Chapter 6. Restricted civil liberties

This chapter presents an overview of women’s restricted civil liberties. It examines discriminatory social institutions – formal and informal laws, social norms and practices – that obstruct women’s access to, participation and voice in the public and social spheres across 180 countries, covering areas such as citizenship rights, political voice, freedom of movement and access to justice. The chapter also seeks to provide policy makers with the necessary tools and evidence to design effective gender-responsive policies in order to strengthen women’s political participation and civil liberties.

The restricted civil liberties (RCL) sub-index captures discriminatory laws and practices restricting women’s access to, participation and voice in the public and social spheres. It encompasses laws, practices and social norms that restrict the mobility or movement of women and girls and limit their access to the public space, including their ability to travel or apply for a passport.

The civil liberties sub-index is composed of four indicators:

“citizenship rights” captures the level of legal discrimination against women regarding their citizenship rights and ability to exercise these rights in practice, taking into account non-statutory (societal) discrimination against women in traditional, religious and customary laws and practices.
“political voice” captures the level of legal discrimination against women with respect to their political participation and rights to vote, as well as their representation in national parliaments, taking into account non-statutory (societal) discrimination against women in traditional, religious and customary laws and practices.
“freedom of movement” captures the formal and informal restrictions that limit women’s freedom of movement and access to public space, such as restricted ability to apply for a passport or travel outside the country, taking into account non-statutory (societal) discrimination against women in traditional, religious and customary laws and practices.
“access to justice” captures discrimination against women’s rights to access justice and opportunity to benefit from justice systems, including religious and customary courts, taking into account non-statutory (societal) discrimination against women in traditional, religious and customary laws and practices.

Key messages

Discriminatory social institutions governing women’s role and access to the public sphere still restrict women’s rights and empowerment opportunities:
- The global level of discrimination in the civil liberties sphere is 29%.
Legal discrimination still limits women’s citizenship rights in some countries:
- In 49 countries women do not have the same legal rights as men to confer their nationality on their children or non-citizen spouse.
Threats to women’s freedom of movement differ according to the region:
- In Europe and North America, feelings of insecurity related to violence against women can seriously restrict women’s movements;
- In some countries, the law restricts women’s rights to travel outside the country;
- Customary laws may still impede women’s rights to choose where to live, whether they can travel to visit their parents, or other travel considered normal for men.
Political commitments have been translated into legal reforms protecting and promoting women’s political voice:
- In almost all countries, women have the right to vote, to stand for election and to hold political office;
- Some 111 countries have specific measures, such as quotas, to promote gender parity in politics.
Despite specific measures to support gender parity in the political sphere, discriminatory attitudes call into question their effectiveness:
- Women hold fewer than one parliamentary seat in four;
- Almost half the global population think men make better political leaders than women do.
Women’s access to justice is restricted by customary laws and statutory justice systems are not always able to understand and address women’s specific needs:
- The procedural rules in civil, criminal and family courts/tribunals recognise the particular interests of women and girls in only 61 countries.

How can governments effectively tackle discriminatory social institutions restricting women’s civil liberties?

Shift social norms related to women’s political leadership and introduce measures to strengthen women’s leadership abilities;
Eliminate formal and informal laws that make a woman’s legal status dependent on her relationship to a man;
Guarantee women’s security in public spaces; and
Promote gender-responsiveness in all justice systems.

The influence of women’s rights movements has contributed to securing women’s civil liberties, but the struggle needs to continue. The SIGI result for the RCL sub-index indicates a global level of discrimination of 29%, ranging from 4% in Senegal to 76% in Yemen (Box 6.1). This score shows that legal reforms and changes in discriminatory social norms are required to guarantee that women have the same rights and opportunities as men to access, participate and be heard in the public and social spheres. Europe (16%) and the Americas (20%) are the regions that have achieved the most progress towards parity. More urgent action is needed in Asia (36%) and in Africa (38%).

