8 Gender and Security Toolkit Integrating a gender perspective in the justice sector Integrating a gender perspective in the justice sector is about ensuring gender is attended to in all aspects of the justice system. UN Women describes a “gender perspective” as: … a way of seeing or analyzing which looks at the impact of gender on people’s opportunities, social roles and interactions. This way of seeing is what enables one to carry out gender analysis and subsequently to mainstream a gender perspective into any proposed program, policy or organization.3 “Gender mainstreaming” is a process of assessing the implications for men, women, girls, boys and persons of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions of any planned action – whether it be policy development, legislative reform, restructuring of institutions, training or other programmes. As defined by the UN Economic and Social Council, gender mainstreaming is a strategy for making the concerns and experiences of men, women, girls, boys and persons of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions an integral part of the design, implementation and evaluation of any action, in order to ensure that all benefit equally and that inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate aim of gender mainstreaming is, therefore, to achieve gender equality.4 In the justice sector, this means achieving “gender justice” (see Box 1). Box 1: Gender justice Justice can be said to refer to accountability, fairness and protection of rights. For the purpose of this Tool, by “gender justice” is meant the protection of the rights of everyone irrespective of their sex or gender identity or gender expression, and the prevention and punishment of GBV and gender-based discrimination. It also refers to a system of law and its application which is non-discriminatory and fair, and thus gender responsive. In other words, the justice system is attentive to lived realities of men, women and people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions. Gender justice directly contributes to the promotion of gender equality and to security and the rule of law. In this Toolkit, “gender perspective” thus means seeing and analysing the impact of gender roles, gender stereotypes and gendered power structures in society and in institutions. This includes seeing and analysing how gender in relation to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression affects men, women, boys, girls and persons of other gender identities. This Toolkit uses the term “integrating a gender perspective” to underscore the importance of taking action, beyond assessment and analysis. Gender equality Gender equality means that the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of individuals will not depend on whether they are born male or female, and stipulates the equal right of women and men to opportunities and resources irrespective of their gender or the sex with which they were born.5 Achieving gender equality includes a positive obligation to address the underlying causes and structures of gender inequality (“transformative equality”), including discriminatory norms, prejudices and stereotypes, and the transformation of institutions that perpetuate discrimination and inequality. In the context of the justice sector, gender equality means that women and men should have equal opportunities to participate in the development and application of the law, to have their rights equally protected and promoted, and to have their needs equally addressed.* Gender inequality remains pervasive and systemic in all societies. It sustains and is sustained by violent practices, including GBV. Integrating a gender perspective in the justice sector can provide more equal recourse to justice and equality under the law. This, in turn, helps to redress inequalities that enable the perpetuation of violence, thereby transforming gender * The concept of gender equality is discussed in greater depth in Tool 1 on “Security Sector Governance, Security Sector Reform and Gender”.