Tag Archives: Conflict SGBV

A PRIVATE SCREENING OF THE TRIAL OF DOMINIC ONGWEN FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

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As part of monitoring the Dominic Ogwen trial (‘Ongwen Trial’) at the International Criminal Court (ICC), JRP gathered the opinions of community members directly affected by the LRA in Acholi and Lango sub regions to inform the trial process. Of the many issues discussed, the concerns raised by victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) appeared to be the most pertinent. With the expansion of cases against Dominic Ongwen involving SGBV crime, victims of sexual violence do not feel they are given an adequate platform to follow the trial and express their views. According to many SGBV victims, they are marginalized in their community as a result of the stigma attached to sexual violence and being a former abductee. Consequently, they are unable to sit with other community members to watch the trial and express their opinions freely. The victims of SGBV therefore seek a more conducive environment that enables them to participate in the trial at the local level.

Other issues raised by the community concern the victim’s reparation mechanism of the ICC. Whilst they expressed their knowledge of being beneficiaries of the ICC Trust Fund for Victims (‘Trust Fund’), only verified victims who testify and confirm the situation can benefit from the reparations scheme. As such, they believe it is not fair to compensate those who testify at trial. Victims also hold the view that compensating only victims directly affected by Ongwen or his brigade is likely to cause segregation and division among other LRA abductees. Furthermore, there is an overall loss of morale for victims to participate in the trial process as a result of the conditions imposed by the ICC Trust Fund. They posed questions such as “what justice will I get from the trial?”  Questions like these reflect the inadequacy of information disseminated to the victims, which has resulted in a lack of understanding by the victims of the mechanism itself.

Victims also believe the UPDF should be held accountable for their suffering. In their view, the ICC is working for the Government of Uganda by using government resources as evidence to prosecute Dominic Ongwen. According to the victims, if the Government was able to track Ongwen’s communications with the LRA leader when planning to attack a village, then why didn’t the UPDF respond to protect the civilians or inform civilians of the planned attack? Consequently, victims are dissatisfied and disappointed with Ugandan Government’s submission of evidence to the ICC. Victims also believe the ICC process is selective justice. They questioned why only Dominic Ongwen is being tried and why other commanders who were more culpable were given amnesty

Contrasting interests in the Ongwen trial has resulted in segregation between victims and local communities. While victims wish to see Ongwen punished and held accountable for his actions, local communities either want Ongwen to walk free or to be prosecuted through a local justice mechanism. The increasing tension between victims and local communities calls for reconciliation efforts.

Despite the ICC’s attempt to anonymise witnesses through voice distortion, victims can still be identified by those who have lived with them for a significant period of time. This has caused insecurity in potential witnesses, thereby discouraging participation in the trial process.

Identification and registration of witnesses have also proved to be problematic. Victims believe that legitimate victims are being excluded because local leaders and those in charge of witness identification and registration have abused the system by registering their friends and family to benefit from the trial.

JRP urges the ICC to strengthen its complementarity mechanism to promote co-existence irrespective of the court process. People should be prepared to co-exist regardless of whether Ongwen is found guilty.

In seeking to respond to some of the issues raised, JRP in partnership with ICC Women and in collaboration with the ICC’s Field Outreach Office in Uganda, we will be showing a private screening to victims of SGBV in the districts of Gulu, Amuru, Abok, Pader, and Nwoya. This initiative seeks to provide a more suitable environment for conflict-affected SGBV victims to follow the trial process and to freely express their views. JRP is confident that this initiative will empower victims of sexual violence to participate in the trial process, whilst encouraging them to advocate for justice and accountability for the injustices they suffered.

Redress for survivors of SGBV in northern Uganda is still a challenge

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In northern Uganda during the long-standing conflicts, sexual violence was perpetrated against men and women, boys and girls at an unprecedented rate by state and non-state actors and civilians. Violence during the war included rape, forced marriage and pregnancy, sexual exploitation and sexual molestation by rebels. When there is conflict, survivors of sexual violence face a number of challenges, such as meaningful reintegration in the community, rejection and re-victimisation in the society. Others, on the other hand, experience physical, psychological and economic re-victimisation, such as marital abuse, rape, domestic violence, fear of the unknown, trauma and poverty.

After the incidents of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), women were left with children they bore. Many of the women do not know the whereabouts of the children’s fathers. With no meaningful support from the local government, these women are left to care for their children singlehandedly. Lack of support for the children has been a cause of more psychosocial harm for the mothers who struggle daily to care for their children amidst social rejection, abuse, poverty, economic constraints, as well as other challenges.

There is an increase in domestic violence due to poverty, alcoholism and other war related factors. Survivors of SGBV encounter violence in their marriage. They are stigmatised by co-wives, in-laws and even husbands. Domestic violence evolves as a result of female barrenness due to rape and/or sexual molestation and HIV/AIDS contracted during war. Some survivors of SGBV are blamed for HIV in the marriage, especially if it is known that they contracted the disease after being raped. Some men blame the women for health issues they have contracted, even if it is not certain that they have been infected by their partners. For women who cannot give birth as result of complications that arose after the sexual violence, this is a source of re-victimisation, leading to violence and abuse in their homes.

According to research conducted by the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) in 2015 ( the report is yet to published) with 103 female survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, because of the lack of social support, SGBV survivors rely on their own constructive/positive coping mechanisms to prevent and minimise chances of re-victimisation.

In the absence of social support, some survivors adopt negative coping mechanisms, such as abuse of alcohol and other substances. One of the women we interviewed stated that she was not an alcoholic before her abduction. However, after she returned from captivity, she became an alcoholic who would fight with her husband if he refused her alcohol. According to her, alcohol was her source of psychological consolation and a way of dealing with the stigma she faces.

Despite a number of programmes to support SGBV survivors, there are a number of challenges that impede survivors’ access to redress and justice in the community. These challenges include systematic barriers, such as customary laws, the marginalised role of women in the community, poverty and complicated legal procedures. These challenges prevent women from obtaining justice and redress in the communities they live in. There is also a need to reinforce the principle of transitional justice to ensure a smooth reintegration process and redress for SGBV survivors into the community by providing reparations in order for them to have a better life.