Progress of the World's Women: In Pursuit of Justice

What are the legal frameworks in place to ensure women’s rights and access to justice? How do these laws translate into equality in practice? What interventions are needed to make justice a reality rather than an aspiration for women? These are some of the questions considered in this first major UN Women report. It demonstrates that whilst justice is collectively desired, it is individually defined and experienced by women around the world. It measures progress and sets out the challenges that must be overcome in order to realise the power of law to shape societies for the better. The report is divided into five main sections: legal frameworks; the justice chain; legal pluralism; justice during and after conflict; and gender justice and the Millennium Development Goals. There are also annexes containing a range of quantitative data and a selection of groundbreaking legal cases that have changed women’s lives. Each section uses case study examples and engaging data visualisation. The report concludes with ten recommendations to make justice systems work for women:

• Support women’s legal organisations
• Support one-stop shops and specialised services to reduce attrition in the justice chain
• Implement gender-sensitive law reform
• Use quotas to boost the number of women legislators
• Put women on the front line of law enforcement
• Train judges and monitor decisions
• Increase women’s access to courts and truth commissions during and after conflict
• Implement gender-responsive reparations programmes
• Invest in women’s access to justice
• Put gender equality at the heart of the Millennium Development Goals