New United Nations report: Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls
In January 2026, the United Nations report “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices, and addressing structural barriers” was published, providing an overview of the key factors influencing women’s and girls'access to justice: Discriminatory legal frameworks, social norms, gaps between laws and implementation, traditional justice systems independent from the state, and conflict settings all serve to reinforce inequalities and prevent advancing meaningful justice for women.
Furthermore, the report details the progress made in relation to the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Lastly, the report concludes with recommendations made by the Commission on the Status of Women, including, ratifying all international human rights instruments and optional protocols, undertake comprehensive legislative reviews of national legal frameworks, institutionalize gender-impact assessments and post-enactment evaluations.
The report recommends that justice systems must be guided by the lived realities, needs, and rights of women and girls, focusing on institutions that are accessible, timely, affordable, and solution-oriented.
Concerning the recommendations made, Sarah Hendriks, Director, Policy, Programme & Intergovernamental Division at UN Women, stated that judicial reforms must be “shaped by women and shaped for women”.
Effective legal aid services must be accessible for all women and girls, including specialized lawyers for responding to violence against women and legal aid provision for marginalized groups.
During a debriefing in New York, Ms Hendriks also stated: “As the world navigates democratic backsliding, rising conflicts, economic pressures and shrinking of civic space, there is an increasingly organised pushback at gender equality and regression of women's rights,”, “Justice systems do not stand apart from those pressures, they actually reflect them,”, “Far too often impunity prevails,”, “when justice fails women and girls, the damage goes far beyond any single story, any single woman's life. Communities lose faith, public trust erodes and justice institutions lose legitimacy”.