Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) issues feature significantly in Uganda’s legislative and policy agenda. The legal and policy framework exists to cure a range of sexual and reproductive health inequities and to govern sexual behavior and conduct. This is achieved through various means, including the creation of criminal sexual offenses and licensing systems around goods and services. However, these forms of mediation and regulation build upon underlying assumptions about sex and sexuality that frequently amplify inequalities based on age, gender, tribe, religion, social class, and sexual orientation.
Thus, despite notable policy and financial investments in the area, there are still obstacles to realising SRHR in the country. In this policy brief, Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) undertakes an intersectional feminist analysis of key SRHR-related laws and policies in Uganda, gauging gaps in legal and policy frameworks relating to the State’s obligations and commitments under international human rights. Hence, the regulation of sexual and reproductive choices was unpacked through three lenses:
- First is an interrogation of the State’s power to regulate and the justifications that inform such interventions.
- Second, we looked at where and when the State chooses to intervene and whether the decision or act falls within the private or public sphere of autonomous choice.
- Lastly, we weighed such interventions against individual dignity and the right to equal treatment before the law. Finally, the analysis concludes by developing recommendations in response to the gaps in existing SRHR-related statutes and policies.
DOWNLOAD THE SRHR ANALYSIS HERE
