Advocacy for enacting of the Sexual Offences Bill and popularizing the National Education Sexuality Framework in Uganda
Joy for Children Uganda (JFCU) is working with Uganda Parliamentary Forum for Children (UPFC) and Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) to review the Sexual Offences Bill. The Bill provides positive provisions towards addressing sexual violence, including protecting sexual assault survivors’ rights during criminal proceedings and criminalizing sexual harassment by people in positions of authority. While the stated purpose of the bill includes preventing sexual offenses, the bill makes no effort to address underlying causes of widespread sexual violence, including gender inequality and the absence of comprehensive sexuality education. It does not address protection and assistance for survivors.
It is against this background that JFCU is working with the Parliamentary Forum for Children and Uganda Women Parliamentary Association to review the sexual offences bill and later present a revised bill that takes a proper rights-respecting approach to addressing sexual violence, so that survivors and the general public can reap the benefits and also work with different stakeholders including, ministry of Education and Sports and civil society organizations (CSOs) to popularize the Sexuality Education Framework to provide young people with sexuality education in the formal education setting.
Expected Outcomes
1. A revised and passed sexual offences bill that takes a proper human rights approach to addressing sexual violence is presented to the president for approval.
2. Young people will be provided with sexuality education in the formal education setting and empowered with information and life skills that are age appropriate, culturally and religious sensitive and that enable them to make healthy life choices.
Project Activities
1. Policy Advocacy Meeting. 2 introductory policy advocacy meetings with UPFC and UWOPA.
2. 3 days Advocacy capacity building workshop for civil society organizations, coalitions and educationists.
3. Follow-up meeting with UPFC and UWOPA.
4. Technical support and dissemination of advocacy materials on ending child sexual abuse, the national sexuality education framework to schools and organize civil society organizations to conduct the said advocacy.
5. Develop and disseminate policy papers and other advocacy materials on ending child sexual abuse, finalization, editing and publication of policy positions of the bill and advise on dissemination plans.
We have done the groundwork – to a larger extent our work has contributed to the most important steps needed in the enactment of the bill -the pre legislative study, the MPs working group, drafting the bill, appointing the movers of the bill and drafting the motion waiting to be on order paper. Raised awareness on the need for the Bill to be reintroduced in parliament, ignited conversations around the bill among different stakeholders
JFCU has worked with the legal department at Parliament, Uganda Women’s Parliamentary Association and Uganda Parliamentary Forum for Children to conduct pre- legislative studies and re-draft the Sexual Offences Bill. The new bill was informed by recommendations from the study and workshop. However the bill is not yet presented to parliament because of other pending bills that were scheduled prior to our engagements with members of parliament. The bill is expected to be tabled in May 2023 as per communication from the chairperson UWOPA.
