: EMPOWERING WOMEN TO ACCESS JUSTICE AND CLAIM THEIR RIGHTS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

IDLO QUARTERLY REPORT

Country Tunisia

Programme Duration 1 January 2019 – 30 June 2021

Donor Government of the Netherlands

Programme Reference Number 4000002132

Programme Value EUR 700,000

Reporting Period 1 January – 31 March 2021

Submitted to the Department for Stabilization and Humanitarian Aid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands

5 July 2021

IDLO | International Development Law Organization Creating a Culture of Justice

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 3 II. PROGRAMME GOAL ...... 3 III. RESOURCES ...... 3 IV. PROGRESS AGAINST PROGRAM OUTCOMES AND OUTPUTS ...... 4 V. CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED ...... 7 VI. CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD ...... 7

The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is pleased to submit this Quarterly Report to the Department for Stabilization and Humanitarian Aid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in conjunction with the required IATI reporting for the programme “Empowering Women to Access Justice and Claim their Rights at the Local Level in Tunisia”, based on the agreement signed between the Department for Stabilization and Humanitarian Aid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and IDLO on 3 December 2018.

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Women in Tunisia continue to encounter barriers in accessing justice and many still lack awareness and knowledge of their rights. Social norms remain an obstacle to legal change, and discriminatory practices on the part of justice sector actors persist. Women, more often than men, tend to seek legal information from informal resources within their families. The lack of a legal framework to effectively address the legal empowerment of women remains a key hindrance to the advancement of women’s right to access justice in practice. Challenges in the administration of justice, such as lack of adequate competences and resources on part of justice sector actors, further compound these complex dynamics. Moreover, the practical application of the normative framework for legal assistance in Tunisia demonstrates the insufficiency of existing legal mechanisms.

Through this programme, the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is providing support to justice stakeholders in strengthening access to justice and legal services for women in the Tunisian Governorates of Tunis and Kef. These Governorates were selected during the inception phase of the programme.

During the reporting period, improvements in the overall public health situation in the country and the easing of the restrictive measures introduced by the Tunisian Government to tackle the spread of the COVID-19 allowed IDLO to make progress towards delivering programme outputs. IDLO organised two (2) multi-sectoral coordination meetings in Governorate on 2 February and 26 March 2021, which brought together psychologists from the Ministry of Social Affairs (MSA), officials from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Women, Family, Children and Seniors (MoWFCS), as well as representatives from relevant civil society organisations (CSOs), to assess the challenges in delivering care services and providing assistance to women victims of violence at the local level. IDLO also organized seven (7) workshop sessions in March 2021 to strengthen the capacity of 163 justice sector actors to ensure access to justice for women victims of gender-based violence (GBV).

On 11 March 2021, IDLO also organised a national event, under the patronage of the Minister of Women, Family, Children and Seniors, and in partnership with the Tunisian Bar Association and the Tunisian Association of Women Judges, to celebrate the International Women’s Day and to launch a sensitisation campaign in the Governorates of Tunis and Kef to raise awareness of women victims of violence on the services available to them and increase their knowledge in legal areas.

II. PROGRAMME GOAL

Strengthen the access of women victims of violence to justice and to the assistance services made available to them by the various government structures.

III. RESOURCES

The total programme budget is EUR 700,000. As at the end of the reporting period, EUR 500,321 have been spent.

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IV. PROGRESS AGAINST PROGRAM OUTCOMES AND OUTPUTS

OUTCOME 1: WOMEN ARE EMPOWERED TO ACCESS LEGAL SERVICES AND CLAIM THEIR RIGHTS IN TWO Output 1: Legal and policy dialogue on the existing system of access to justice and its impact on women advanced

Gather feedback on the results of the needs assessment on women’s access to justice at the local level

During the reporting period, IDLO continued to present the findings of the needs assessment on women’s access to justice at the local level. As a way of background, the needs assessment was conducted in 2019 in cooperation with the Tunisian Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the High Judicial Council (HJC), the Ministry of Social Affairs (MSA) and other key partners such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Legal Foundation (ILF). The assessment aimed to identify and analyse access to justice gaps and challenges faced by women at the local level, and to propose viable recommendations for improvement.

IDLO organised two (2) multi-sectoral coordination meetings in Ben Arous Governorate aimed at stimulating dialogue at the local level to gather additional information on - and recommendations to - address access to justice gaps faced by GBV survivors:

▪ The first meeting was held on 2 February 2021. It brought together eight (8) participants (six women and two men), including psychologists from the MSA, officials from the Ministry of Interior and the MoWFCS.

▪ The second meeting was held on 26 March 2021. The meeting brought together 14 participants (12 women and 2 men), including psychologists from the MSA, officials from the Ministry of Interior and the MoWFCS, as well as representatives from relevant civil society organisations (CSOs).