Countries must take action to strengthen women’s political voice. The impact of discriminatory social institutions restricting women’s civil liberties is particularly acute in the political sphere. The global levels of discrimination in the other three indicators (access to justice, freedom of movement and citizenship rights) are 17%, 24% and 28%, respectively, but the global level of discrimination in political voice is 44% (Figure 6.2). This is particularly problematic because women’s exclusion from politics and from decision-making structures can become self-perpetuating and reinforce gender inequalities in other areas

Senegal is the best performer in the restricted civil liberties dimension. The laws regulating citizenship rights and access to justice are gender-neutral and no customary laws infringe upon these rights in practice. The quotas in place to promote women’s political representation have been translated into practice and 42% of MPs are women. Women have the same freedom of movement as men but they represent 55% of people who do not feel safe alone at night in public places (compared to 66% at the world level).

Citizenship rights

Key messages

Historically, many states maintained that a woman acquired her legal status through her relationship with a man. This position is still reflected in the laws of 49 countries, where women do not have the same rights as men to confer their nationality on their children or on a non-citizen spouse. Only three countries1 have amended discriminatory provisions in this area since 2014.
This legal discrimination compounds gender inequalities in other areas. For example, women who lost their nationality of birth upon marriage face more challenges in trying to leave abusive marriages or in claiming child custody. Gender discrimination in laws on citizenship is also a major cause of statelessness among adults and children alike.
In 114 countries, women do not face discrimination in this indicator (SIGI=0%), highlighting the feasibility of enforcing legal reforms in this area.

Key policy recommendations

Grant women the same rights as men to acquire, change and retain their nationalities, irrespective of their marital status or group of origin, and to transfer their nationality to their children or their non-citizen spouse (Box 6.2). Ensure these rights are enforced in administrative practices.
Ensure that all reforms recognise retroactive citizenship to all individuals born prior to the reforms’ implementation. For example, the 2005 reform to the Algerian Nationality Code introduced a provision granting Algerian nationality to any children born to an Algerian mother or father (Art. 6). This revised provision applied with retroactive effect: individuals born to Algerian mothers and foreign fathers before the reform are also considered nationals.
Facilitate marriage and birth registration procedures, especially in rural and remote areas, to ensure that individuals can provide proof of their nationality. Measures to facilitate birth registration procedures may consist in allowing registration on line (e.g. Chinese Taipei), by mail (e.g. Sri Lanka) or in hospitals (e.g. El Salvador), authorising traditional birth attendants to issue birth documents (e.g. The Gambia) or granting an additional delay for people living in remote areas (e.g. Gabon).

Box 6.1. International standards concerning nationality rights

The right to a nationality is paramount to the realisation of other fundamental rights such as education, social security, employment or political participation. Equality between men and women in this regard is mandatory under a number of international agreements:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states that “everyone has the right to a nationality” and that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality” (art. 15);
The Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (1957) specifies that “neither the celebration nor the dissolution of a marriage (…) shall automatically affect the nationality of the wife” (art. 1);
The CEDAW (1979) explicitly calls upon States to “grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality”, as well as to “grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children” (art. 9);
Resolution 32/7 adopted by the UN Human Rights Council (2016) urges states to “adopt and implement nationality legislation consistent with their obligations under international law, including with respect to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and girls in nationality-related matters” (para. 3).

Results

In line with international recommendations (Box 6.1), most countries grant women and men equal nationality rights. In 114 countries, women enjoy the same nationality rights as men, regardless of their civil status, origin or ethnic group, and customary, traditional or religious practices do not infringe upon these rights in practice. Three countries have removed discriminatory provisions from their legislation since 2014: Niger (since 2014), Brazil and Ecuador (since 2017) so that women can now transfer their nationality to their non-citizen spouse in the same way as men can. In addition, in Madagascar (since 2016) and Sierra Leone (since 2017), women can confer nationality on their children in the same way as men, even though they still face discrimination in other aspects of this indicator.

