The International Association of Women Judges – Uganda Chapter (IAWJ-UC) and the Law Development Centre (LDC) have opened discussions on a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening the fight against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) while preparing future legal practitioners to champion gender-responsive justice.
The engagement brought together the IAWJ-UC President, Lady Justice Olive Kazaarwe Mukwaya, and the Director of LDC, Dr Pamela Tibihikirra Kalyegira, to explore opportunities for institutional collaboration in legal training, access to justice and community-based responses to SGBV. In attendance was HW Edina Cox Akorimo, Magistrate and member of IAWJ-UC.
Discussions focused on strengthening legal knowledge and practical skills among law students, promoting Gender Responsive Adjudication and exposing future justice actors to the realities faced by survivors of SGBV.
Lady Justice Kazaarwe highlighted the important role legal training institutions can play in shaping lawyers who are not only technically competent but also responsive to the justice needs of vulnerable people.
The proposed collaboration advances Pillar Five of IAWJ-UC’s “Reach 1,000 Families in 1,000 Communities in 1,000 Days” initiative, which provides for Judicial Officers to contribute their professional expertise as pro bono moot judges and mentors to law students.
Under the partnership, IAWJ-UC and LDC will explore opportunities for judicial officers to participate in moot court activities, enabling students to benefit directly from their practical courtroom experience and judicial perspectives.
The collaboration will also explore SGBV-focused moot court activities and pro bono legal services, providing students with opportunities to engage with practical questions around SGBV, professional ethics and access to justice.
Through these interventions, the two institutions seek to bridge the gap between classroom learning and the realities of justice delivery while cultivating a new generation of legal practitioners equipped to identify and respond appropriately to SGBV.
The initiative also supports IAWJ-UC’s wider strategy of taking its work beyond the courtroom by building partnerships with institutions capable of contributing to prevention, awareness, survivor support and access to justice at community level.
The engagement marks another step in IAWJ-UC’s ongoing institutional outreach as the Association builds partnerships around its three-year strategic programme and mobilises judicial officers, legal institutions and communities towards a coordinated response to SGBV.
By engaging future advocates and justice actors while they are still undergoing professional training, the partnership seeks to embed gender responsiveness early in their careers and strengthen the long-term capacity of the justice system to address SGBV.
Posted 21st, August 2026