During both meetings, participants discussed relevant issues such as current challenges and obstacles to women’s access to justice that persist, including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the participants exchanged views on the opportunity to implement a project aimed at fighting violence against women in the Ben Arous Governorate. Discussions revolved around organising a training session on the techniques to do quality project planning, as well as a number of workshops to agree on the activities to be included in the project action plan. More details will be provided in the next quarterly report.

Participants also diagnosed the public health condition in the Governorate and the link between the restrictive measures adopted by the Tunisian Government and the rise of GBV cases as well as their impact on women’s socio-economic situation.

Output 2: Integrated legal aid scheme for women in two governorates of Tunisia

Develop an integrated legal aid scheme for women in two governorates of Tunisia

As mentioned in the previous reporting period, the partnership between IDLO and its implementing partner, Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF), under this activity came to an end in September 2020. Under the sub-project implemented by ASF, 83 legal consultations (in-person and remotely) were provided to 215 individuals, and legal aid support was offered to vulnerable women in 102 cases through court representation in the Governorate of Tunis.

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During the next quarter, IDLO will continue to support delivery of legal aid services in the Governorate of Kef. More details will be provided during the next quarterly report.

Strengthen the capacity of justice sector actors to ensure access to justice for women victims of GBV

IDLO delivered seven (7) workshops in the Governorate of Tunis during the month of March 2021. The participants were selected from among lawyers, representatives of the civil society, officers of the Ministry of Justice, MSA, and MoWFCS.

Workshop date Number of participants 2 March 2021 21 (all women) 3 March 2021 20 (F: 17; M: 3) 4 March 2021 21 (F: 18; M: 3) 5 March 2021 20 (F: 19; M: 1) 9 March 2021 20 (F: 18; M: 2) 10 March 2021 23 (all women) 19 March 2021 38 (F: 25; M: 13)

TOTAL 163 (F: 141; M: 22)

The workshops succeeded in:

▪ Presenting the different care services available for women victims of violence under the Law on Eliminating Violence Against Women (No. 58 of 2017). Participants discussed the support provided by care services as well as units of the MoWFCS and the Ministry of Interior especially in the governorate of Tunis; ▪ Presenting best practices at the national level; ▪ Presenting best practices and lessons learned from a third country (Lebanon) having a similar care system and; ▪ Strengthening networking between the various stakeholders to facilitate access to justice for women victims of violence.

Output 3: Mechanisms to promote better access to socio-economic rights for women survivors of GBV in two governorates developed

Set up a support network to facilitate the economic participation of women survivors of GBV

During this report period, and in coordination with the MoWFCS, the MSA, and other local stakeholders, IDLO promoted the “50 Million African Women Speak” (50MAWS), a digital platform created for women entrepreneurs, available as a mobile application accessible via the Internet. The platform aims to empower millions of African women to create, develop and grow their businesses by providing a one-stop shop for their specific information needs. IDLO encouraged and supported Tunisian craftswomen to register on this platform and developed the IJA application in collaboration with the MoWFCS. IJA is a Tunisian digital mobile application, which geolocates the Tunisian craftswomen and highlights the local trades of 160 vulnerable women in the Governorates of Kef and Tunis.

The 50MAWS platform’s objective is also to facilitate a dynamic and engaging exchange of ideas among women entrepreneurs, using integrated social media features to connect them to each other in ways that 5 promote learning, mentoring, and sharing of information and knowledge within communities and access to financial services and market opportunities between urban and rural areas, as well as across borders and between countries.

It also facilitates access to training, business management tools and financing options specifically for women. The expected outcome is to directly impact 50 million African women and create fair wage jobs for youth as a result of increased business activity and capital flows.

This initiative is in the spirit of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, which specifies the obligations of African states on the promotion and protection of human rights of women and girls.

IDLO and the MoWFCS are working to ensure that the platform can contribute to the implementation of the strategic axes of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 for the empowerment of women and youth, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda as well as the priorities set by the Tunisian Government, particularly in terms of empowerment.

Output 4: Women’s knowledge of their rights and available access to justice mechanisms at the local level increased

Develop and carry out awareness-raising activities for women in two governorates

On 11 March 2021, IDLO organised a national event under the patronage of the MoWFCS, and in cooperation with the Tunisian Bar Association and the Tunisian Association of Women Judges in the Governorate of Tunis, to promote the 50MAWS platform and to launch the awareness-raising campaign on preventing, combating, and eliminating violence against women and children.

A total of 55 participants (48 women and 7 men) attended this event comprising representatives of different stakeholders’ groups, mainly from the field of justice such as judges and lawyers, but also journalists, craftswomen of the Governorate of Kef, women victims of violence and representatives of civil society including activists specialised in the elimination of violence against women.

