The role of data in the fight for social justice in Uganda

The role of data in the fight for social justice in Uganda Data is critical at the forefront of the social justice movement. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 “provides access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. Reliable, timely data collection and management is therefore a critical tool to help citizens hold governments accountable. Many Ugandans experience multiple needs in their daily lives. But few can bring their problems to the formal justice, predominately referred to as Courts and lawyers. According to studies conducted, Ugandans rely primarily on friends, family members and neighbors when dealing with a justice problem. In addition to seeking help from formal justice mechanisms that seem more accessible such the police, Local council courts and local authorities, as opposed to formal courts. However, this information and data is not readily captured making it very difficult for access and evidence based planning and recommendations to help in the fight for social justice in the county. This presentation, therefore, aims at exploring the roles of data may provide in fighting social justice in Uganda. The objectives are to identify the type social justice data collected; the challenges faced in collecting data and disseminating it; and propose strategies on how data may be used to fight social justice.