However, the laws of 49 countries still discriminate against women’s rights to confer their nationality on their children or non-citizen spouse. Historically, many states adopted the position that a woman’s legal status is acquired through her relationship to a man – her father or male guardian, then her husband (Equality Now, 2016[1]). This situation is reflected in the laws of 20 countries where different rules apply, depending on a woman’s marital status. Furthermore, in 29 countries, traditional views of the man as the head of household and the person who would make important decisions for the family still fuel discriminatory legal provisions that assign the father’s nationality to his legally recognised children.

Legal provisions restricting women’s rights to pass on their nationality still exist in almost all parts of the world including: sub-Saharan Africa (19 countries), Western Asia (12), Northern Africa (5), South-Eastern Asia (5), Southern Asia (4), Latin America and the Caribbean (3) and the Pacific (1). These restrictions can take many forms. For example, women may face additional requirements to be able to pass on their nationality to children born abroad (e.g. Barbados, Malaysia), or married women may not be allowed to transfer their nationality to their non-citizen spouse (e.g. Nigeria, United Arab Emirates). In addition, in 28 countries, women do not have equal rights as men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. For example, women may lose their nationality of origin upon marrying a foreigner (e.g. Iran, Singapore), or women who lost their nationality of origin through marriage cannot regain it on the termination of marriage (e.g. Egypt, Iraq).

Box 6.2. The key role of women’s rights advocates for successful legal reform in Senegal

In 2013, the Senegalese parliament amended the nationality law to grant women the same rights as men to transfer their nationality to their children and non-citizen spouse. This amendment was made possible by the implication and commitment of a variety of actors from civil society and the government. Civil society organisations advocating women’s rights played an instrumental role in drawing public and political attention to the issue. For example, the Association des Juristes Sénégalaises revised the nationality law and sent a reform proposal to the government as early as 2005. In 2010, Senegal introduced a law mandating gender balance in candidate lists for national elections. Following the 2012 election, female representation in the parliament increased from 23% to 43%, which entailed stronger parliamentary support for reforming the nationality law. In 2012, the government formed a task force to draft a bill. Women’s rights and international organisations provided comments and recommendations on the bill, which was passed unanimously by the parliament in 2013 (UNHCR, 2014[2]).

Source: UNHCR (2014), Preventing and Reducing Statelessness. Good Practices in Promoting and Adopting Gender Equality in Nationality Laws, https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/protection/statelessness/531a001c9/preventing-reducing-statelessness-good-practices-promoting-adopting-gender.html (accessed on 27 January 2019).

Political voice

Key messages

Countries are increasingly acting to strengthen women’s political voice. Legal measures to promote gender-balanced representation in elected public offices exist at the national level in 104 countries and at the local level in 93 countries. Eight additional countries2 have introduced this type of measure since 2014.
Special measures to enhance women’s political voice tend to have no major impact if they are not accompanied by other broader measures that reinforce women’s positions in social institutions. Women occupy an average of 26% of parliamentary seats in countries that established quotas or other special measures, compared with 22% in countries where no special measures exist.3
Negative attitudes towards women as political and community leaders reduce their participation in politics. Almost half of the world’s population (47%) believe that men make better political leaders than women do. In countries where this percentage is higher, fewer women have been elected to parliament. The low representation of women in public decision-making roles can become self-perpetuating by influencing the perceptions of women and their ability to participate in public life because of the shortage of female role models.
Women still have fewer opportunities than men to defend their rights. Fewer than 24% of parliamentary seats at the global level were occupied by women in 2018, up from 22% in 2014. Rwanda, Cuba and Bolivia are the only countries in the world that attained or surpassed parity. Only 49 countries have at least reached the 30% mark for female representation in the parliament.
Nicaragua is the best performer globally: 46% of the members of the Nicaraguan parliament are women, a 50% gender quota was introduced in 2012, mandating alternation of men and women in candidate lists for national and local elections, and some political parties also adopted voluntary quotas.

