violence that included a suspended arrest warrant issued under section 8 of the Domestic Violence Act did not amount to arbitrary deprivation of liberty. It held that the possibility of the Act being manipulated and misused far outweighed its potential to afford protection by the police to the victims of domestic violence. 33 In other words, the Court upheld, reinforced and strengthened the due diligence role of the police in providing protection to women victims of domestic violence. The Court of Appeal in Nigeria, in the case of Mojekwu v Mojekwu, ruled that customary law preventing females from inheriting property was discriminatory. The Court held that any form of societal discrimination on grounds of sex is unconstitutional and against the principles of an egalitarian society.34 The DRC Constitution is unique in that it expressly prohibits sexual violence. Article 15 provides for an express prohibition of sexual violence, and its second paragraph characterises sexual violence as a crime against humanity when carried out in order to destroy or destabilise a family or a group.35 Survivors of sexual violence therefore have an additional avenue to pursue justice by filing for violation of constitutional rights. There are however no reported cases on the use of this provision or reports of the State being challenged with violation of this fundamental right. Where there is an explicit prohibition of torture but not sexual violence in the Constitution, survivors may explore filing for violation of constitutional rights in the event the facts of sexual violence meet elements of torture (which under most criminal laws will require that it is committed by, or involves the consent or acquiescence of, a public or State official). Article 24 of the Constitution of Uganda prohibits torture and Article 50 gives the right to file for compensation upon violation of any right or freedom guaranteed by the Constitution.36 Drawing on precedents from international law and domestic practice such as the constitutional case in South Africa cited above, it may still be possible to file for constitutional remedies where the violence is not by a public official, for the State’s failure in its due diligence responsibility to take all measures to prevent the violence and protect the victim. Sudan has a Bill of Rights, and victims could bring a case before the Constitutional Court claiming violation of fundamental rights but no relevant practice to date has been reported. 2.6 Possibilities and Challenges in the Domestic System Despite the availability of multiple potential options for litigating sexual violence, justice systems are often inaccessible to women or are hostile to their experience of violence. Women therefore do not lodge complaints or report the violence, which makes it difficult to access regional or international mechanisms for justice. The relatively innovative provisions in the laws in DRC in theory ought to be effective in the prevention and punishment of sexual violence. The field reality however is different. Customary compromises between the family of the victim and the family of the perpetrator persist in many villages and even in some cities. This comes from a deeply rooted practice 33 Omar v Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others [2005] ZACC 17, summary available at: http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/Archimages/5006.PDF and the judgment at: http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/Archimages/5007.PDF. 34 Mojekwu v Mojekwu [1997] 7 NWLR 283, referred to in Non-Discrimination in International Law – A Handbook for Practitioners, 2011 Edition, Interights, London, p. 134. 35 DRC Constitution, 18 February 2006, Article 15: « Les pouvoirs publics veillent à l’élimination des violences sexuelles. Sans préjudice des traités et accords internationaux, toute violence sexuelle faite sur toute personne, dans l’intention de déstabiliser, de disloquer une famille et de faire disparaître tout un peuple est érigée en crime contre l’humanité puni par la loi », available at: http://www.presidentrdc.cd/constitution.html. 36 supra note 31, p. 15. 12 DOMESTIC JUSTICE PROCESSES FOR SEXUAL VIOLENCE | REDRESS