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

V
WOMEN’S ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 79
should be actionable in civil or administrative law. This is a
powerful form of legal advocacy that can lead to at least two
important outcomes: firstly, seeking compensation as a form of
reparation for the victim or her family; and, secondly, allowing
a forensic investigation of policing and court practice and a
close analysis of where protection has failed. After a case like
this, police and other authorities will usually have a strong
impetus to improve their service to women, to avoid being held
to account and forced to pay compensation in other cases.
The UN Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women
asserts that legislation should enable those women who have
been subject to gender-based violence “to bring lawsuits
against governmental or non-governmental individuals and
entities that have not exercised due diligence to prevent,
investigate or punish the violence; and lawsuits on the basis of
anti-discrimination and/or civil rights laws”. 203
The CEDAW Committee has made further recommendations on
women’s right to reparation:
Remedies should be adequate, effective, timely, holistic
and proportional to the gravity of the harm suffered; 204
Remedies for civil damages and criminal sanctions
should not be mutually exclusive; 205 and
States should create specific funds to ensure that
women receive adequate reparation in situations in
which the individuals or entities responsible for violating
their human rights are unable or unwilling to provide
such reparation. 206
203
UN Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women (New
York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2010), page 54.
204
CEDAW General Recommendation No 33, above note 122,
paragraph 19(b).
205
Ibid, paragraph 19(b).
206
Ibid, paragraph 19(d).