A/HRC/7/66 page 7 a result, juvenile defenders who are arrested in these provinces are held in police stations or detained in prisons until they are transferred to Bo or Freetown. There is, therefore, an urgent need for reform of the juvenile justice system not only to address these problems, but also to explore alternatives to the detention of juveniles. UNIOSIL is working with the Government and relevant institutions, including the Justice Sector Development Programme, to address this problem. D. Women’s rights 15. Important steps were taken to promote and protect women’s rights. Sierra Leone submitted its initial, second to fifth reports on the status of implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, highlighting measures taken to fulfil obligations under the Convention since it was ratified in 1988. A shadow report by a coalition of women’s Groups, human rights organizations and faith-based organizations and coordinated by the Sierra Leone Association of non-governmental organizations was also submitted. The coalition generally supported the claims of the Government, except in the area of female genital mutilation, for which the report criticized the Government’s ambivalence in addressing the matter and for the budgetary support given to the Ministry of Gender, which it described as insignificant to adequately address women’s issues. 16. Through consistent advocacy, technical support and intervention by the United Nations, international partners and civil society organizations, in 2007, Parliament passed the Domestic Violence Act, the Devolution of Estates Act and the Registration of Customary Marriages and Divorce Act, (referred to as the “gender bills”) in furtherance of the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. The enactment of the gender bills will hopefully lay a firm foundation to address discriminatory practices and violence against women, enabling them to play a meaningful role in the process of democratization and economic development. However, for the gender bills to have any meaningful impact, there is need for Parliament to enact the Sexual Offences Act and the Matrimonial Act, and to make adequate budgetary allocations to the Ministry of Social Welfare for their effective implementation. 17. Despite the progress on the legislative front, challenges to the full realization of women’s rights still abound. Gender equity and women’s empowerment remain a challenge to the full realization of women’s rights in Sierra Leone. UNIOSIL collaborated with the 50/50 Group Sierra Leone and a number of other women’s organizations to carry out sensitization activities for aspirant women candidates at the 2007 general elections as well as on women’s rights to participate in the political process. However, women’s representation in Parliament has dropped from 18 to 16 and only 2 women have been appointed as Ministers to the new Government, thus indicating the deeply entrenched discriminatory attitude towards women as political leader. 18. The increasing incidence of sexual and domestic violence also remains a barrier to the realization of women’s rights in the country. Up to 67 per cent of women regularly suffer from domestic violence, including beatings, assault, destruction of properties and deprivation. Although the rate of reporting has increased because of the greater awareness among women of their rights, prosecution of cases is continuously hampered by the inadequate capacity of the family support units of the Sierra Leone Police, pressure by family members of the victims to drop charges, obstruction of justice by people in high places, including traditional leaders and