34211 INTERNATIONALBANK FOR WORLD BANK R E T C N O E N STRUCTION PM AND DEVELO July 2005 No. 76 A regular series of notes highlighting recent lessons emerging from the operational and analytical program of the World Bank`s Latin America and Caribbean Region ENGENDERING JUSTICE: A GENDER ASSESSMENT'S IMPACT ON PROJECT DESIGN Lisa L. Bhansali Services are more efficient and equitable courts, and includes services provided by community- when targeted to the different needs of men based peace judges, alternative dispute resolution and women. A gender assessment, focused on agencies, ministries of justice, police, prosecutors, a specific issue or sector, is a cost effective forensic doctors, social workers, probation officers, tool for improving project performance and legal aid attorneys, public defenders, law schools, bar meeting poor people's needs. associations, legislative committees, and others.) Poor access to justice has long been recognized as a problem in Peru, reflecting factors such as inefficient institutions, costly services, and a disconnect between Background service supply and demand. Justice services are limited--with just 1 judge for Gender equality is an important indica- every 15,000 Peruvians--and tor of a country's progress toward unevenly distributed, affect- sustainable development and is one of ing rural populations dispro- the Millennium Development Goals. Yet portionately. Most courts are World Bank teams often find gender in urban centers, and few equality a difficult concept to include in district court judges are in projects. One solution is to conduct a urban centers, and few dis- targeted gender assessment, which can trict court judges are in rural help ensure that a project design ad- areas. Moreover, the costs of dresses gender concerns and promotes justice services (including equitable access to public services. court and legal fees, transpor- Such an assessment was conducted in tation expenses, and occa- 2001­02 as part of the preparation of sional bribes) are often Peru's Justice Services Improvement unaffordable. Although pro- Project. poor services such as legal aid are available in some cities, Access to justice in Peru they rarely reach rural poor people. The number of public defenders is also grossly in- In 2000­01 Peru's government was in sufficient, with 249 defenders transition, and the country's "justice serving a population of 26.1 sector" was weak. (A justice sector million--more than three- generally extends far beyond the quarters of whom are poor or 1 A gender assessment can help ensure that a While preparing the Justice Services Improvement project design addresses gender concerns and Project, it became clear to the Bank team that many of promotes equitable access to public services. these weaknesses hurt women much more than men. Because Peruvian women are far less educated than men, they are less informed about the law and their legal rights. Their economic dependence on their male extremely poor. Making matters worse, most citizens have partners also discourages them from resorting to the little respect for courts and related institutions, thanks to courts, even in cases of domestic violence. Given protracted, nontransparent procedures that result in unpre- women's family responsibilities, the family court dictable outcomes. Similarly, judicial decisions often ignore system-- with its rules on child custody, marriage the difficulties facing litigants, such as women's economic dissolution, and alimony--is especially important for dependence and litigants' low education levels and diffi- them. Yet that system is especially dys-functional, with culty understanding complex legal procedures, and fail to long trials and uninformed judicial decisions. Given reflect cultural differences, again dissuading users. these preliminary findings, the Bank team decided to conduct a gender assessment as part of the project's preparation, with a focus on identi- BOX 1. GENDER, SERVICE DELIVERY, AND fying access issues and obstacles. JUSTICE The assessment's The World Bank's World Development Report 1997: The State in a methodology Changing World recognizes that the justice system plays an increasingly important role in development and notes that "mecha- nisms for enforcing the rule of law, such as an independent judiciary, A gender assessment in the law and justice are critical foundations for sustainable development" (p. 28). sector includes a review of relevent litera- Although donor agencies and development banks have increased ture, examines the national legal framework their support for legal and judicial reform, those efforts did not begin (including laws and legislation), analyzes with the recognition that the supply of justice services often fails to statistics on the use of judicial services by respond to user demands, including those for greater access. For men and women, and can include interviews example, the World Bank began such efforts in the 1980s through of court users (box 1). The first step in limited legal technical assistance, which was largely designed to understanding obstacles to justice in Peru facilitate the drafting of marketoriented legislation. By the late 1980s was based on the work of both governmen- the broader concept of, and shift in focus to, "good governance" tal and nongovernmental organizations required a more in-depth look at accountability and transparency (NGOs). This work was a surprisingly rich mechanisms and the ways that public services-- including those of source of information, with sophisticated the justice sector--were delivered. analysis of access to justice issues. The link between gender equity and service delivery by legal Another important resource for the gender institutions was made more directly in the Bank's World Develop- assessment was "Uses and Users of the ment Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty. Drawing on examples Justice System in Peru" (González Mantilla of legal discrimination and analysis of disparate treatment by state and others 2002), a Bank-supported analysis institutions of male and female users, the report concluded that "legal of 1,250 cases filed in the judicial district of systems play a key part, either reinforcing customary gender rights Lima--which handles more than half of the and roles--or deliberately seeking to alter them. Also important is country's caseload for civil, labor, and fam- the provision of public goods and services, which often bypass ily matters. The study provided a solid basis women unless specific efforts are made to reach them" (World Bank for statistical analysis of the patterns of 2001b, p. 118). The report also suggests that state institutions need users of these courts. Here the definition of to be more open and accountable, supported by legal systems that the justice sector and its institutions was foster economic growth and equity. Similarly, the report Engender- crucial to determining the scope of the ing Development, which outlines the Bank's gender strategy, gender assessment. Although the judiciary highlights the role of judicial institutions in achieving gender equality. played a paramount role in providing statis- The report says that "efforts to strengthen the enforcement tics and other research, the study was not capabilities of countries' judicial and administrative agencies are limited to a review of one agency's gender critical to achieving gender equality in basic rights" (World Bank responsiveness. 