Who is Dorcus Acen? Flash Uganda Media looks at her biography, age, husband, family, tribe, and relationship with the National Resistance Movement, Makerere University, GBV Prevention Network, the early life and education of the current Woman MP for Alebtong District in Uganda.
Dorcus Acen, also known as Dorcas Acen, is a politician from Uganda.
She is the Alebtong District Women’s Representative in Uganda’s eleventh Parliament. She belongs to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) political party.
Early life and Education
Dorcus Acen is of Luo origin from Alebtong District. In 1999, she graduated from M.M College, Wairaka, Jinja with a high school diploma.
From 2000 to 2003, she studied Education at Makerere University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree. From 2006 to 2009, she studied at SOAS University of London and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Public Policy.
From 2012 to 2015, she attended Uganda Martyrs University and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Gender and Development. From Aug 2017 – Jun 2020, she proceeded to study for a Doctorate of Philosophy – PhD in Gender Studies at SOAS University of London.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Dorcas Acen was elected as a District Woman Representative of Alebtong District in Uganda’s 11th Parliament on January 14, 2021.
During her campaign, she donated two ambulances to her home district to help with referral cases and to boost the district’s rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also distributed posho and beans to the district’s most vulnerable residents, whose livelihoods had been impacted by the extended lockdown and other presidential measures aimed at managing COVID-19 across the country.
She worked as the focal point for sexual violence and VAW in emergency at the GBV Prevention Network.
Acen also worked as the Gender and Protection Adviser at CARE International in South Sudan in 2018. Here, she was in charge of the overall direction of the Gender and Protection program portfolio.
Achievements and Awards
Dorcas Acen has more than 15 years of humble experience in programming, research, and advocacy on gender equality, women’s voices and leadership, and empowering women and girls.
Dorcas seeks to promote gender equality, diversity, and equity as a servant leader who places service above self and demonstrates foundational competencies such as commitment, driving for results, embracing diversity, and being a strong team player.
She advocates for transparency, accountability, and professionalism. Her top priorities, which are part of a framework for ensuring gender equality, women’s voices, and leadership, are as follows:
A robust gender analysis and women empowerment strategy are in place to ensure routine inclusion, resourcing, and monitoring of programs, policies, and decision-making to ensure gender parity and women’s contribution to influencing legislation and policy formulation and implementation in Uganda across all technical programming, including health SRH, Food Security, Nutrition & Livelihoods, WASH, and Shelter.
Work with legislators and other key stakeholders, including communities, to unpack the Theory of Change (TOC) and framework for addressing gender inequality and the empowerment of women and girls, as well as to shift patriarchal social norms and address the root causes, exacerbating factors, and consequences of gender inequalities.
Encourage the establishment and management of ‘Safe Spaces for Women and Girls’ to ensure that women’s voices are heard and to address issues that women and girls face, such as various forms of gender-based violence (GBV) such as child, early, and forced marriages and unions (CEFMU) exacerbated by unprecedented waves of COVID/19 pandemic with the result of increased availability and accessibility of basic package of services.
This programming priority addresses the need to improve the consistent and robust integration of appropriate gender and age-sensitive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services into other programs.
Encourage meaningful participation of men and boys in preventing and addressing gender inequalities and empowering women and girls.
Advocacy and influence for increased budgetary allocation, structural change in addressing gender inequalities based on gender analysis findings and recommendations, strengthening coordination at the national level and broadly cascading to sub/national levels to amplify support for gender equality so that women, men, boys, and girls feel confident and clear about why, when, with whom, and how to share information optimally.
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