Help Women Access Justice

Happy 2014! In our effort to provide relevent and meaningful programs, and understanding that poverty is a result of inequality in many spheres, we are focused on hosting our Access to Justice for Women training in May. Our goal is include 100 women in the week long initiative. The training inlcudes: 

Access to Justice Framework:

Activism: workshops, community events, outreach, awareness and ACTION! 

Introduction to Initiative:

To address violence against women, gender bias, inequality and gaps in the justice chain for women, this initiative strives to provide the critical information and resources, enabling women to know their legal and human rights within the justice system. 

Making the justice chain work for women is critical for their access to justice, but huge obstacles exist at every level. Governments have a responsibility to ensure legislation is not only passed but enacted guaranteeing women's rights, ensuring a justice chain that is gender responsive.

Justice is the foundation ensuring women become equal participants in decision making, development and their own futures. Without access to justice, women are disenfranchised and disempowered, experiencing violence, abuse and inequality. This initiative demands that women are viewed not as victims but as agents of change for social and economic justice.

 *Provide relevant information, solutions, and community collaborations

Goals of Initiative:

-Define and address discrimination

-Create an action plan; using grassroots organizing strategies, exploring informal mechanisms (hotline, peace huts)

-Ensure government is held accountable for enforcement/ impact of laws- oversight mechanisms

Initiatives such as this addresses systemic failures and provides ongoing mechanisms in addressing inequalities, challenges and obstacle for women and families in vulnerable communities. It also provides women with leadership opportunities, and empowerment opportunities. 

This training includes the vehicle for an ongoing hotline and community activism; also, women will go back to their villages and provide training and information to women who did not attend. The spirals of this initiative will provide ongoing opportunities, enabling thousands of women a brighter and more secure future. 

We need and appreciate your ongoing commitment and support! Thank you. 

Peace, 

karen

This October, we had a meeting in Gulu to discuss ongoing leadership development trainings, beginning with the Access to Justice for Women initiative in April of 2014. We have also joined forces with Gulu University and the African Justice Project to ensure a relevant, meaningful and ongoing dialogue around the issues of justice as they unfold as the post conflict region recovers. 

The dialogue at the meeting was lively, with 15 women leaders from Women's Global Empowerment Fund, Professors, scholars, and community leaders creating the framework for ongoing dialogue and strategies for 2014. In addition, we gave out two Women 4 Peace Awards at a community dinner. Please read the attached description of one of our winners, who is not only courageous but inspirational, fighting for justice for formerly abducted women and children. 

The goal of the Access to Justice for Women initiative is to ensure women know and understand their legal and human rights, have confidence to access the legal system, and what to do when they experience breakages in the justice chain. 

Having a legitimate and working justice system in the foundation of society, but often times women are marginalized and cannot properly access justice or the legal mechanisms. Our aim is to change that dynamic thru dialogue, education and action. 

We invite you to support this critical program, and thank you for your ongoing encouragement and commitment to social justice. 

Peace.

• Award citation (DOC)