Uganda is being urged to introduce specific legislation criminalising sexual corruption, commonly known as sextortion, in which people in positions of authority demand sexual favours in exchange for jobs, promotions, examination marks or access to services.
Advocates say the country could draw lessons from Tanzania, which enacted a law specifically addressing the practice in 2007.
A December 2021 study commissioned by the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) on corruption in Uganda’s education sector found that at least one in 10 respondents had heard of teachers or school officials offering children favourable grades or examination passes in return for sexual favours.
The research, conducted by the Governance Transparency Institute, involved a nationally representative household survey of 1,600 people. It established that 10 per cent of respondents had, at least once in the five years preceding the study, heard of a teacher or school official making such demands.
The findings point to the vulnerability of people who depend on individuals entrusted with authority to access essential services and opportunities.
However, sexual corruption is not limited to schools. Studies in Uganda’s public health sector have also documented cases in which supervisors allegedly demanded sexual favours in return for positive performance assessments, promotions and salary increments.
Female graduates have similarly spoken out about prospective employers who allegedly make sexual demands before offering them jobs. Despite repeated complaints and research documenting the practice, Uganda does not have a specific criminal offence dealing with sexual corruption.
Lawyer and human rights activist Patricia Munabi argues that gaps in the existing legal framework make it difficult to effectively prosecute individuals who exploit positions of authority to demand sex.
She says Uganda should amend its laws to clearly define sexual corruption as an offence and prescribe penalties for those responsible. Munabi made the proposal during a presentation and experience-sharing meeting where participants examined how other countries have tackled the practice.
Sexual corruption happens when someone uses their official position or influence to demand sexual favours in exchange for a service, opportunity or benefit. Unlike conventional corruption, which often involves money or material rewards, the exchange in this case involves sex.
An October 2019 analysis by the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), titled Sextortion in Uganda: Form of Corruption Exacerbating Gender Inequality, identified education, employment and access to government services as some of the areas affected.
The report noted that female students may face sexual demands from teachers who threaten to withhold marks or deliberately award poor grades. Women seeking employment or already working may also be pressured by officials who control recruitment, promotions and other workplace benefits.
The study further documented allegations involving women seeking government documents, permits and operating licences who were reportedly asked to engage in sexual relationships by officials handling their applications.
The effects can be far-reaching. Students who refuse such demands may accumulate retakes, delay completing their studies or abandon school. In the workplace, some women may stop pursuing employment opportunities or resign from positions where they face sexual exploitation.
Concerns about the practice have also been raised at Makerere University. In 2018, a committee led by Prof Sylvia Tamale investigated sexual harassment at the institution, interviewing 234 students and staff members.
The committee found that 80 per cent of those interviewed were aware of sexual exploitation, including cases in which lecturers allegedly exchanged academic marks for sexual favours.
The figure reflected respondents’ awareness of the practice and did not mean that 80 per cent had personally experienced it. Nevertheless, it demonstrated the scale of concern surrounding the abuse of academic authority and the challenges students face in reporting sexual exploitation.
A May 2019 Daily Monitor report also highlighted complaints from female graduates in northern Uganda who accused prospective employers of demanding sex before offering them employment.
One of those who spoke out was Collin Adongo, a Makerere University graduate, who said she had encountered such demands on three occasions. The most recent, she said, came from a senior official at a public university in Lira.
The health sector has also been identified as an area of concern. A 2021 study published in Human Resources for Health, titled Uganda’s response to sexual harassment in the public health sector: from “Dying Silently” to gender-transformational HRH policy, examined sexual harassment and the misuse of authority in government health institutions.
Researchers referred to a 2012 Ministry of Health gender study in which 32 per cent of respondents said demands or expectations for sexual favours in exchange for favourable performance evaluations, promotions or salary increases were either somewhat common or very common.
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The researchers also reviewed a 2003 Ministry of Health study which found that approximately 24 per cent of health workers, most of them female nurses, had experienced sexual abuse by a supervisor.
Although the statistics covered broader forms of sexual harassment and abuse rather than sextortion alone, the 2021 research documented how senior male officials allegedly used their influence over recruitment, training, work schedules and promotions to pressure female employees into sexual relationships.
Women who rejected such advances risked negative performance assessments, retaliation or losing employment opportunities.
Munabi says these circumstances demonstrate why sexual corruption should be treated differently from conventional bribery.
She cautions that applying existing corruption laws without distinguishing victims from perpetrators could expose people subjected to sexual demands to prosecution. Under conventional bribery provisions, both the person offering and the person receiving a bribe may face punishment.
However, Munabi argues that someone who submits to sexual demands out of fear of losing a job, examination result or public service should not be treated as a willing participant in corruption.
She says legislation should instead focus on individuals who exploit their authority to obtain sexual favours.
Munabi also called for careful consideration of the evidence required to secure convictions. Since the proposed offence would attract criminal penalties, prosecutors would have to prove cases to the required criminal standard.
However, gathering evidence can be difficult because sexual demands are often made privately, without witnesses or easily documented proof.
Tanzania was highlighted during the workshop as a potential example for Uganda to follow. Section 25 of the country’s Prevention and Combating of Corruption Act specifically addresses individuals who misuse their positions of authority to demand sexual favours, rather than treating victims as participants in an ordinary corrupt exchange.
Mia Mjengwa, a Swedish national who has lived in Tanzania for 20 years, said the country began addressing sexual corruption through legislation in 2007. The practice is commonly known there as rushwa ya ngono, which translates to sexual bribery.
“In Tanzania, they identified the problem of sexual corruption a long time ago and established legal frameworks and mechanisms for fighting and preventing it,” said Mjengwa, who heads Programmes and Partner Collaboration at Karibu Tanzania Organization.
Tanzania later strengthened the penalties, increasing the maximum prison sentence from three to 10 years and raising the maximum fine from five million to 10 million Tanzanian shillings.
Mjengwa said the country’s response also involves preventive measures developed by institutions according to the risks within their respective environments.
She cited Folk Development Colleges, which offer adult education, as examples of institutions that have introduced mitigation plans, sensitisation programmes and mechanisms to protect learners from sexual exploitation.
Community awareness is another part of the strategy. Activities such as football matches and bicycle races are used to bring communities together to discuss sexual corruption, its effects and ways of preventing it.
Dr Asa Elden, co-chair of the Global Civil Society Coalition for the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), said legislation would not be sufficient without safe and accessible reporting channels for victims.
She warned that reporting systems could fail if victims feared being prosecuted for allegedly offering bribes when they had actually been responding to demands from officials abusing their authority.
Elden said institutions must identify the risks of sexual corruption and establish procedures that allow victims to report abuse without fear of punishment or retaliation.
The IGG says some allegations involving sexual corruption are already being investigated, although the lack of a clearly defined offence complicates the process.
Munira Ali, the Inspectorate’s spokesperson, revealed that the institution was handling a case involving a senior official, with some of the allegations relating to sexual corruption.
She said existing laws could be used to address certain aspects of the practice, but the absence of an explicitly defined offence creates gaps in the way such cases are investigated and prosecuted.
Ali acknowledged that Uganda still has significant work to do to develop a comprehensive legal and institutional framework to tackle the problem.
Speaking during the two-day workshop, Denmark’s Ambassador to Uganda, Signe Winding Albjerg, expressed hope that the discussions would generate practical recommendations, noting that participants from different sectors had contributed to examining possible responses.
The meeting also considered a toolkit on sexual corruption expected to help government agencies, anti-corruption institutions and civil society organisations identify, prevent and respond to cases of sextortion.
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