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

178 PRACTITIONERS GUIDE No. 12
take place over time, 483 and should not therefore impose strict
time-based restrictions on access to protection orders. 484
Should third parties be able to seek protection orders on
behalf of women at risk?
A key issue to consider is whether a third party should be able
to apply for a protection order: will this act to empower a
woman who has been subjected to violence? Seeking an order
on her behalf may compromise her interests or her safety, or
put her more at risk. Women are usually the best judges of
their own safety.
Third parties should therefore only be empowered to seek
protection orders where:
The woman is legally incompetent (for example, due to
mental illness or impairment) in which case, a legal
guardian may apply; or
To allow other actors, such as State actors, family
members, and relevant professionals to have standing in
such applications, while ensuring that the agency of the
complainant is respected. 485
Courts that rule on applications for protection orders must be
well trained in the realities of the various forms of genderbased
violence, as well as the relevant law and policies. 486
483
V.K. v Bulgaria, above note 481, paragraph 9.9.
484
Ibid, paragraph 9.9.
485
UN Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women, above
note 413, page 48.
486
V.K. v Bulgaria, above note 480, paragraph 9.16(b)(iv), where the
CEDAW Committee recommended that Bulgaria: “Provide mandatory
training for judges, lawyers and law enforcement personnel on the
application of the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence,
including on the definition of domestic violence and on gender
stereotypes, as well as appropriate training on the Convention, its
Optional Protocol and the Committee’s general recommendations, in
particular general recommendation No. 19”.