- If the advocacy effort will call upon a government entity to make a change in current law, policy, procedure or regulation; then those responsible should thoroughly review the structure of the government in order to understand the system, procedures and power bases which will affect the effort. Differences in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government will affect advocacy efforts. Advocates should thoroughly examine the balance of power between the branches of government and the designated role for each branch. Such study will help to inform the advocacy strategy.
- For example, when working on a draft domestic violence law in the Republic of Armenia, advocates examined the form of parliamentary government, the procedural rules of the parliament, and the typical and most workable ways of introducing legislation including through individual parliamentarians or through executive branch officials.
- In some countries, not all parliamentarians may be elected. Rather, they may be appointed by a political party, in which case the ability of citizens to impact those parliamentarians may be lessened. On the other hand, advocates with strong ties to a particular party may find they have the ability to discuss the advocacy goal with leaders in the party who may in turn, ask parliamentarians in that same party to support the advocacy goal. Whether legislators are elected directly or indirectly or appointed by political parties will influence how much NGOs may influence the process and at what point in the process NGOs may intervene.
Compliance with National, Regional and International Laws
- In addition to understanding the structure of the government, advocates should conduct a review of the particular country’s compliance with international, regional and national laws. Such compliance, or the lack thereof, may form an excellent foundation for arguments for the proposed advocacy goal. For example, while many countries have signed the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and may also have signed a regional treaty prohibiting violence against women such as the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women (Belem do Para); they may not have ensured that the principles of such conventions were embodied in existing or new national or local laws.
- A state must protect women and girls in its territory from violence whether it is committed by a public or private actor. States must also comply with international standards to protect individuals from violence during peacetime or during conflicts and war. (See: Making Rights a Reality: Campaigning to Stop Violence Against Women, Amnesty International, 8, 2004) A state may not use culture as a justification for violence against women and girls.
- Advocates should review the following key legal documents prior to working to change legislation on violence against women and girls in any country. These documents may provide both legal arguments for a proposed change and strategies for advocacy:
- National Constitution
- National Election Law
- National Immigration and Asylum Law
- National Laws on Violence Against Women and Girls
- National Plans to address Violence Against Women and Girls
- National or Local Criminal/Penal Codes
- National or Local Criminal Procedure Codes
- National or Local Civil Codes
- National or Local Administrative Codes
- Official Policies of the Police, Prosecutors and Courts
- Regional Treaties and Agreements
- International Treaties and Agreements
- International Human Rights Law
- International Humanitarian Law
- International Criminal Law
- Advocates should carefully analyze each of these categories of legal instruments asking critical questions about the protection of the human rights of women and girls provided in existing legislation, the extent to which the government is upholding or denying those rights. Advocates may review a number of important questions to ask about national legislation, international human rights law, international humanitarian and criminal law, and regional human rights treaties. (See: Making Rights a Reality: Campaigning to Stop Violence Against Women, Amnesty International, 8-11, 2004)
- Advocates may also want to review any national laws on freedom of access to information available through the online network of freedom of information advocates. This online resource has country pages, which provide links to the relevant sections of the constitution and national laws on the topic. (See: The Online Network of Freedom of Information Advocates, 2009)
- Global Rights, in Legislative Advocacy Resource Guide: Promoting Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, discussed the freedom of access to information law and its power to gain access to governmental information needed in advocacy efforts. While recommending that the first request should be an informal one, through established contacts within the government, subsequent requests may rely upon such a law. (See: Legislative Advocacy Resource Guide: Promoting Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Global Rights, 43, 2005)
CASE STUDY: The case of Uganda v. Matovu highlights the important role played by the courts in ensuring that national laws, including at the level of rules and procedures, comply with international legal obligations. In Uganda, a common law rule dictated that when a victim claims that a defendant has committed a sexual offense against her, the court must recognize that it is dangerous to act upon the uncorroborated evidence of the victim. Accordingly, the court must undertake additional verification so as to satisfy itself that the victim is a truthful witness. The judge in the case of Uganda v. Matovu, ruling on the issue of a young man accused by a woman of “defilement” found that this rule of evidence was discriminatory against women and was based on a biased assumption that women and girls are likely to lie about sexual violence. The judge recognized that this rule was a violation of Uganda’s obligation not to discriminate under CEDAW as well as a violation of Uganda’s constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law. The defendant in the case was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. This case makes clear the importance of considering a wide range of laws, policies, and rules for compliance with international law. In particular, ensuring that judges have accurate information about how laws, policies, and procedural rules may violate international obligations is critical to protecting women from violence. See: Jurisprudence of Equality Program Decisions, International Association of Women Judges; Global Justice Center, Legal Tools for the Establishment of Gender Equality through International Law, 18 (2007).