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

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WOMEN’S ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 33
Establishing how justice systems should function to
implement women’s rights
Human rights law has developed a number of practical
assessments to analyse why and how States fail to ensure that
individuals enjoy their human rights in practice, and to describe
how human rights obligations should function in practice.
The CEDAW Committee has outlined some of the particular
challenges to women’s access to justice as including: “the
centralization of courts and quasi-judicial bodies in the main
cities, their non-availability in rural and remote regions, the
time and money needed to access them, the complexity of
proceedings, the physical barriers for women with disabilities,
the lack of access to quality, gender-competent legal advice,
including legal aid, as well as the deficiencies often noted in the
quality of justice systems (gender-insensitive
judgments/decisions due to the lack of trainings, delays and
sector education designed to raise the awareness of the public with
respect to the problems of and remedies for violence against women”.
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Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the
Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) of 11 July 2003, Article
8(c): “the establishment of adequate educational and other
appropriate structures with particular attention to women and to
sensitise everyone to the rights of women”.
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Istanbul Convention, above note 16, Article 13(1) “Parties shall
promote or conduct, on a regular basis and at all levels, awarenessraising
campaigns or programmes, including in co-operation with
national human rights institutions and equality bodies, civil society and
non-governmental organisations, especially women’s organisations,
where appropriate, to increase awareness and understanding among
the general public of the different manifestations of all forms of
violence covered by the scope of this Convention, their consequences
on children and the need to prevent such violence” and Article 13(2)
“Parties shall ensure the wide dissemination among the general public
of information on measures available to prevent acts of violence
covered by the scope of this Convention”.