A/HRC/17/2 (e) To develop and, where necessary, strengthen policing systems and judicial procedures to provide adequate protection for women who have been subjected to violence, including by ensuring conducive environments for women and girls to report acts of violence against them, timely and thorough investigation of all allegations of violence, effective and victim-sensitive collection and processing of evidence, especially forensic evidence, effective protection of victims and their families from acts of retaliation, respect for the privacy, dignity and autonomy of all victims, as well as necessary victim protection measures, such as restraining or expulsion orders and adequate witness protection; (f) To place a high priority on removing gender bias from the administration of justice and enhancing the capacity of law enforcement officials to deal appropriately with violence against women, including by providing systematic gender-sensitivity and awareness training, as appropriate, for police and security forces, prosecutors, judges and lawyers, integrating gender into security sector reform initiatives, developing protocols and guidelines, and enhancing or putting in place appropriate accountability measures for adjudicators; (g) To encourage the removal of all barriers to women’s access to justice and ensure access to effective legal assistance for all female victims of violence so that they can make informed decisions regarding, inter alia, legal proceedings and issues relating to family law, and also ensure that victims have access to just and effective remedies for the harm that they have suffered, including through the adoption of national legislation, where necessary; (h) To adopt measures to enhance the awareness of women, and in particular women at known risk of gender-based violence, of their rights, the law and the protection and legal remedies it offers, including by disseminating information on the assistance available to women and families who have experienced violence, and ensuring that timely and appropriate information is available to all women who have been subjected to violence, at all stages of the justice system; (i) To promote an increase in the number of women lawyers, judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials where women are underrepresented in these professions, and to take steps to address any barriers that may be preventing women from entering these professions, including through the use of appropriate incentives, as important steps towards enhancing women’s awareness of their rights and the ability of the judiciary and law enforcement officials to be more sensitive to the specific and differentiated needs of women and girls who face targeted, compounded and structural discrimination; (j) To promote the establishment or support of safe and integrated centres through which shelter, legal, health-care, psychological, counselling and other appropriate, timely, accessible and confidential support services are provided to all women and girls who have been subjected to violence and, where such centres are not feasible, to promote collaboration and coordination among agencies in order to make remedies more accessible, and to facilitate the physical, psychological and social recovery of women who have been subjected to violence; (k) To ensure that mechanisms, services and procedures set up to protect women and girls facing violence are designed in a manner that addresses the targeted, compounded and structural discrimination that combines to increase the vulnerability of women and girls, including those belonging to minority groups, indigenous women, refugee and internally displaced women, stateless women, migrant women, women living in rural or remote communities, women living in slums and informal settlements, women living in conditions of poverty, women in institutions or in detention, women with disabilities, elderly women, widows and women in all situations of armed conflict, women who face 32 GE.12-13630