2.3.2 Proceedings in Sudan A civil claim for tort may be made before the civil courts. A victim of rape may bring a claim for reparation as a supplementary civil suit in the course of criminal proceedings. 26 In case of bodily injury, he or she may bring a claim for diya (blood money), which is, however, meant to compensate for the bodily injury only and not for the rape.27 In civil proceedings, a rape victim or his or her relatives can claim damages for tort, i.e. trespass against the person, under civil law. 28 Where the alleged perpetrator is an official, a civil suit may be instituted against the State but a suit against the perpetrator itself can only proceed if the head of the forces concerned lifts immunity. 29 2.3.3 Proceedings in Uganda While a civil claim is an option, most victims of violations committed by State agents prefer to file for compensation with the Human Rights Commission (see below). Since tort claims can be made against public officials alleged to have committed acts of torture as well as against the State when the individual public official(s) cannot be identified,30 survivors of sexual violence can also explore this option where the alleged perpetrator is a public official. In at least one High Court case (Gulu), damages were awarded to torture survivors.31 2.4 Human Rights Commissions In Uganda, the practice for justice in cases of sexual violence has been mainly to lodge civil claims against the Attorney General before the Human Rights Commission with the intention of recovering monetary compensation for the suffering inflicted on the victim. In these cases the alleged perpetrator may never be known let alone punished individually. Moreover, since the Commission primarily addresses human rights violations by State agents, it only has jurisdiction when the violation is by an officer of the State or when the violation is defined as discrimination.32 2.5 Violation of Constitutionally Guaranteed Fundamental Rights A right to be free from all forms of violence, particularly sexual violence, embedded in a constitution is the highest form of protection available for violence against women at the domestic level. It demonstrates that the State considers violence against women a serious enough issue to include it as a fundamental right in the constitution and commits to protect women against it. It provides victims and survivors an avenue to enforce the State’s due diligence responsibility to prevent violence against women and claim compensation from the State for failure to do so. The Constitutional Court of South Africa for instance, in the case Omar v. Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others, ruled that a protection order against domestic 26 Article 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1991. 27 Articles 42-45 of the 1991 Criminal Act. 28 Article 153 (1) Civil Transaction Act, 1984. 29 Article 33 (b) of the National Security Forces Act, 1999, article 45 (2) of the Police Act 2008 and article 34 (2) of the Armed Forces Act, 2007. 30 Action Against Torture – A Practical Guide to the Istanbul Protocol for Lawyers in Uganda, REDRESS/International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), 2004, p. 17. 31 State of Pain: Torture in Uganda, Human Rights Watch, March 2004, Vol. 16 No. 4(A), p. 73. 32 supra note 3, pp. 23. REDRESS | DOMESTIC JUSTICE PROCESSES FOR SEXUAL VIOLENCE 11