A/HRC/41/33/Add.1 20. The experts also note that the justice system, including the courts and other institutions, does not offer realistic solutions to overcome the barriers that women face in accessing justice. These obstacles occur in a context of structural discrimination and inequality, due to factors such as gender stereotyping, discriminatory laws, intersecting discrimination, procedural and evidentiary requirements and practices, and a failure to systematically ensure that judicial mechanisms are physically, economically, socially and culturally accessible to all women. Furthermore, obtaining effective legal solutions requires costly legal representation, which most women in Honduras cannot afford. Although some civil society organizations and legal clinics at the public universities offer free legal assistance, they cannot cover the legal needs of most women. 21. According to the testimonies and information received, factors such as socioeconomic status, residence in rural areas, ethnicity and age strongly influence women’s real possibilities of accessing effective legal remedies. During the visit, the experts received multiple testimonies regarding the lack of access to justice by women facing intersecting forms of discrimination, all of whom decried the impunity that existed (see para. 32) for the high rate of femicide and other forms of gender-based violence and their profound lack of trust in the legal system, which was also acknowledged by some government and police officials. Machismo, misogyny and gender stereotypes, coupled with the poverty or lack of financial independence of most women, increase the risks to which women are exposed and prevent them from fully exercising their right to access justice. More efforts should be made to secure effective access to justice for women. III. Participation of women in family and cultural life, political and public life and economic and social life, and access to health 22. Despite efforts by the State and feminist activists in the country to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality, discrimination against women persists in all spheres of their lives. This systemic and structural discrimination, nurtured by patriarchy and discriminatory gender roles, affects all women in Honduras, but women living in poverty, indigenous, Garífuna and Afro-Honduran women, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex women and women with disabilities, inter alia, are particularly disadvantaged. A. Family and cultural life 23. Patriarchal patterns of behaviour, attitudes, expectations, beliefs and practices discriminating against and denigrating girls and women remain widespread. It was emphasized by many interlocutors during the visit, including government officials, that there is a culture of machismo in Honduras. Patriarchal attitudes in the country perpetuate inequality, as well as domestic violence and other forms of violence committed outside the home, and limit women’s participation in civil, political, economic and social life and a more egalitarian family environment. 24. Honduras legally recognizes only heterosexual marriage, sexual minorities’ rights to enjoy family and private life being severely limited. Moreover, deep-rooted social norms impose on men the role of family breadwinners (although there are more and more women heads of households; see para. 38), while women are expected to do the housework, raise the children and look after other dependants. Women in Honduras spend about 30.2 hours per week in unpaid work, while men spend only 7.8 hours (see para. 40). 8 The experts noted during the visit that even some government programmes sometimes perpetuated gender stereotypes or focused primarily on women’s role in the family. Laws and policies must be developed to reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid care work and provide equal opportunities for women to develop personally and professionally. In this respect, the 8 6 Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean, “Honduras: country profile”. Available at https://oig.cepal.org/en/countries/15/profile.