Tool 2: Policing and Gender
Capacity building beyond formal training should also occur, such as providing guidance
on how to build effective working relationships with stakeholders, develop networks and
communicate and engage with diverse communities. Technological skills may need to be
enhanced (when using technology to protect the anonymity of complainants in sensitive
cases, for instance).
An international initiative which can be integrated into training is the Feminist Judgments
Project. This engages feminist lawyers to rewrite judgments from a feminist perspective,
applying different reasoning or different conclusions within the bounds of the same legal
codes. The project helps demonstrate how much the perspective or world-views of the
judge or lawyer can impact upon the implementation of the law.16
Judicial and legal professionals, who often come from privileged social strata, may be
unfamiliar with the experiences of marginalized groups, including people with physical
disabilities. In BiH the NGO Atlantic Initiative has invited people with disabilities to training
workshops for judicial professionals, which has enabled a better understanding of the
experiences and challenges they face in accessing justice. For instance, in one workshop a
blind woman spoke about the vulnerabilities of women with disabilities in relation to GBV.
In another, the mother of a child with profound disabilities spoke of the challenges faced
in divorce and custody cases where standard solutions and amounts of alimony commonly
awarded by judges are ill-fitted to families of children with disabilities.
4.10 Creating a more representative and responsive justice sector
To develop a justice sector which is representative of the people it serves, it is necessary to
identify and remove any barriers standing in the way of equality of opportunity or equality of
treatment. Barriers can be assessed through analysis and research, as discussed in sections
4.1 and 4.2.
Addressing barriers to equal participation of women (and other underrepresented groups)
or particular groups of women (such as indigenous or ethnic minority women) in the justice
sector requires measures such as:
Ê setting targets for equal participation of women and men, ideally aiming for 50/50,
and for participation of specific underrepresented groups of women and men
Ê initiatives addressing recruitment, retention and advancement of women and
underrepresented groups
Ê internal and external recruitment campaigns targeting women from a wide range of
backgrounds
Ê scholarships for women to attend law school and gain other legal education or training
Ê incentives, policies or practices that support justice professionals who are primary or
sole caregivers, such as flexitime, remote working and childcare facilities, or simply
a professional culture that takes their need to look after children or parents into
account in the scheduling of hearings, meetings, travel, etc.
Ê support for associations of women and LGBTI justice professionals
Ê comprehensive efforts to address sexist institutional culture, gender bias and
discrimination among judges, lawyers and court administrators, including the
establishment and support of effective monitoring mechanisms (see section 4.14 on
oversight)
Ê initiatives to promote women’s advancement, such as professional development and
training opportunities for women, mentoring schemes and peer support mechanisms.
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