50 Gender and Security Toolkit Image: Judiciary Public Relations Officer Moses Lamin Kamara, Kenema district Okada (Bike rider) Unionist © Ministry of Political and Public Affairs of Sierra Leone. Lessons learned Ê Consider gender from the outset of reform efforts. Even if sensitive, it is essential that efforts to promote gender equality and a gender perspective are integrated into reform processes from inception and throughout. The longer consideration of gender equality is postponed, the less likely it is to be considered and the less likely that efforts will have traction. Waiting for policies to be developed, structures to be built or awareness to be raised before considering gender will be too late. Ê Engage the public early and comprehensively. The opinion of the population needs to feed into legal reform. The public need to be engaged and see that change is occurring. For example, in consultations when people mentioned concerns about pregnant women being held in detention to members of the judiciary who were present, it was possible to address the issue immediately in practice and feed into the drafting of the regulations. Ê Demonstrate responsiveness. Being able to respond quickly and substantively to concerns raised about elements of the justice system can build trust and confidence in the system and reform efforts. Ê Be context-specific. It is of utmost importance that efforts to promote justice or reform the justice sector are context-specific and respond to the specific needs of the people concerned. This necessitates widespread consultations or outreach with a broad crosssection of the public before efforts to reform the law or the justice system begin. In this regard, it is particularly important to ensure that people who may have limited