Why are the Young men disproportionately in Conflict with the law? Reflections on the ‘male face’ of remand homes in Uganda
By: Amon A Mwiine & Elizabeth Atuheire Introduction On the August 3 rd , 2023, we paid a visit to Naguru Remand Home as part of the academic field supervision of Makerere University students on an ongoing internship programme. In our conversation with the staff at the Home, it was noted that at the time, the home housed 6 female juveniles and 135 male juveniles. We were particularly struck by the gendered disproportionate nature of these statistics in which young men seemed overwhelmingly getting into conflict with the law. Many of these juveniles are reportedly accused of crimes related to sexual abuse e.g., defilement, theft, trespass, murder, drug abuse, among others. These statistics are not unique to Naguru remand home alone. In 2018, an annual statistical report on remand homes, rehabilitation and reception centers by the Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development indicated that male juveniles were the highest registered throughout all Remand Homes in the Count