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

144 PRACTITIONERS GUIDE No. 12
by society as a whole, women are frequently unwilling to seek
criminal justice solutions. Therefore these good practices are
required as a foundation for criminal justice.
Legal advocacy in this area is important for ensuring access to
services and, particularly, taking legal action to challenge
financial cuts to services.
Making a firm foundation for initiatives to prevent
gender-based violence through adequate gathering of
data
A basic requirement for successful action is the collection of
accurate statistics about the prevalence of violence against
women, and the effectiveness of any actions taken to address
the issue. Gathering such data is an important part of the State
obligation to prevent and remedy violence against women. 378
Complete data on gender-based violence and women’s access
to justice is often lacking. Lawyers and advocates can help to
fill these knowledge gaps and often have an important role to
play as interlocutors in processes to reform or improve justice
systems, as they have a detailed knowledge about individuals’
need for justice and the struggles they face in seeking justice.
Guiding principles for promising practices in law and the
justice system
In his In-depth study on violence against women, the UN
Secretary-General noted that:
378
CEDAW General Recommendation No 19, above note 376,
paragraph 24(c), which requires that “States should encourage the
compilation of statistics and research on the extent, causes and effects
of violence, and on the effectiveness of measures to prevent and deal
with violence”. See also: Inter-American Convention on the
Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women
(Belém do Pará) of 9 June 1994, Article 8(h); and Council of Europe
Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and
domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) of 11 May 2011, Article 11.