25/06/2026 Session
“Genuine access to justice for all women and girls, in all their diversity, must be guaranteed without discrimination on any ground,” PACE said today during an urgent debate, emphasising that women are still often denied access to legal remedies and redress.
According to the parliamentarians, the barriers women face to access justice stem from “economic and social inequalities, as well as gender bias and gender stereotypes within the justice system”. Furthermore, “legal, institutional and socio-cultural barriers generate women’s lack of trust in the justice system, leading to high levels of under-reporting and attrition”, in particular amongst certain groups of women exposed to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, they added.
In order to tackle the barriers to women’s access to justice, PACE proposed a set of measures in a resolution, concerning in particular the establishment of “gender-sensitive and gender-responsive justice systems”. Member states should, notably, strengthen institutional co-ordination between law enforcement, courts, prosecution services, legal aid and social services, to ensure timely and effective responses to the women’s needs in accessing justice.
The resolution, presented by Aysu Bankoğlu (Turkey, SOC), also sets out recommendations for improving access to justice for women and girls victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence. In this context, PACE has called on member states, in particular, to address the reasons for the low rates of prosecution and conviction in cases of violence against women – including the reasons and obstacles behind the low reporting rates – to provide victims with accessible information on their rights and on how to access justice, and to guarantee them effective access to legal aid.