Beatrice Were married her husband, Francis, at age 19; she was a virgin at the time of her common-law wedding.
[3][2][4] With the help of a Kampala-based group of women lawyers, she successfully gained control of her husband's estate and retain custody of her children, and moved into a small building in her father's compound.
[1][6] Were has called attention to the failures of Uganda's HIV/AIDS policies and programs since 2004, in coordination with Human Rights Watch.
She has specifically called out United States' funding of abstinence until marriage approaches to HIV/AIDS and sex education.
[6] Her speech at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto in 2006, in which she attacked the "ABC" (abstain, be faithful, wear condoms) approach to HIV prevention, received a standing ovation.