A/HRC/17/30 III. Gender and the administration of justice 18. Developing a gender-sensitive judicial system is a prerequisite for the full and nondiscriminatory realization of human rights for all, and the achievement of gender equality on the ground. Despite important progress over the past few decades, globally women have yet to be considered as key actors in the administration of justice, and their equality before the law and the courts has yet to become a reality in many countries. 19. Many gender-specific obstacles that stand in the way of women's equality in the administration of justice include the feminization of poverty as well as laws, policies and practices that discriminate against women. These factors manifestly limit women's ability to seek redress and resort to tribunals in their quest for justice. A. The feminization of poverty and the administration of justice 20. Discrimination based on sex is often at the root of women’s poverty5 as this is commonly the result of exclusion, and the absence of equal opportunities between women and men. This is also frequently an element that exacerbates vulnerability for certain groups of women such as asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants and those belonging to minorities and indigenous peoples, who frequently struggle not to be left on the outskirts of society. 21. Historical denial of autonomy, lack of access to education and support services, together with women’s minimal participation in decision-making processes have also had the detrimental effect of leaving women at the periphery of societies. Additional factors that exacerbate the so-called “feminization of poverty” include harmful practices, the absence of economic opportunities for women, gender inequalities in economic power-sharing, unequal distribution of unremunerated work between women and men, lack of technological and financial support for women’s entrepreneurship, unequal access to, and control over, capital, particularly land and credit, and access to labour markets. 22. The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned that deep economic inequalities continue to seriously hamper women’s human rights and are a common obstacle for women's access to justice. She also notes that socio-economic conditions and, sometimes stereotyping,6 are obstacles faced by the great majority of women around the globe when attempting to enforce their rights. This is the case in countries where women may find themselves widowed and heads of households with no property rights, including the right to inherit the property of their deceased husbands, which they have lived in for years. As a result, they may be displaced from their land, and left behind without adequate housing and means to generate income for themselves and their children.7 23. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur expresses concern about the consequences of judicial rulings which enforce laws that discriminate against women. Unsatisfactory divorce settlements, courts' refusals to grant emergency financial relief when victims of domestic violence apply for a civil court protection order, and judicial decisions that do not 5 6 7 Several studies and surveys indicate that poverty is becoming increasingly feminized, that is, an increasing proportion of the world’s poor are female. See, inter alia, Valentine M. Moghadam, “The ‘Feminization of Poverty’ and Women’s Human Rights”, SHS Papers in Women’s Studies/Gender Research, No. 2 (UNESCO, July 2005), p. 2. A stereotype is a generalized view or preconception of attributes or characteristics possessed by, or the roles that are or should be performed by, members of a particular group. See Rebecca J. Cook and Simone Cusack, Gender Stereotyping: Transnational Legal Perspectives, (University of Pennsylvania Press 2010), p. 9. See, for example, A/HRC/14/31/Add.1, paras. 18 and 20. 5