Key policy recommendations

Introduce temporary special measures such as quotas, reserved seats and incentives for political parties to include women on candidate lists to fast-track women’s representation in national parliaments and local decision-making entities. These measures must be supplemented with rules concerning candidates’ rank order (women must be placed in winnable positions) and supported by dedicated funding and accompanied by enforcement and monitoring mechanisms. Sanctions for non-compliance, in particular rejection of candidate’s lists, have proven more effective than financial incentives.
Implement measures to overcome discriminatory perceptions of women’s ability to be as competent as men as political leaders. Promote awareness and recognition of the role women play in all policy- and decision-making processes and spotlight female role models. Encourage girls’ and women’s participation in schools, universities, corporations and CSOs to foster their leadership skills and highlight their presence in decision-making spheres.
Create an enabling political environment free from gender-based violence and discrimination. Introduce laws to address violence against women in political life (as has been done, for example, in Bolivia and Mexico).
Provide leadership training for all women, especially the most marginalised and those facing intersectional discrimination (Box 6.4).

Box 6.3. International standards concerning equal access to publicly elected bodies and balanced representation of men and women in public life

Women’s presence in politics and government decision-making structures is positive for democratic governance and for education, infrastructure and health standards. This is acknowledged by the international community:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states that “everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country” and “to equal access to public service in his country” (art. 21);
The Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952) establishes that women shall be “entitled to vote in all elections”, “eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies” and “entitled to hold public office and to exercise all public functions” on equal terms with men (art. 1, 2 & 3);
The CEDAW (1979) calls on State parties to “take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country” (art. 7). In its General Recommendation No. 23 (1997), it further encourages “the use of temporary special measures in order to give full effect to articles 7 and 8”;
The Beijing Platform for Action (1995) lists women in power and decision-making among its twelve Strategic Objectives. Specifically, it enjoins states to “take measures […] that encourage political parties to integrate women in elective and non-elective public positions in the same proportion and at the same level as men” (Strategic Objective G.1.b);
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 66/130 on women and political participation (2012) calls upon States to “enhance the political participation of women” (para 3);
SDG Target 5.5 explicitly calls on States to “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life”.

Results

Countries are increasingly taking action to strengthen women’s political voice as required by international treaties (Box 6.3). Since 2014, all countries have provided equal voting rights to women and men in all types of elections. In 179 countries, women have the same rights as men to hold public and political office in the parliament, the public administration and the government. To help ensure that these rights translate into gender-balanced representation in elected public office, 111 countries also instituted measures to promote women’s political participation. In 104 countries, the law establishes quotas, incentives for political parties to include women on candidate lists or other special measures to increase female representation at the national level. In 93 countries, such measures exist at the local level and 11 countries have newly introduced this type of measure to promote women’s political participation since 2014.

Discriminatory social norms limit women’s participation in political and public life. Almost half of the world’s population (47%) believe that men make better political leaders than women do. These negative attitudes towards women as political and community leaders are associated with their lower participation in politics (Figure 6.3). In Kuwait, for example, 76% of the population hold discriminatory views towards female political leadership and just over 3% of members of parliament are women. However, non-discriminatory social norms, alone, do not ensure gender balance in elected political office. In Uruguay, over 90% of the population do not think men are better political leaders but women only hold 20% of parliamentary seats. Other barriers include the disproportionate burden on women of domestic responsibilities, intersectional discrimination (see also Chapter 2), a lack of female role models, or violence against women in public and political life. In the United Kingdom, a survey of girls aged 7-21 revealed that 34% of them are discouraged from entering politics because of the way female politicians are depicted in the media and 32% because of reports of high levels of sexual harassment (Girlguiding, 2018[3]).

