Recent policy frameworks on access to justice and GBV: SDGs, Generation Equality and Our Common Agenda

There is a wealth of women’s rights standards that guide national and local policies on access to justice and GBV. While GBV and access to justice were missing from the previous Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide clear direction for addressing GBV and strengthening access to justice. The SDGs include a clear commitment to eliminate the different forms of violence that routinely undermine women’s and girls’ enjoyment of human rights (Targets 5.2, 5.3, 11.7, 16.1 and 16.2). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, specifically SDG 5.2, identifies the elimination of GBV in the public and private spheres as critical to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women, which in turn is essential for sustainable development. Eliminating GBV through policy action is critical for achieving gender equality as well as many of the other commitments reflected in the 2030 Agenda.96 Eliminating IPV, for example, not only contributes to the promotion of healthy lives (Goal 3) but also supports women’s rights to work and income security (Goals 1 and 8). Likewise, the eradication of child, early and forced marriage will not only enhance women’s sexual and reproductive health (Goal 3), but also ensure that girls complete primary and secondary education, a precondition for effective learning outcomes (Goal 4). Conversely, addressing many of the targets across the 2030 Agenda will contribute to the elimination of violence against women and girls (VAWG). For example, the promotion of safe and secure working environments (Target 8.8) and the provision of safe public spaces and transport (Targets 11.2 and 11.7) can reduce sexual harassment, while registering girls at birth and recording marriages (Target 16.9) can provide legal evidence to help prevent child, early and forced marriage.

Developed with a vision to accelerate progress towards these goals, the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender-based Violence offers a unique and strategic platform for advancing cross-sectoral efforts to address GBV against women and girls in all their diversity. The Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality97 that was launched at the Paris Forum in 2021 includes a clear action plan over five years with concrete and ambitious targets including “550 million more women and girls live in countries with laws and policies prohibiting all forms of gender-based violence”, “100 countries have built law enforcement capacity to address genderbased violence”, “55 more countries have outlawed child marriage”, and “double national and international funding to women’s rights organizations, activists and movements working to address genderbased violence against women and girls in all their diversity.”

Most recently, the United Nations Secretary-General’s report, Our Common Agenda, 98 is an agenda of action designed to strengthen and accelerate multilateral agreements, particularly the 2030 Agenda, and it develops the commitments made by the United Nations Member States in the General Assembly Declaration on the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, including to eradicate VAWG and abide by international law and ensure justice.