Source: The Monitor
Gulu Resident Judge Wilson Musene has urged magistrates to expedite sexual and gender-based violence cases before their courts.

Speaking during a workshop in Gulu Town last week, Justice Musene, called on magistrates to follow international and national charters such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, the Domestic Violence Act 2011 and the Female Genital Mutilation Act in their ruling.

Justice Musene said: "You should handle all that is right for the victims under the law and make a man and a woman live in harmony for the good of the country."

An August 2007 report by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicates that 68 per cent of married women aged 18 to 49 years had experienced violence inflicted by their spouse.

Wife beating

It also indicates that at least 60 per cent of men and 70 per cent of women in Uganda condone wife beating.

Participants were introduced to the amended police forms, which contain detailed observation of victims of gender-based violence. It's main features include: mood and mental examination of a victim in addition to its being open to any medical officer other than a police surgeon and a doctor to sign.

Dr Winifred Nabisinde, a Fida consultant, said the new form will expedite the handling of gender and other forms of violence, adding: "It will also be practicable for upcountry areas which have no doctors."

• Uganda