Since the early 1990s there has been international recognition of the problem of gender-based violence and awareness that this impairs the ability of women and girls to access and enjoy all the rights that should be available to them as afforded under international law.
The ICJ produced this Guide as part of an ongoing project on empowering legal practitioners and human rights defenders seeking justice for women. Woven into the Guide are commentaries, reflections and recommendations from legal advocates and women human rights defenders from their experiences in this area.
The Guide provides information about regional and international law and standards relevant to gender-based violence, advice on implementing these standards as part of domestic law reform and examples of existing good practice in seeking protection for women.
It also contains a summary of some leading academic literature and civil society commentary and research, signposting users to other in-depth sources where these may be potentially relevant. Finally, it addresses the practical issues that are faced by women who have been subject to gender-based violence and the steps that are necessary to secure their access to justice in practice.
Summary adapted from source.