Resource Pack for Orientation of Justice Sector Stakeholders

This Resource Pack for Orientation of Justice Sector Stakeholders has been developed by UN Women Pakistan to orient justice sector officials in Pakistan for understanding the process of legal aid/ assistance/ advice, client handling, and management of cases of Gender-Based Violence for better dispensation of justice. It details pro-women laws and legislative provisions and serves as a reference guide that can be adapted to respond to the needs of each particular audience.

It aims to help the justice sector stakeholders in understanding that violence against women is not just a personal matter but a structural/ institutional issue, because it holds back half of the population from achieving their basic human rights and reaching their full potential. Secondly, violence against women and girls is in violation of Pakistan’s international commitments, national and provincial laws and constitutional guarantees. And finally, that violence against women and girls is incorrectly justified under layers of cultural and religious explanations and defenses and only the judiciary has the capacity to unwrap and disassociate it from culture or tradition.

Objectives

• To increase awareness and knowledge of GBV/ VAW, its forms and underlying dynamics, and influence attitudes and behaviors.
• To enhance understanding of laws and legal provisions relating to GBV/ VAW in Pakistan.
• To equip justice sector officials for improved handling of GBV/ VAW cases by providing them with appropriate tools for ensuring proper, fair and full access to justice.
• To prepare the participants for responding to survivors of violence in a gender-sensitive, supportive and empathetic way.

This Resource Pack contains 3 substantive Sections, including sessions on different topics. Each section begins with overall guidance to the facilitator on the methodology for conducting the session. This is followed by an elaboration of key concepts including definitions and relevant legislations. Definitions falling under case law are further elaborated to understand the laws in light of their interpretations in previous cases. There is then an explanation of the elements of GBV/ VAW under the respective laws. Lastly, case studies are provided for some sub-sections as per the requirement of the methodology.

The Resource Pack is meant to be a contribution towards building a better understanding of structural violence and the capacity and commitment of the justice sector to address gender-based violence. It further aims to improve ways in which GBV/ VAW survivors can access justice sector institutions and individuals with more ease and convenience.