This year, our Uganda team, Liberty Shared, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) created a new tool for prosecutors working on human trafficking cases. The Trafficking in Persons Mobile App Platform (TIPMAP) is Uganda’s first database designed to collect and share data about human trafficking investigations and prosecutions. 

Ensuring prosecutors and investigators are able to share what they have learned across regions in a country as big as Uganda can be a challenge. Not all officers and prosecutors have consistent access to a computer where they can report valuable data. TIPMAP provides a central platform investigators can access on their phones to easily share case details that may be crucial to helping other investigators solve cases. The app encourages collaboration among different areas of the justice system to help move human trafficking cases smoothly to trial and bring traffickers to justice. 

So far, our Uganda team has shared the tool with prosecutors and investigators in Masaka, Nakawa, Mukono, Mbarara, Kabale, Masindi, and Mbale. The officials trained with the tool in these cities were excited to download it and put TIPMAP to work. As they learn to utilize the app throughout investigations and preparation for trial, our team provides additional guidance from within the Director of Public Prosecution’s office. 

Special Counsel Dunman teaches training attendees how to use TIPMAP

Our Special Counsel has been embedded within the ODPP since 2020 and provides real-time advice to prosecutors as they bring human trafficking cases through trial. Our team also ensures all investigators and prosecutors throughout the country have the tools to properly identify human trafficking cases by providing regular intensive training and tools like TIPMAP.

TIPMAP’s release is a huge milestone in the Ugandan fight against human trafficking, facilitating a level of collaboration that seriously jeopardizes traffickers’ ability to exploit vulnerable people without consequence. It wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our supporters—people who care deeply about justice and want to see a change in Uganda and countries like it. Join us in the fight against trafficking today.