Universal-Womens-accesss-to-justice-Publications-Practitioners-Guide-Series-2016-ENG

V
WOMEN’S ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 143
CHAPTER VII
SAFETY, WELL-BEING, DIGNITY,
EMPOWERMENT: BUILDING FIRM
FOUNDATIONS FOR THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE
PROCESS
The CEDAW Committee has required that: “Appropriate
protective and support services should be provided for
victims”. 376
Since the early 1990s, international human rights law and
standards have developed in a mutually reinforcing manner
alongside a number of promising practices concerning the
provision of services to women victims of violence. The result
has been the creation of a detailed framework of practices in
law, policy, service provision and survivor empowerment.
However, in her reflections on good practices to address
violence against women, specifically rape, Sylvia Walby noted
that “the full set of policies that has been identified as
necessary in the literature and by practitioners has never been
fully implemented in any society”. 377 This area therefore has a
lot of potential for legal advocacy.
These good practices are necessary to give effect to the
general right to a remedy for discrimination and gender-based
violence – respecting, protecting and fulfilling women’s rights,
and ensuring comprehensive reparation to individual survivors,
including the dynamic transformation of gender inequality
guaranteed by the CEDAW Convention. These good practices
are also a necessary condition for successful criminal justice
accountability of perpetrators. Given the dangers of repeated
violence, and the shame and stigma often imposed on victims
376
CEDAW General Recommendation No 19, “Violence against
women”, UN Doc A/47/38 (1992), paragraph 24(b).
377
European Parliament, “Overview of the worldwide best practices for
rape prevention and for assisting women victims of rape” (Brussels:
European Union, 2013), page 16.