On 12 May 2025, the Validity Foundation, together with our Ugandan partner, the Women’s Probono Initiative (WPI), filed submissions before the Court of Appeal in Kampala in a precedent-setting case concerning sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women with psychosocial disabilities.
The Appellant, a woman with a psychosocial disability, was sexually assaulted by a private security guard while receiving treatment at Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital. Despite reporting the assault promptly, she was denied immediate medical examination, basic medical care, and any form of psychological counselling or trauma support, key interventions that are essential for justice in cases of sexual violence.
In January 2024, the High Court in Kampala delivered a deeply disappointing ruling, finding that WPI and the 2nd Appellant had failed to adduce sufficient evidence to support their claims. Alarmingly, the Court went ahead and awarded legal costs against the Appellants, a rare and punitive decision in public interest litigation intended to advance human rights. The judgment also revealed troubling elements of gender bias and victim-shaming, with a dismissive tone that failed to engage with the complex intersections of disability, trauma, and sexual violence. The credibility of women with psychosocial disabilities, already one of the most marginalised groups, was once again called into question by the very institution meant to protect them.
The case now lies before the Court of Appeal, where the appeal not only seeks justice for the 2nd Appellant but also calls for systemic reform. This appeal calls on the Court of Appeal to affirm the rights of survivors of SGBV with disabilities, particularly the right to be believed and to access justice on an equal basis with others. It further challenges systemic discrimination and institutional neglect faced by women with psychosocial disabilities in Uganda. It demands the judiciary and state institutions uphold their duties to prevent and respond to SGBV against women with disabilities, and to treat survivors with dignity and belief. The appeal seeks to overturn a deeply concerning High Court judgment that dismissed the credibility of the Appellant solely based on her psychosocial disability. The judgment also failed to hold state institutions accountable for shameful breaches of duty in responding to the reported assault.
Jennifer Wairimu, Validity’s Legal Advocacy Officer said:
“This case reflects a broader systemic challenge, to dismantle the entrenched culture of silence, disbelief, and impunity that surrounds sexual violence against women with psychosocial disabilities in Uganda. It also highlights Uganda’s obligations under international human rights law, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), particularly in how states respond to and prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence particularly in the context of access to justice. This case highlights and calls upon Uganda’s positive obligations in a case of rape where by in this particular instance, the rape was not proven in the first instance court because the state failed to conduct effective investigation into the allegations including initiating investigation on their own motion, collect evidence, such as testimonies of the hospital staff and residents and properly assess the credibility of the existing evidence.“
As the appeal progresses, the Validity Foundation and the Women’s Probono Initiative reaffirm their commitment to advocating for justice, accountability, and equal protection under the law for all women with disabilities in Uganda.
Watch here the testimony of the Appellant, a woman with a psychosocial disability:
The facial part of the video has been intentionally blurred to protect personal and confidential rights.
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