This event was held to inform and define the overall strategy and activities of the awareness-raising campaign. The campaign will primarily target women and children survivors of violence in order to increase their knowledge on, and capacity to claim, their rights. The campaign will also use an innovative approach that aims to reach men and particularly aggressors and abusers.

The event also provided an opportunity to launch and present the methodology for the upcoming evaluation of the legal aid services and the applicability of the Law No. 58 by women beneficiaries, namely women victims of violence (please refer to the Scorecard activity below).

It should be noted also that several journalists were in attendance and transmitted the event to the general public in Tunisia. This significant media coverage was provided by a dozen of journalists from various and most important national media such as radios, printed and electronic newspapers.1

1 https://fr.allafrica.com/stories/202103180777.html https://lapresse.tn/91234/organisation-internationale-de-droit-du-developpement-idlo-faciliter-lacces-a-la- plateforme-de-lutte-contre-la-violence/ https://radioexpressfm.com/ar/%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B8%D9%85%D8%A9- %D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%84%D9%88-%D8%AA%D8%B7%D9%84%D9%82- %D8%AD%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A9- %D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9- 6

Pilot community scorecards in specific justice facilities in two governorates

During this reporting period, the implementation of this activity was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, during the above-mentioned national event and in line with host-country public health guidance, IDLO was able to hold an in-person workshop with 25 participants including lawyers, judges, and representatives of the MoWFCS in order to improve the methodology for assessing the quality of the legal services and the applicability of the Law No. 58 by the women beneficiaries. During the event, the IDLO ‘scorecard exercise’ was announced and presented. It provides an innovative, bottom-up approach to monitor the quality of legal services provided by a specific judicial structure that affects the lives of GBV victims.

It should be noted that at the time of writing this report, IDLO began conducting the ‘scorecard’ activities (in April 2021). More information will be provided in the next reporting period.

V. CHALLENGES

The impact of COVID-19 on programme implementation: As in the previous reporting period, IDLO faced challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictive governmental measures taken to face it. The general health situation continues to be worrying, and the restrictive measures prevent IDLO from organising activities as originally foreseen: i.e., the number of participants was reduced and the scorecard exercise and the awareness-raising campaign were postponed to next quarter.

VI. CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD

Although the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on programme implementation still persists, IDLO was able to carry out relevant activities. Indeed, IDLO organised two (2) multi-sectoral coordination meetings with relevant stakeholders to analyse the gaps in access to justice faced by GBV survivors.

IDLO also conducted seven (7) workshops to improve capacity of justice sector actors to ensure access to justice for women victims of GBV and held a national event to announce the beginning of the sensitization campaign and the awareness-raising activities in the Governorates of Tunis and Kef, and the launch of the African digital platform for artisans and rural women in Tunisia. IDLO also set the groundwork for the scorecard activities.

In the next quarter, and in coordination with the Ministry of Justice, the MoWFCS and other partners, IDLO plans to complete all remaining programme activities including:

▪ Implementation of legal aid activities in the Governorate of Kef; ▪ Implementation of awareness-raising activities as well as the sensitization campaign in the Governorates of Tunis and Kef; and ▪ Implementation of the pilot community scorecards in specific justice facilities in the two (2) programme governorates.

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TUNISIA: EMPOWERING WOMEN TO ACCESS JUSTICE AND CLAIM THEIR RIGHTS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

IATI PROGRAMME RESULTS JANUARY 2019 - MARCH 2021

Result 1: Integrated legal aid scheme for women in two governorates piloted Type 1 – Output Aggregation No status Title Integrated legal aid scheme for women in two governorates of Tunisia Indicator Number of women survivors/victims of GBV benefiting from developed legal aid scheme Baseline 0 Period January 2019 – March 2021 Target A total of 150 women in the Tunis governorate benefitting from legal aid services Actual 215 Result 2: Capacity of justice sector actors, local governments staff and representatives of CSOs to apply the requirements of the newly developed legal aid system increased Type 1 – Output Aggregation No status Title Integrated legal aid scheme for women in two governorates of Tunisia Indicator Number of legal professionals trained on legal aid Baseline 0 Period January 2019 – March 2021 Target 70 legal professionals trained (35 per governorate) Actual 82 legal professionals trained in the governorates of Kef and Tunis Result 3: Capacity of professionals to ensure access to justice for women victims of violence increased Type 1 – Output Aggregation No status Title Integrated legal aid scheme for women in two governorates of Tunisia Indicator Number of legal professionals trained on access to justice for women victims of GBV Baseline 0 Period January 2019 – March 2021 Target 240 legal professionals (an estimated 120 per governorate) trained Actual 223 legal professionals trained in the governorate of Kef and Tunis.

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