Uganda has a long-standing history of civic activism, with women playing central roles in defending human rights, promoting social justice, and demanding accountability. Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) operate in diverse spaces from opposing extractive projects and defending land rights to championing reproductive health, disability rights, and LGBTQ+ inclusion. However, their work is increasingly under threat in a shrinking civic space shaped by restrictive laws, digital surveillance, and heightened criminalization of dissent.
The passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023, increased online harassment, and crackdowns on civil society have further endangered WHRDs, especially those working on contentious or stigmatized issues. Organizations such as the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders Uganda (NCHRD-U) and Women Human Rights Defenders Network Uganda (WHRDN-U) have documented the escalation of gender-specific threats including arbitrary arrests, smear campaigns, physical assaults, and digital attacks often compounded by social stigma.
Despite this growing concern, existing protection efforts and research tend to frame WHRDs as a homogeneous group. This overlooks the distinct vulnerabilities faced by WHRDs whose experiences are shaped by overlapping identities such as those who are disabled, from ethnic minority communities, identify as LGBTQ+, are sex workers, live in rural or extractive regions, or are of a younger or older age. These WHRDs face multiple forms of discrimination and often remain invisible in protection programming and policy responses.
Problem Statement
Protection frameworks for WHRDs in Uganda lack an intersectional lens, leading to the systematic exclusion of those whose identities and advocacy roles expose them to layered risks. Without disaggregated data and contextual understanding of how these intersecting identities shape WHRDs’ experiences, current interventions remain generalized and inadequate. This research will address this critical gap by examining how multiple forms of discrimination interact to affect WHRDs’ safety, access to justice, and resilience ultimately contributing to the design of inclusive and tailored protection strategies.
Research Questions
1. How do intersecting identities, such as disability, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status, influence patterns of risk, discrimination, and resilience among women human rights defenders (WHRDs)?
2. What institutional, social, and legal barriers do marginalized groups of WHRDs face in accessing protection services, and how do these barriers vary across different contexts?
3. In what ways can context-specific and identity-sensitive protection strategies be co-created with WHRDs and their networks to enhance their safety and effectiveness in their advocacy work.