A/HRC/32/3 E/CN.6/2016/8 that sexual violence affects between 4.3 per cent and 22 per cent of women, while other studies suggest the figure is as high as 1 in 3, they clearly attest to the prevalence of the problem. Such violence may be opportunistic, a result of the exploitation of increased vulnerabilities, or the result of the weakening of social structures and judicial systems that exacerbates underlying family or community violence. 7 Access to justice and support services remains beyond the reach of many women and girl survivors of conflict-related violence. Among the obstacles to justice they face are limited awareness of their rights and multiple social and institutional barriers that prevent them from exercising their hum an rights. 8 46. A Trust Fund-supported project to address such challenges is being implemented by the International Rescue Committee, in Thailand. The project is scaling-up an already proven approach to service delivery for Karenni refugee women on gender-based violence in humanitarian contexts. The Karenni National Women’s Organization, a respected and trusted community-based organization, is playing a leading role. Service providers in two camps have demonstrated an improvement in knowledge and skills related to gender-based violence and service delivery; refresher training shows participants achieving an average post -test score of 85 per cent, compared to 60 per cent pre-training. 47. In Cambodia, an initiative by the Victims Support Section of the Extr aordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia has strengthened the ability of the Extraordinary Chambers to process and analyse gender -based cases, removing some of the barriers to justice faced by survivors. The Victims Support Section has provided training to court officials and other stakeholders, improved women ’s legal literacy and expanded access to quality psychosocial services, reaching 185 women. An external evaluation of the project found that it contributed to substantial progress in ensuring that female survivors of violence perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge can exercise their rights to justice, accountability and redress. More broadly, the evaluation found evidence that the project effectively increased the Cambodian public’s awareness of gender-based violence under the Khmer Rouge and of women’s human rights in the present moment. 48. Funding from the Trust Fund enabled the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice to expand access to justice for war-affected women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, the Sudan and Uganda. The organization is the only international women’s organization that has been granted amicus curiae status by the International Criminal Court. Working with its extensive network of women’s organizations, it has directly influenced the International Criminal Court’s inclusion of sexual and gender-based crimes in its priorities. Overall, such charges have been brought in 14 cases, nine of which relate to three of the project countries. In April 2015, a ruling by the Supreme Court of Uganda recognized acts of sexual violence as crimes for which an individual would not be eligible for amnesty. This is a groundbreaking judgement in the Ugandan context and addresses issues that the organization had been advocating for since 2010. In February 2015, following sustained and strategic advocacy by Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, its __________________ 7 8 12/17 Jo Spangaro and others, What is the evidence of the impact of initiatives to reduce risk and incidence of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict zones and other humanitarian crises in lower- and middle-income countries? (London, EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, 2013). UN-Women, Progress of the World’s Women 2011-2012: In Pursuit of Justice (New York, 2011). 15-22220