This article is written by Violeta Colman, MA in Public Policy, Lawyer. She is a specialist in public policy, gender and human rights, co-founder of the Consultorio Jurídico Feminista in Paraguay, and an active member of the Society of Gender Professionals (SGP). Formerly, she was a gender specialist at the Organization of American States (OAS).

  • The problem: Poor policy design can limit access to justice for women, especially in cases of gender-based violence, resulting in increased risks to women’s lives and a violation of their right to a life free from violence.
  • Why it matters: Violence against women is deeply rooted in culture and systems of inequality that also permeate government institutions and policy design and implementation. Cases of feminicide are often the result of the sum of several errors in the justice system that could have been avoided.
  • The solution: Policymakers can improve access to justice by learning from the knowledge of feminist civil society organisations, especially those working directly with women victims of violence.

Ensuring universal access to justice is fundamental to guaranteeing the rule of law. However, for women, this access is fraught with obstacles often rooted in cultural norms and poor policy design. In Paraguay, the systemic barriers and high levels of impunity in cases of gender-based violence reveal deep-rooted historical discrimination and gender stereotypes. These challenges mean that incidents of gender-based violence are not always perceived as significant by justice officials, and women's complaints are often minimised when they seek access to the judicial protection system.

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The prevalence of gender-based violence in Paraguay is alarmingly high for a country of only 6 million people. Official statistics show that 8 out of 10 women will experience violence at least once throughout their lifetimes. In 2023 alone, there were over 16,000 reports of domestic violence from January to June and 30 feminicide cases until September of 2023. This policy case study highlights efforts from the Consultorio Jurídico Feminista (CJF – Feminist Legal Clinic) to address these issues through data-driven advocacy in Paraguay, drawing critical lessons for public servants and policymakers in other countries.

The case of the Consultorio Jurídico Feminista and its approach to understanding gender-based violence

Founded in 2017 by a group of lawyers and social science professionals, the CJF offers free legal assistance to women using a feminist approach. Recognising the gap between laws designed to protect women’s rights and the struggles to access justice, this team of volunteers aimed not to supplant the State’s role but to equip women with information on rights and practical legal guidance.

Over six years, more than 1,100 individual consultations were systematised and analysed, producing reports that identified the structural barriers in the justice system, particularly in cases of gender-based violence. The CJF evolved its mission to also work on advocacy and dialogue with different government institutions, from policymakers in Congress, the Ministry of Women and the Supreme Court to justice officials overseeing the implementation of laws to prevent and punish violence against women.

Unveiling systemic gaps: Unravelling obstacles hindering access to justice

Over the past 20 years, Paraguayan government institutions launched awareness campaigns and encouraged women to report violence and seek protective measures, effectively sensitising society to this issue. However, when women attempt to access the judicial protection system, they encounter persistent misinformation, victimisation and neglect from justice officials. With each feminicide case, we see that the victims did everything the State told them to do. These women presented complaints numerous times, requested judicial measures and went through the entire protection circuit, including the police, state attorneys and courts, with little to no effect on their safety.

Although the CJF's experience is rooted in Paraguay, it provides valuable insights for policymakers worldwide.

The most recent report by the CJF addressed this situation and identified repeated obstacles deeply rooted in the system because of cultural norms. The findings evidenced a pattern of disbelief from judicial officers, negligence in handling complaints and inconsistent guidance on the legal process. These barriers impeded women's access to justice and kept them vulnerable to further harm from the abusers, who didn’t see major consequences from their actions. In response, it’s necessary to think of practical solutions based on the experiences of women and people on the frontlines of assistance to victims of gender-based violence.

Proposed solutions and impact

The CJF’s report doesn’t just unveil problems; it offers concrete solutions:

  • Information dissemination: Justice officers and women seeking justice are often unaware of the full content of existing laws. Simplifying information, providing useful contacts and a step-by-step guide for legal procedures could change this situation.
  • Education: Combating deeply rooted misconceptions about gender is a long but indispensable process. Therefore, governments should commit to designing and conducting training and education programmes targeting key audiences such as justice operators, school students and the general public. Different audiences will need a different approach.
  • People-centred design: Economic violence is more common than people realise, and it’s pervasive in keeping victims vulnerable to gender-based violence. Implementing policies to support survivors of violence and their families should include focusing on their financial wellbeing.
  • Monitoring and evaluation: When we’re driving in the wrong direction, it’s necessary to reroute. Analysing current policies' positive and negative impacts and the allocated resources allows policymakers to change the course of action when necessary. Policy evaluation should also include easy-to-use reporting channels for victims who encountered poorly performing services and mistreatment from civil servants.

These concrete recommendations seek to dismantle urgent barriers in the short term and work on the root causes in the long term. When facing a systemic failure, we must accept that there isn't a “one size fits all” solution to enhance women's access to justice. Still, data and knowledge generated by the long-standing work of civil society organisations like the CJF exist. Public institutions within Paraguay's protection system can guarantee the rule of law and ensure a violence-free life for all women. This can be done through a state-level inter-institutional commitment to sever the cultural roots and gender stereotypes perpetuating these forms of violence.

Since the publication of the report, the CJF has been working tirelessly to disseminate and advocate its findings. The first objective was to gain support from the press and local journalists to create momentum. The second objective was to engage in dialogue with key stakeholders in the government. By leveraging existing networks and providing specific guidance to policymakers, it was possible to present this research at a public hearing in Congress. Meetings were also held with the Ministry of Women, judges and justice officials. All of these efforts led to the development of training sessions for civil servants who work directly with victims, as well as the distribution of CJF’s recommendations in local courts. The report is now widely shared with civil servants in the justice and protection system and will hopefully serve as a roadmap for effectively protecting women's rights.

This impact wouldn’t have been possible without the data collection and analysis done, which genuinely amplified the voices of women who reached out to the CJF. Understanding their concerns and struggles, creating powerful data-based storytelling, and disseminating the findings to the general public and decision-makers opened a window for policy changes and the shaking up of the status quo that characterises bureaucracy everywhere.

Global relevance and lessons learned

Although the CJF's experience is rooted in Paraguay, it provides valuable insights for policymakers worldwide. The multifaceted approach, which includes data-based policy reforms and collaboration with feminist civil society, serves as a blueprint for tackling gender-based violence beyond borders. It underscores the pivotal role of government agencies and local activists in dismantling cultural norms that perpetuate such violence.

The persistence of barriers hindering women's access to justice is a stark reminder that the challenge transcends legal frameworks deeply embedded within cultural norms. These cultural norms often translate into a deficiency of political will and an unequal distribution of resources. The Consultorio Jurídico Feminista's pioneering work in Paraguay not only signifies progress in addressing these challenges but also serves as a clear call for a unified commitment. It echoes the imperative for transformative change, advocating for a world where justice is unequivocally accessible to all, and where women’s lives and their right to live free from violence are a priority in the public policy agenda.

Link to the report “Barreras y nudos críticos en el tratamiento de las denuncias por violencia basada en género” (in Spanish)

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