Access to justice
The confidence that all will be treated fairly and equally under the law is the foundation of a just and successful society.
But women across the world face barriers to justice which do not exist for men.
Too often crimes against women are not recognised by national laws, ignored by police or treated leniently by the courts.
In many cases, these offences, often very serious, are simply excused as family or cultural issues.
Even in many developed countries, women have greater difficulty getting justice because of a lack of resources, few if any female lawyers, and a legal culture which discriminates against the interests of women.
We have to step up efforts to remove the bias, formal and informal, from all justice systems so that women know they will be treated fairly.
The overwhelming majority of countries have laws which guarantee equal access to justice for all their citizens. But the reality, as women know to their cost, is very different.
Whatever the letter of the law might say, there are ingrained practices, often based on the interpretation of religious teachings or traditions, which treat women as second-class citizens.
This discrimination starts within the family. It is often institutionalised through laws and customs which reinforce the traditional male dominance of societies. More »