Women’s voices remain less heard than men’s in most countries. At the global level, women occupy 24% of parliamentary seats, up from 22% in 2014. Rwanda, Bolivia and Cuba are the only countries in the world that have attained or surpassed parity. At the opposite end of the spectrum, in Papua New Guinea and Yemen, all parliamentarians are men. Only 49 countries have at least reached the 30% mark for female representation in the parliament identified in the Beijing Platform for Action. The region with the largest share of female members of parliaments is Europe (29%), followed by the Americas (28%), Africa (23%) and Asia (19%). At the sub-regional level, female representation in politics is the highest in the Caribbean (35%) and the lowest in Western Asia (14%).

Box 6.4. Increase women’s political participation in Portugal through training and awareness raising activities

In 2009, women represented 27% of members of the Portuguese parliament and 7% of the country’s mayors. To increase their representation, the government launched a nation-wide campaign to raise awareness of the equal capacities of women to be elected leaders. The campaign comprised a tool kit providing guidance on training to increase women’s communication and leadership skills, awareness raising sessions across the country and a partnership with youth associations encouraging young women to take part in public and political life. It was followed by a separate media campaign to encourage women to be politically active and the government published educational guides providing teachers with pedagogical support to implement activities to tackle gender stereotypes in school (EIGE, 2016[4]).

Source: EIGE (2016), “Advancing gender equality in political decision-making: Good practices”, https://doi.org/10.2839/674468.

Freedom of movement

Key messages

In one in four countries, women are still not legally permitted to travel by themselves. In 45 countries, women cannot legally apply for a passport or travel outside the country in the same way as men. Iraq and Senegal have been the only countries since 2014 to remove discriminatory requirements regarding passport and ID applications, respectively.
Discriminatory practices often restrict women’s ability to move safely and freely. In 145 countries, women have the same rights as men to access public space. Yet, gender-neutral policies are not sufficient to enforce women’s rights in this area: in 88% of countries worldwide, women are more likely than men to feel unsafe walking alone in the area where they live and 23% of married women across 67 countries depend on their husband’s permission to visit their own family.
The gender gap in feeling secure is larger in high-income countries. Women represent 66% of the people who do not feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhoods in high-income countries, compared to 58% in low-income countries. This proportion reaches 91% in Finland.
11 countries have the best score in this indicator, 10 of which are in Africa. They all provide women with the same rights as men to travel and obtain travel-related documents. They perform relatively better than the rest of the world because women and men in these countries express the same level of concern about their safety in public places (no gender gap). However, 40% of people in these countries do not feel safe in their neighbourhood at night.

Key policy recommendations

Recognise equal rights for women and men to obtain travel documents and to travel abroad, ensuring that women are able to exercise these rights in practice.
Guarantee that women’s voices are heard and their special needs taken into account in spatial planning processes (e.g. in Vienna, Austria, the city planning strategy has adopted a gender perspective since the 1990s).
Encourage the positive evolution of social norms around women in public spaces through awareness-raising campaigns around gender-based violence, harassment and harmful stereotypes; and promote women’s secure access to public places and services (Box 6.6).

Box 6.5. International standards concerning freedom of movement

Freedom of movement is a universal human right recognised in:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), which states that “everyone has the right to freedom of movement” and “to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country” (art. 13);
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) reaffirms that everyone shall “have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence” and “be free to leave any country” (art. 12);
The CEDAW (1979) calls on state parties to “accord to men and women the same rights with regards to the law relating to the movement of persons and the freedom to choose their residence and domicile” (art. 15);
More recently, the necessity to “provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces” (SDG Target 11.7) and to “significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere” (SDG Target 16.1) has been integrated to the SDGs framework.

