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JUSTICE WITHOUT BARRIERS FOR WOMEN
By Alicia G. Kerber Palma
Women's effective access to justice is essential for enforcing the rule of law and human rights. Despite guarantees of gender equality in most constitutions, a significant gap remains between legal promises and real-life protections for women, due to inadequate law enforcement, regulatory gaps, and ongoing discriminatory practices.
One of the biggest obstacles is institutional revictimization. Frequently, when a woman reports a crime (especially sexual offenses), she is questioned in a way that shifts the blame on her behavior, clothing, and her decisions. These practices both discourage victims from speaking up and reinforce harmful gender stereotypes. The lack of gender-sensitive training within the justice system only makes this worse.
Another significant challenge is the limited or unclear legal standard on women's rights. Although international law has advanced remarkably, many judges and justice personnel are unfamiliar with these frameworks and related jurisprudence.
Widespread distrust of justice institutions is another obstacle. In many cases, partners, ex-partners, or family members perpetrate violence against women, making reporting more emotionally and socially complex. This is further complicated for women in ethnic or racial minorities or the LGBTQ+ community.
The challenges grow when they’re related to situations of structural violence, organized crime, or armed conflict. Sexual violence, women and girls trafficking, and labor and sexual exploitation are global issues that especially affect migrant women.
They face extra challenges; their immigration status can become a tool for control and revictimization, making justice harder to access. In trafficking or cross-border domestic violence, poor coordination between states prolongs victims' vulnerable
status.
At the international level, the Inter-American legal framework has played a significant role in strengthening the protection of women's rights. The Belém do Pará Convention transformed the understanding of violence against women by recognizing it as a public problem, not merely a private one.
The Organization of American States (OAS) provides mechanisms to ensure compliance with these commitments. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights offers a resource for women who are denied justice at the national level. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights develops case law. Its judgments not only resolve individual cases but also set binding standards for states.
Still, norms and sentences do not alone transform structural realities. Political commitment is not enough. Effective monitoring and up to date progress measurement mechanisms are essential. These structures should include free and specialized legal assistance. In addition, they must strengthen international cooperation, create cross-border protocols, and launch preventive outreach programs.
Women's access to justice must go beyond the mere ability to file complaints; it requires concrete, prompt, impartial, and effective responses that truly protect rights. Achieving this is essential for making constitutional guarantees a tangible reality for all women.
This March 8th, lest we forget: equality is not to be celebrated as a political statement, but claimed every day as a universal human right, built through the active commitment of each and every one of us.
*Ambassador Alicia G. Kerber Palma, is a member of the Mexican Foreign Service, Consul General of Mexico in San Diego.