Public trust in the justice system is improving. In 2023, public trust in the justice system stood at 69% according to data collected from the SEMA pilot program located at 50 frontline JLOS service points (JLOS annual report, 2022/23). This presents a 7-percentage point increase from the 62% reported in 2022. There is significant improvement in the capacity of justice institutions to deliver gender responsive justice services. This year, a costed strategy forthe management of gender-based violence cases in the Judiciary using a survivor centred approach. This is expected to improve the management of GBV cases through the Uganda Police Force (UPF), Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), and the Judiciary. The composition of women in governance positions has not changed much. Women still constitute 33.8% of seats in Uganda’s national parliament, 46.5% of ministerial positions, and 46% of local government councilors.