Handbook for the Judiciary on Effective Criminal Justice Responses to Gender-based Violence against Women and Girls Cover photo: ©iStock.com/Berezko UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME Vienna Handbook for the Judiciary on Effective Criminal Justice Responses to Gender-based Violence against Women and Girls UNITED NATIONS Vienna, 2019 © United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2019. All rights reserved. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitations of its frontiers or boundaries. Mention of firm names and com- mercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations. Publishing production: English, Publishing and Library Section, United Nations Office at Vienna. Acknowledgements The Handbook for the Judiciary on Effective Criminal Justice Responses to Gender-based Violence against Women and Girls has been prepared for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) by Eileen Skinnider, Associate, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy. A first draft of the handbook was reviewed and discussed during an expert meeting held in Vienna from 26 to 30 November 2018. UNODC wishes to acknowledge the valuable suggestions and contri- butions of the following experts who participated in that meeting: Ms. Khatia Ardazishvili, Ms. Linda Michele Bradford-Morgan, Ms. Aditi Choudhary, Ms. Teresa Doherty, Ms. Ivana Hrdličková, Ms. Vivian Lopez Nuñez, Ms. Sarra Ines Mechria, Ms. Suntariya Muanpawong, Ms. Vera N. Nkwate Ngassa, Ms. Luong Ngoc Tram, Ms. Maria Domitila Prado Manssur, Ms. Karla Irasema Quintana Osuna, Mr. Gerhard Reissner, Mr. Igor Vuletić and Ms. Jacoba Wessels. UNODC also wishes to acknowledge the support provided by the International Association of Women Judges, the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association and the Global Judicial Integrity Network in identifying relevant experts and distributing a questionnaire among their mem- bers, many of whom provided valuable information. The following UNODC staff contributed to the development of this resource book: Claudia Baroni, Sven Pfeiffer, Marisol Aguilar, Anika Holterhof, Jee Aei Lee, Minh Nguyen Nguyet, Pascale Reinke-Schreiber and Wendy O’Brien. Comments and input were also provided by Evelyn Edroma of the United Nations Development Programme, Claudia Garcia Moreno and Megin Reijnders of the World Health Organization, as well as by the Women’s Human Rights and Gender Section of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. UNODC gratefully acknowledges the funding provided by the Government of Sweden for the development of the Handbook for the Judiciary on Effective Criminal Justice Responses to Gender- based Violence against Women and Girls. III Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................. iii Abbreviations and acronyms .................................................................. vii Glossary of terms ............................................................................... ix Introduction ..................................................................................... 1 1. The need for this handbook .................................................................. 1 2. Purpose and scope of the handbook. 2 3. What does the handbook cover? .............................................................. 4 Part one: Conceptual framework underpinning an effective judicial response to gender-based violence against women and girls ............................................. 7 1. Information needed for a context-driven analysis ............................................... 8 2. International commitments underpinning a judicial response to gender-based violence against women and girls �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 38 Part two: Effective responses in criminal cases involving gender-based violence against women and girls: the role of judges ............................................................ 57 1. The oler of judges in protecting victims during the criminal process. 57 2. The oler of the judge while interacting with victims ............................................. 67 3. Evidentiary issues ............................................................................ 82 4. Incorporating a gender perspective into judicial decision-making ................................ 99 5. The oler of judges in sentencing ............................................................... 117 6. Other considerations for judges. 125 Part three: Effective institutional practices to address gender-based violence against women and girls: examples of good practices by the judiciary .............................. 137 1. Gender- and victim-responsive courts ......................................................... 137 2. Improving judicial capacity: training and capacity development ................................. 143 3. Efficient justice service delivery: good practices in case and courtroom management ............. 146 4. Promoting gender equality within the judicial system ........................................... 153 5. Secondary or vicarious trauma among the judiciary ............................................ 159 6. Accountability and standards of conduct ...................................................... 160 Annex: Additional resources ............................................................................165 V Abbreviations and acronyms ADR alternative dispute resolution ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CAT Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment CODI Committee on Decorum and Investigation CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CETS Council of Europe Treaty Series CRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities CSO civil society organizations DV domestic violence DVICM Domestic Violence Intervention Court Model ECHR European Court of Human Rights ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean EHDVS Emma House Domestic Violence Services EVAW ending violence against women FMG/C female genital mutilation/cutting FJA Federal Judicial Affairs GBVAWG gender-based violence against women and girls GR general recommendation GRKWG gender-related killing of women and girls HEUNI European regional institute in the United Nations Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention programme network IAWJ International Association of Women Judges ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights IDVA independent domestic violence advisers IPV intimate partner violence JCCD Judicial Council on Cultural Diversity JEP Jurisprudence of Equality Programme LGBTI lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex NGO non-governmental organization OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights OSF Open Society Foundation PHILJA Philippine Judicial Academy SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SDGs Sustainable Development Goals SGBV sexual and gender-based violence UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNV United Nations Volunteers UN Women United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women VAW violence against women VII VOM victim-offender mediation WA2J Women’s Access to Justice WCC Women’s Centre for Change, Penang WHO World Health Organization VIII Glossary of terms Bail hearings is a judicial proceeding where the court determines if a person charged with a criminal offence should be released on conditions pending trial, including cash bail or bond. Committal hearing is a hearing where a judge or magistrates decides if the prosecution has enough evidence for a criminal case to go to trial. Complainant is a legal term designating a person who has made a complaint of a crime which has not yet been proven in court. Compensation means quantifiable damages resulting from the violence and includes both pecuniary and non-pecuniary remedies, such as an injunction. When compensation is not fully available from the offender or other sources, States should provide financial compensation. Court dockets refers to the written list of judicial proceedings set down for trial in a court. In practice, a docket is a roster that the clerk of the court prepares, listing the cases pending trial. Court staff includes the personal staff of the judge, including law clerks. Criminal justice refers to a system that is derived from criminal law and focuses on concepts such as accountability of the person who commits a crime or offends public order/violates the rights of another; protection and compensation/redress of the victims; and fairness in terms of all parties. Criminal justice also refers to a mechanism for administering criminal justice that can provide a fair outcome and has appropriate capacity and authority. De facto equality (substantive equality) consists of ensuring “equality of results” for women, which means that progress towards equality must bring about concrete outcomes or long-term changes