2001a, p. 17). 2 The assessment's findings The assessment revealed that women and men have Poorly functioning judicial systems can different justice needs and tend to use justice services exacerbate gender inequalities and in- based on their societal roles. Men were more likely to crease poverty among women use such services, whether in specialized courts (accounting for 56 percent of those who filed or initiated cases) or courts run by peace justices (58 percent). Men also tended to be the active litigants in support cases and 80 percent of domestic violence commercial, contractual, and credit-related cases. cases were filed by women, the burden of the family When it came to family court litigation, women were courts' shortcomings fell largely on women. In generally the plaintiffs in cases involving child support, seeking legal redress in these cases, women con- domestic violence, and dissolution of marriage, while fronted a number of obstacles--including mistreat- men were usually the defendants in juvenile crime and ment by the authorities, ignorance of applicable laws, child custody cases (figure 1). lack of access to legal counsel, and biased behavior by police officers, prosecutors, and judges who refused to consider domestic violence a serious crime. The types of cases that increasingly concerned the Bank's project team were those involving child support, because they affected the basic needs of poor families. Child support cases mainly refer to the transfer of resources for child care, including goods and services such as housing, clothing, education, food, and health care. One of the main obstacles to resolving such cases was the require- ment that users produce proof of income or assets. According to case files, most parents worked in the informal sector, yet judges tended to be excessively formal, often only accepting payroll certificates as evidence of income. The gender assessment also found that, given the differentiated use of justice services by men and women, the institutional weaknesses of family courts exacerbated gender inequalities in the sector. Women were particularly affected by family courts' slow responses to child support and domestic violence cases. In 2002, when the assessment was conducted, nearly three-quarters of child support cases filed by women in 1998 had yet to be resolved by family courts (figure 2). In cases where a judgment was reached, beneficiaries' ability to convert it into periodic pay- ments was severely limited by enforcement prob- lems--most custodial parents had to pursue additional procedures to collect child support. Similarly, two- thirds of domestic violence cases filed in 1998 had not reached judgment. Given that 83 percent of child Through discussions with lawyers, judges, and plain- Women and men have different justice tiffs, the project team began to recognize the social needs and tend to use justice services impact of judicial decisionmaking as an important area based on their societal roles. for access to justice. For example, judges were often lenient with divorced fathers, assuming that their 3 Further reading Targeting the different needs of men and women can make services more efficient-- and more equitable Faundez, J. 2003. Non-State Justice Systemsin Latin America, Case Studies: Peru and Colombia. University of Warwick, U.K. former wives would remarry and their children would be supported by other men. The gender assessment Golub, Stephen. 2003. "Beyond the Rule of Law found that women face significant obstacles to ac- Orthodoxy: The Legal Empowerment Alternative." cessing justice services--and that when they do Rule of Law Working Paper 41. Carnegie Endowment access these services, inaccurate legal reasoning and for International Peace, Washington, D.C. institutional weaknesses severely limit their ability to obtain justice. González Mantilla, G., J. C. Serván, L. López, and H. Burgos. 2002. El sistema judicial en el Perú: un enfoque analítico a partir de sus usos y usuarios. Lima: Implications for project design Informe de Consultoría para el Banco Mundial. These findings resulted in changes to the project's Mendez, J., G. O'Donnell, and P. S. Pinheiro. 1999. design, including the addition of a component that The (Un)Rule of Law and the Underprivileged in Latin specifically addresses access to justice. This compo- America. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame nent proposes mechanisms to make Peru's justice Press. system more accessible and equitable, with a focus on gender disparities in service delivery at both formal and Messick, Richard E. 1999. "Judicial Reform and informal levels. The project includes financing to train Economic Development: A Survey of the Issues." The lay justices of the peace and community leaders on World Bank Research Observer 14 (1): 117­36. subjects such as mediation techniques and handling of family conflicts, including discussions of gender- UNRISD (United Nations Research Institute for Social related issues. It also seeks to strengthen the opera- Development). 2005. Gender Equality: Striving for tional capabilities of the family court system to deal Justice in an Unequal World--Report Prepared for the more effectively with domestic violence, dissolution of Beijing +10 Conference. Geneva. marriage, and child support cases through technical assistance for the design and implementation of an World Bank. 1992. Country Assistance inventory and referral system, in connection with Strategy:Republic of Peru. Washington, D.C. existing social services in Peru. Finally, during imple- mentation the project team will involve gender special- ------. 1997. World Development Report 1997:The ists in various activities, with a focus on the access State in a Changing World. New York: Oxford Univer- issue. sity Press. ------. 2001a. Engendering Development:Through Conclusion Gender Equality in Rights, Resources, and Voice. New York: Oxford University Press. Efforts to strengthen the enforcement capabilities of countries' justice agencies are critical to achieving ------. 2001b. World Development Report 2000/ gender equality in the application of basic rights, such 2001:Attacking Poverty. New York: Oxford University as due process. As the Peru Justice Services Press. Improvement Project's use of a gender assessment in project preparation shows, access to public services-- About the Authors including justice--is not gender neutral. The assesment showed where the system was failing women and what reforms were needed. While This note was written by Lisa L. Bhansali (Senior Public examining user needs makes service delivery more Sector Management Specialist, Poverty Reduction and efficient, specifically targeting the different needs of Economics Management Unit, LAC Region). The author men and women can make services not only more is grateful for financial support from the Gender and efficient, but more equitable as well. Law Thematic Group and for valuable comments from Maria Elena Ruiz Abril, Milena Sanchez de Boado, and Veena Mayani. 4