Gender in justice

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) is an autonomous body of the European Union, established to contribute to and strengthen the promotion of gender equality, including gender mainstreaming in all EU policies and the resulting national policies, and the fight against discrimination based on sex, as well as to raise EU citizens’ awareness of gender equality.

The seat of the European Institute for Gender Equality is in Vilnius (Lithuania). It was officially launched in June 2010. The relevance of gender in the justice policy area should be considered in terms of the following points: access to justice is a human right and an integral aspect of the rule of law; crime is a gender-oriented phenomenon, but the justice system does not equally accommodate women’s and men’s needs; the due diligence principle holds states (and other actors in the police and justice system) responsible for taking measures to fight violence against women (VAW); acknowledging the gender dimension of crime is not only an issue of gender equality and human rights, but also an economic one; women’s representation in decision-making is a matter of justice (political rights).