Promote rights-based education and awareness

Social acceptance of violence against women is pervasive worldwide, particularly in the case of domestic violence. Acceptance of violence is perpetuated when women and girls are unaware of their rights under the law and when social attitudes that perpetuate violence remain unchallenged. Rights-based education, for women and for communities as a whole, is an important component of justice sector reform as it prepares women to claim their rights and advocate on their own behalf. Justice sector reform programmes must be cognizant however of the fact that two-thirds of adult women in the world are illiterate, making rights-based education for women and girls a unique challenge (UNESCO, 2008). Rights-based education for women, girls, and their communities can nevertheless be effective in changing attitudes and slowly reversing social norms that restrict their access to justice. An important component of this process is education which provides an understanding of children’s rights under the law. Rights-based education must be paired with provision of strong and effective services, so that women who become aware of their rights have avenues through which to claim them.