Results

In 52 countries, women face more restrictions than men or depend on their permission to travel. Historically, a woman’s right to travel depended on her male relatives. For example, in many countries, married women were not issued passports but were added to their husband’s instead. While most countries have reformed these laws in line with international recommendations (Box 6.5), they remain in place in others. In 45 countries, women are not legally entitled to obtain an identity card or a passport nor to travel outside the country in the same way as men. They are often required to provide additional documentation, such as a marriage certificate, or need the permission of their male guardian or husband. Iraq and Senegal have been the only countries since 2014 to remove discriminatory requirements regarding passport and ID applications, respectively. Even where legal barriers are lifted, informal laws might restrict women’s freedom of movement. In seven countries, the legal framework is not explicitly discriminatory towards women, but some customary, religious or traditional practices or laws jeopardise women’s rights in practice. For example, in Burkina Faso, 95% of the population believe that a married woman needs permission from her husband to travel (OECD Development Centre, 2018[5]). For 23% of married women across 67 countries, any decision to visit a woman’s family or relatives is made by her husband (DHS, n.d.[6]). In 32 countries, women do not have the same rights as men to choose where to live.

In practice, insecurity feelings restrict women’s freedom of movement in almost all countries in the world. In 88% of the countries with available data, women are more likely than men to feel unsafe in public places. On average, women represent 65% of the persons who declare not feeling safe walking alone at night in the city or area where they live (Figure 6.4). This proportion is higher in high- (66%) and upper middle-income countries (68%) than in lower-middle (61%) and low-income countries (58%). In Iceland and Finland, women represent nine in ten persons not feeling safe walking alone at night in their neighbourhood. SIGI country profiles cite the threat of gender-based violence in public spaces as restraining women’s freedom of movement, in particular, sexual violence and sexual harassment.

Gender-sensitive policy planning could help ensure that women can access public spaces in the same way as men. Due to their different roles within families and societies, men and women use public infrastructure in different ways. Inclusive governance entails responding to the needs of women and girls and ensuring that their voices are heard equally in decision-making processes. Yet, policies are often gender-blind and women continue to be underrepresented in local governments. In urban settings worldwide, women account for only 5% of mayors in capital cities, 6% of mayors in cities with over 1 million inhabitants and 20% of city councillors (UCLG, 2013[7]).

Box 6.6. Create a safer environment for women in public transport in Santiago, Chile

In Santiago, Chile, 73% of female users of public transport feel insecure, compared with 59% of male users (FIA Foundation; CAF, 2017[8]). Nine in ten women have experienced harassment and half of them declare that the feeling of insecurity has impacted their travel decisions. Several initiatives have been launched to make public transport safer for women. Two campaigns began in 2017: the first highlighted the violent nature of harassment, while the second sought to engage with men to bring about behavioural and social change. Other actions included surveys of street harassment, audits, an educational mobility programme for children including a gender perspective and the promotion of cycling among women to reduce or eliminate waiting times in potentially dangerous surroundings (FIA Foundation; CAF, 2017[8]).

Source: FIA Foundation; CAF (2017), “Ella se mueve segura- She moves safely: A study on women's personal security and public transport in three Latin American cities”, https://www.fiafoundation.org/media/461162/ella-se-mueve-segura-she-moves-safely.pdf (accessed on 16 January 2019).

Access to justice

Key messages

Sound laws and justice systems have the potential to accelerate progress towards gender equality. This is recognised in the laws of 79 countries, where women have and are able to exercise the same legal rights as men to sue, provide testimony and hold office in the judiciary.
Plural legal systems exist in many countries and often entail discrimination against women. In 53 countries, women’s rights to sue, provide testimony or hold public office in the judiciary are infringed upon in practice. In 48 countries, a woman’s testimony does not carry the same evidentiary weight as a man’s in all types of court cases. Since 2014, no country has made progress in achieving greater parity in legal entitlements, which is necessary for women seeking redress for rights’ violations and, hence, tends to perpetuate gender-based discrimination.
The justice chain often breaks down due to discriminatory social institutions and a lack of gender-sensitivity. In Eastern Europe, the Pacific and South America, women represent up to 60% of the people who do not trust the justice system and courts of their country.
Some 25 countries achieved gender equality in this indicator (SIGI=0%): men and women have the same legal rights in the law and in practice.

