Webinar - Use of Legal Clinics and Mobile Courts to Enhance Access to Justice for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence
Women's Rights and Access to Justice in Malawi and Mozambique
Both Malawi and Mozambique Constitutions provide for the rights of women as well as gender equality. They guarantee equity and non-discrimination on the basis of sex or gender. The two countries have also promulgated progressive policies and legislation, such as the Gender Equality Act in Malawi, or the Law on Domestic Violence Perpetrated Against Women, in Mozambique.
Despite progressive policies and laws, women and girls in both countries continue to lag behind, due to lack of access to education, health or justice, among other reasons. Additionally, women and girls continue to be the main targets of gender-based violence.
Data shows that a critical issue which is grappling both Malawi and Mozambique, is the redress needed when there has been a violation of women’s and girls' rights, including gender-based violence. Although both countries' constitutions provide that every person has the right to access justice for the redress of human rights violations or for the enforcement of their rights, women in both countries continue to face multiple barriers to access the formal justice system. Particularly affected are women living in remote areas, poor women and women with disabilities.
Furthermore, formal institutions are typically located far from rural communities. Even when women succeeed in reproting report human rights violations, the cases are often not filed or are withdrawn due to lack of capacity to address the violations and bring justice for the complainant, among other reasons.
This is why it is so important to bring information and legal services - such as moibile courts and legal clinics - to where the people are.
Webinar Objectives
Clarify the critical and urgent need for enhancing access to justice for gender-based violence across hard to reach communities
Present the mobile-court methodologies in Malawi and Mozambique and its challenges
Identify examples of transformative change processes and how they are captured in evaluation in the context of the Spotlight Initiave
Identify the way forward for the countries as well as the African Region in terms of access to justice
Organisations involved
Malawi: The WOJAM Justice Consortium
Mozambique: The MULEIDE Consortium and the Mozambican Association of Legal Career Women
