Blog by Hana Smith, SI Global Policy Advisor
SI CSW70 Delegate
The justice gap in conflict settings remains vast, with 60 per cent of women facing unmet legal needs. Violence against women and girls is a never-ending pandemic, with an economic cost of 2.5 trillion US Dollars. For some countries, that cost is now greater than two per cent of the GDP.
The gender justice gap is not inevitable; governance failures have enabled it to become a systemic crisis. Access to justice is not merely a judicial question. It is a question of public policy, social trust, infrastructure, and a commitment to ethics.
Alexander De Croo, UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Administrator, highlighted the few men that were present in the room. Yet solutions require men, too.
The recently published World Bank report *Women, Business and The Law* highlights that women enjoy less than two per cent of legal rights globally. Investing in women’s economic opportunities is essential because while laws matter, the systems that uphold them are just as important. It is imperative that countries invest in legal reform and enforcement, because currently, justice largely does not exist within the justice system.
Monitoring inequalities in disaggregated terms, including gender, is essential – but this requires strengthened pathways to make reporting more accessible. Additionally, justice needs to be built with women, centring survivors and communities to ensure their lived realities are fully recognised under the law. The legitimacy of the rule of law relies on the trust of the people. Indeed, no single democracy can prosper without the trust of women. Without trust, women are unlikely to report their experiences. And without reporting, accountability collapses.
Justice in fragile contexts must be transformative. It must be preventative. Justice is a pillar of democracy, development, and peace – and a powerful instrument for preventing violence.
This issue aligns with Soroptimist International’s focus on empowering women and addressing violence against women. To achieve meaningful change, investment in gender-responsive justice systems is vital.
