There is a need to change the social not just the legal understandings of rape in Uganda. Like with any other social phenomena, crime can only be und… - Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza

It only covers sexual assaults of women and does not recognise men as possible victims. It is concerned with the absence of consent either because force was used or because the consent was a result of fraud and falsehood. Prosecutors must also deal with the issue of the state of mind of the accused. If there is no mental fault, it is not regarded as rape. Honest belief in consent is enough to free the accused from criminal liability even if that belief might seem unreasonable.

Reducing crime must be preceded by interrogating society’s views on the crime in question. Knowing what society considers acceptable behaviour may explain the prevalence of an offence.

When we talk about the need to protect journalists, both men and women must be protected. But there is no doubt that women journalists are more vulnerable to certain kinds of violations of rights which perhaps men are not as vulnerable to. It is important to recognize that, when discussing the protection of rights, the groups we talk about are not homogenous. This is the reason why we must talk about violence against women specifically when discussing violence against journalists. In other words actors interested in protecting the human rights of journalists must put on a gender lense and mainstream gender into their work.