This study explores some of the challenges and solutions for women’s access to justice in diverse
legal systems. It shows that women face structural and cultural barriers to accessing justice – insufficient knowledge of rights and remedies, illiteracy or poor literacy, and lack of resources or time to participate in justice processes.
Focusing on legal empowerment as a way to improve both access to justice and the quality of justice women receive, the study presents strategies and best practices in both formal and informal
justice systems. Legal empowerment approaches share one core concept: using the law to enable disadvantaged groups to access justice and realize basic rights.
They include legal education; legal aid services; support for non-discriminatory disputeresolution
fora to complement or supplement informal systems; training of paralegals; and rights awareness.
