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

V
WOMEN’S ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 149
Women subjected to violence should be informed of their
rights
The CEDAW Committee has observed, when considering States
parties’ periodic reports, that States frequently fail to ensure
that women are not discriminated against in their ability to
access education, information and legal literacy programmes. 390
Women who are subjected to violence usually know that what
has happened to them is deeply wrong. However, unless they
are informed about the remedies available to them, it is too
easy for women to remain intimidated and castigated by social
attitudes that support men’s violence against women: social
attitudes that identify complaining about violence and seeking
justice as unacceptable and a “cause for additional
discrimination and/or stigmatization”. 391
Informing women about their human rights and the remedies
they can seek to redress and prevent violence is the bedrock of
access to justice. Informing women that they have rights and
entitlements can change the way that they think about their
situation, even if they do not take steps to enforce those rights.
Educating everyone – men and women, and children and young
people – about women’s rights and entitlements can change
social attitudes to violence.
The CEDAW Committee has thus noted that educating men
about women’s rights is essential to ensuring nondiscrimination
and equality. 392 The Committee has
recommended that States:
Develop gender expertise;
Inform women about their human rights and
mechanisms to access justice, through dissemination of
multi-format materials; and
390
CEDAW General Recommendation No 33, above note 383,
paragraph 32.
391
Ibid, paragraph 35(d).
392
Ibid, paragraph 32.