Key policy recommendations

Grant women the same judicial rights as men and ensure no discriminatory practices infringe upon these rights, particularly customary and religious laws.
Disseminate information on existing laws and available remedies, guarantee accessible legal aid to every person (as with the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia) and create multilingual information services (an example is the Indigenous Interpretation and Translation Centre in Guatemala).
Increase female representation in judicial systems to reduce barriers to women’s access to justice (such as stigma associated with reporting violence) to boost progressive judicial reforms and to accelerate progress towards gender equality.
Build justice systems that are responsive to the rights and needs of women and girls and provide gender-sensitive training to judicial and law enforcement officers (Box 6.7).

Box 6.7. International standards on equal access to justice

Access to justice encompasses the entire process of obtaining redress against the violation of a right: the rights and ability to bring a legal case in front of a judicial authority, benefit from legal aid, access courts, obtain a fair trial with an effective remedy and provide testimony. The right to access to justice and equality between men and women in this regard is guaranteed in international instruments:

The CEDAW (1979) calls on State parties to “accord to women, in civil matters, a legal capacity identical to that of men and the same opportunities to exercise that capacity” (art. 15). Its General Recommendation No. 33 (2015) recalls the “obligations of State parties to ensure that women have access to justice”;
SDG Target 16.3 aims to “promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all”.

Results

In 48 countries, women do not have the same rights and opportunities as men in access to justice. Only 79 countries follow international standards in terms of equal access to justice (Box 6.7) and in 48, a woman’s testimony does not carry the same evidentiary weight as a man’s in some types of court cases. In Indonesia, married women do not have the same rights as men to sue. In the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia, women do not have the same rights as men to hold public office in the judiciary. In 53 countries, customary, religious or traditional practices or laws discriminate against women’s legal rights to provide testimony (16 countries), sue (47 countries) or hold office in the judiciary (20 countries). No progress has been made in this area since 2014.

Non-discriminatory judicial frameworks are insufficient on their own to overcome discrimination in practice. Globally, women and men share the same level of trust in the justice system and courts of their country. However, women represent up to 60% of the persons who do not trust the justice system in Eastern Europe, the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean (Figure 6.5). This is the result of several factors. In many instances, the rule of law does not extend to the private sphere. For example, in 103 countries, women cannot seek legal redress for acts of intimate-partner violence, marital rape or sexual harassment (see Chapter 4 for more information). Other factors include legal pluralism, rules of evidence that accord an inferior status to women’s testimonies, judicial stereotyping and discriminatory attitudes of service providers (UN Women, 2011[9]). The under-representation of women in the judiciary also slows down greater gender sensitivity in this area: only 27% of judges on constitutional courts worldwide are women (World Bank, 2018[10]).

Barriers to access to justice are harder to overcome for some groups of women. Legal pluralism exists in many parts of the world, where populations rely on customary or informal justice systems (non-state legal systems, customary and religious systems incorporated in the state system, or quasi-state mechanisms) (UN Women, 2011[9]). These systems have the advantage of being more accessible, both physically and financially, and provide a means of resolving disputes where state capacity is weak. However, they often suffer from systemic gender biases to the detriment of women: decision-making processes tend to be male-dominated and based on discriminatory social institutions. Other specific situations may create additional barriers to women’s access to justice, when gender intersects with other characteristics such as using a regional or minority language, belonging to a minority group, being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual or intersex (LGBTI), having a disability or living in a remote area.

Box 6.8. Train legal professionals to improve women’s access to justice in Argentina

In 2009, the Argentine Supreme Court created a Women’s Office (Oficina de la Mujer) to incorporate a gender-sensitive perspective into the justice system and eliminate entrenched gender discrimination. The Office carries out several activities including: identifying behaviours, decisions and procedures that reinforce gender stereotyping and discrimination; organising workshops and training sessions for justice professionals; drawing up proposals to promote a gender-equality perspective into the activities of the justice service and in the interpersonal relationships of those working there; communicating its activities; and monitoring compliance of jurisdictional activities with Argentina’s international commitments to gender equality (See Corte Suprema de la Nación Argentina at https://www.csjn.gov.ar/om/index.jsp).

