Adopt a holistic strategy for reform

Effective justice sector reform requires collaboration between an array of stakeholders, including the judiciary, ministry of justice, traditional and customary systems, parliament, prosecution and investigative authorities (including the police), health professionals (especially those responsible for forensic evidence collection and medical documentation of injuries), lawyers associations, legal assistance, corrections/prisons, other ministries including the ministry of the interior and women’s ministries, law schools, civil society organizations, including women’s groups, religious groups, and non-governmental organizations. Strategies for reform should reflect an awareness of comprehensive access to justice issues, including how changing norms (law, policies, customs, and traditions), increasing the capacities and knowledge of users of the system, increasing the capacities and knowledge of functionaries of the system, and changing the ways in which key structures operate all can contribute to improving access. See the Programme Planning and Design section for more information on capacity development. A holistic approach that addresses physical access, such as establishing courts in rural areas or developing mobile courts that travel to remote areas on a regular schedule, financial access such as eliminating all costs and fees for cases involving violence against women, and the likelihood of access to the justice system, such as ensuring that women know their rights, should inform programming.