A/HRC/26/17 E/CN.6/2014/8 patient exit survey revealed that 98 per cent of survivors felt strongly satisfied or satisfied with the support services they received and that 95 per cent reported that their lives are much better or better as a result of the attention provided by primary health-care centres, civil society organizations and legal officers trained by the organization. 36. The Trust Fund has found that a comprehensive approach to justice that addresses survivors’ psychosocial and health needs as well as their legal requirements is vital in addressing conflict-related gender-based violence. This requires effective coordination between Government officials from different sectors so that at every stage, from referral to evidence documentation and from prosecution to redress, they approach cases in an appropriate and professional manner that fully respects the human rights of survivors. Clear official guidelines on handling gender-based violence must be established and adhered to. Finally, justice goes beyond prosecution; full accountability for violence against women and girls in post-conflict and transitional settings also warrants the establishment of judicial and non-judicial remedies and assurances of non-repetition. Expediting the implementation of laws and policies to end violence against women and girls 37. States have the primary responsibility for preventing, protecting, prosecuting, investigating, punishing and providing redress for violence against women and girls. 19 Civil society groups play a key role in advocating for the adoption or reform of laws and policies and in strengthening the capacity of State institutions to respond to violence against women and girls. Legislation that criminalizes gender-based violence not only places the issue on the public agenda, but also sends a message to the wider society that it will not be tolerated. Campaigns for law reform are of strategic importance and also strengthen networking and coordination among civil society groups and their allies in public institutions. 20 Once laws and policies are in place, clear guidelines and protocols that are in line with international standards must be adopted to guide the practices of health-care, legal and other officials. 38. The Trust Fund is supporting initiatives that expedite the adoption and implementation of laws to prevent and address violence against women. Currently, 32 per cent of Trust Fund grantees are promoting legal and policy adoption or reform. 39. In Mexico, the grantee Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir (Catholics for the Right to Free Choice), in partnership with the Observatorio Ciudadano Nacional del Feminicidio (the National Citizens’ Observatory on Femicide), is documenting gender-related killings 21 and promoting the adoption and implementation of protocols to investigate such crimes. 40. The Federal Criminal Code and most states’ criminal codes in Mexico include femicide as a distinct, gender-based crime. In 2013, in order to operationalize these __________________ 19 20 21 10/16 See the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (A/HRC/23/49) and information regarding the “Due Diligence” project, available from www.duediligenceproject.org/. Lori L. Heise, What works to prevent partner violence? An evidence overview, p. 74. See also the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (A/HRC/20/16). 13-61736