30 Gender and Security Toolkit 4.1. Conditions for success The measures suggested in this Tool are not guarantees of success that, once put in place, obviate the need for continued work. In fact, these measures will be successful in contributing to gender equality only where certain conditions are present. Justice reform, like any change, can be challenging at individual, organizational and structural levels. It must be approached sensitively, and be informed by research, analysis and planning. It is of fundamental importance that all change efforts – including those to advance gender justice – are context-specific, inclusive, locally owned and openly communicated. A deep understanding of the context, including the political economy and social or cultural norms, is necessary to ascertain what needs to be done, what can be done (and how) and what interdependencies there are (and what other measures need to be taken to ensure success). Understanding context and politics helps to identify barriers and opportunities, who has power to effect or block change and who may have vested interests. A gendered political economy analysis examines how gender intersects with the distribution of power and resources and ensures that gendered power relations and inequalities inform analysis and, in turn, are addressed in planning and programming. This is needed to ensure all engagement is not only context-specific but responds to the specific needs of women, men, girls, boys and LGBTI people in a particular place. More broadly, any reform effort needs to engage with deeper social change processes to understand how power is negotiated and rights mediated. Flexibility and responsiveness to changing dynamics and structures are also necessary, integrating continued learning and reflection.1 In any context, change can unsettle the distribution of power and other resources, and so can be resisted. In politically difficult contexts, and in conflict-affected or other insecure environments, the challenges are manifold. In these contexts, long-term strategies are required to identify the incremental steps required to create a more favourable environment for change, as well as investment in developing networks that can help support the case for change. 4.2 Building an evidence base for gender justice reform To understand the context for justice reform and create an evidence base, analysis should be made of men’s and women’s different experiences of the justice system and how gender bias and discrimination operate. Gender analysis might assess such elements as: Ê sex-disaggregated data on what types of cases are brought to court, what outcomes they have and whether certain cases (or cases involving certain types of complainants or defendants) have particularly high attrition or low conviction rates Ê recruitment, retention and promotion of particular groups as judicial and legal practitioners and court personnel Ê justice sector budget and funds allocated to promoting gender equality and improving access to justice or equal representation Ê role of actors beyond the justice system in regard to gender justice; for instance, police, healthcare professionals and social workers. In conducting gender analysis, attention should always be directed to intersectionality – the interplay of gender discrimination with factors such as poverty, religion and ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation and gender identity.* * This and other aspects of gender analysis are discussed in Tool 15, “Integrating Gender in Project Design and Monitoring for the Security and Justice Sector”.