The Women’s Office developed a “Protocol for workshops on justice with a gender equality perspective” to highlight the gender biases of the justice system that need to be addressed. Workshops under the auspices of the Protocol aim to encourage debate on gender issues such as human trafficking and sexual exploitation, domestic violence or patriarchy. The first Protocol was followed by several others and new ones are under development. The Protocol is recognised at the international level and has been copied in six other Latin American countries (Council of Europe, 2016[11]).

Source: Council of Europe (2016), “Towards guaranteeing equal access to justice for women”, https://rm.coe.int/16806a0df8 (accessed on 26 January 2019).

References

[11] Council of Europe (2016), “Towards guaranteeing equal access to justice for women”, Report of the 3rd Conference fo the Council of Europe Network of National Focal Points on Gender Equality, https://rm.coe.int/16806a0df8 (accessed on 26 January 2019).

[6] DHS (n.d.), Demographic and Health Surveys, https://www.statcompiler.com/ (accessed on 27 January 2019).

[4] EIGE (2016), “Advancing gender equality in political decision-making: Good practices”, European Institute for Gender Equality, https://doi.org/10.2839/674468.

[1] Equality Now (2016), The State We're In: Ending Sexism in Nationality Laws, https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/equalitynow/pages/210/attachments/original/1528134344/NationalityReport_EN.pdf?1528134344 (accessed on 26 January 2019).

[8] FIA Foundation; CAF (2017), “Ella se mueve segura- She moves safely: A study on women's personal security and public transport in three Latin American cities”, FIA Foundation Reseach Series, No. 10, FIA Foundation and CAF, https://www.fiafoundation.org/media/461162/ella-se-mueve-segura-she-moves-safely.pdf (accessed on 16 January 2019).

[3] Girlguiding (2018), We See the Big Picture. Girls' Attitudes Survey 2018, United Kingdom, https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/globalassets/docs-and-resources/research-and-campaigns/girls-attitudes-survey-2018.pdf (accessed on 26 January 2019).

[5] OECD Development Centre (2018), Burkina Faso SIGI Country Study, OECD, Paris, https://www.genderindex.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/BurkinaFasoSIGI-20x20-EN-web.pdf (accessed on 27 January 2019).

[7] UCLG (2013), The Equality Agenda of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), United Cities and Local Governments, Barcelona, https://www.uclg-cisdp.org/en/equality-agenda-united-cities-and-local-governments-uclg (accessed on 31 January 2019).

[9] UN Women (2011), Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2011/progressoftheworldswomen-2011-en.pdf?la=en&vs=2835 (accessed on 27 January 2019).

[2] UNHCR (2014), Preventing and Reducing Statelessness. Good Practices in Promoting and Adopting Gender Equality in Nationality Laws, United Nations High Comission for Refugees, https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/protection/statelessness/531a001c9/preventing-reducing-statelessness-good-practices-promoting-adopting-gender.html (accessed on 27 January 2019).

[10] World Bank (2018), Women, Business and the Law 2018, The World Bank Group, Washington, DC, http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/926401524803880673/pdf/125804-PUB-REPLACEMENT-PUBLIC.pdf (accessed on 28 January 2019).

Notes

← 1. Niger (2014), Brazil and Ecuador (2017).

← 2. Egypt, Republic of the Congo (2014), Chile, Croatia, Viet Nam (2015), Mali, Republic of Moldova and Sri Lanka (2016).

← 3. Controlling for attitudes toward female political leaders, female labour force participation, net secondary school enrolment, proportion of women in the total population, GDP and regional dummies.

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