As the international community gathered in New York for the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), a singular, undeniable truth echoed through the halls of the United Nations: without access to justice, the promise of gender equality remains a hollow aspiration. On 10 March 2026, UN Women hosted a pivotal high-level discussion titled “Bridging Systemic Gaps: Advancing Justice for All Women and Girls.” The event served as a critical forum for policymakers, legal scholars, grassroots advocates, and survivors to dissect the structural inequities that prevent half the world’s population from seeking and obtaining legal redress. The consensus was clear: justice is not merely a legal outcome; it is the very foundation upon which every other right—from economic security to bodily autonomy—is built.
The backdrop of this discussion was the priority theme of CSW70, which emphasizes the urgent need to modernize legal frameworks to meet the evolving needs of women in the 21st century. Despite decades of international treaties and national legislative reforms, the divide between the law as written and the law as experienced remains a chasm for millions. The interactive session highlighted that for many women and girls, the legal system is not a sanctuary but a labyrinth of discrimination, high costs, and social stigma.
Across the globe, the failure of justice systems is most visible in four critical “pressure points” identified during the deliberations: family law and personal status, gender-based violence, employment and labor rights, and administrative justice. In many jurisdictions, personal status laws continue to treat women as legal minors, dictating their rights to inheritance, marriage, and child custody in ways that favor patriarchal structures. When these laws intersect with gender-based violence, the results are often catastrophic. Survivors frequently face a “secondary victimization” when they enter the legal process, encountering law enforcement officers and judges who harbor deep-seated biases or lack training in trauma-informed care.
The panel of experts underscored that these gaps are not accidental but are the result of entrenched social norms that have been codified over centuries. To dismantle these barriers, the discussion moved beyond traditional litigation to explore the role of informal and customary justice systems. In many rural and marginalized communities, these traditional mechanisms are the primary—and sometimes only—avenue for resolving disputes. However, these systems often operate outside the oversight of human rights standards. The challenge, as participants noted, is to bridge the gap between these community-based systems and international human rights norms, ensuring that tradition is never used as a shield for the denial of rights.
Sima Bahous, the Executive Director of UN Women, delivered a powerful call to action that resonated throughout the assembly. She argued that the time for incremental change has passed and that the global community must commit to a radical redesign of justice institutions. “Let us commit to comprehensive reforms that eliminate discriminatory laws, strengthen and finance justice institutions, expand legal aid and quality services, harness data for people-centered justice, and support feminist movements that drive change,” Bahous stated. Her vision is one where justice is no longer a peripheral concern but is placed at the absolute center of the sustainable development agenda.
A significant portion of the event was dedicated to the concept of survivor-centered justice. This approach demands that legal systems be built around the lived realities of those they are meant to protect. This includes the establishment of specialized units within police stations, the creation of dedicated gender-sensitive courts, and the expansion of “one-stop centers” where survivors of violence can access medical, psychological, and legal support under one roof. For women in rural or isolated areas, the panel suggested that mobile justice services—courts and legal clinics that travel to the people—are essential to overcoming the geographical and financial hurdles that keep justice out of reach.
The discussion also brought a necessary focus to the principle of intersectionality, acknowledging that a woman’s experience with the law is shaped by more than just her gender. Women with disabilities, for instance, face unique and often invisible obstacles. The absence of sign language interpreters, the lack of Braille documentation, and the physical inaccessibility of courtrooms create a “silent” exclusion from the legal process. Similarly, women in institutional settings, such as prisons or migration detention centers, often find themselves in a legal vacuum where their rights are ignored and their voices are stifled. The participants emphasized that a justice system that does not account for these specific vulnerabilities is not a system of justice at all.
As the world enters a more digitalized era, the panel also explored the “digital frontier” of justice. While technology offers promising new mechanisms for reporting crimes and accessing legal information, it also presents new risks. Digital justice must be designed carefully to ensure it does not replicate existing biases or create a “digital divide” where only those with internet access and technological literacy can seek help. Furthermore, the rise of technology-facilitated gender-based violence requires legal systems to adapt rapidly to new forms of harm that cross borders and jurisdictions.
Perhaps the most pragmatic segment of the discussion focused on the “power of the purse.” The financing of justice was identified as a critical hurdle. Many participants noted that even when progressive laws are passed, they often go unimplemented due to a lack of funding for legal aid, training, and institutional infrastructure. One speaker poignantly remarked that philanthropy and civil society funding are often the only things standing between “law on the books and law on the ground.” This reliance on inconsistent funding sources makes the legal protection of women fragile. There was a collective call for governments to treat justice for women as a core public service that requires sustained, sovereign investment rather than a project-based luxury.
The political dimension of these reforms was addressed by Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs of Switzerland. She reminded the audience that legal reform is ultimately a test of political will. “When women and girls cannot access justice, inequality deepens, and impunity persists,” Baume-Schneider observed. She challenged world leaders to move beyond the rhetoric of international summits and deliver tangible, lasting improvements. For the Swiss representative, the metric of success is not the number of treaties signed, but the measurable change in the lives of women who are seeking protection from the state.
The role of feminist movements and civil society was also highlighted as the engine of change. Historically, it has been the tireless advocacy of women’s rights organizations that has forced justice onto the political agenda. These movements provide the “social accountability” necessary to ensure that institutions remain responsive to the needs of the people. However, these organizations are currently facing a global backlash, with shrinking civic space and increasing threats to activists. Protecting the autonomy and safety of these movements is, therefore, a prerequisite for any meaningful justice reform.
As the session concluded, the atmosphere was one of determined urgency. The participants agreed that closing the justice gap requires a multi-pronged strategy: legislative reform to purge discriminatory statutes, institutional change to foster a culture of empathy and professionalism, and a massive scale-up of financial resources. The roadmap laid out at CSW70 suggests that the future of justice must be intersectional, survivor-led, and fully financed.
In the end, the “Bridging Systemic Gaps” event was more than a technical discussion; it was a moral reckoning. It served as a reminder that every time a woman is denied justice, the entire social contract is weakened. As the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women continues, the message to the world is clear: justice is the essential ingredient for a future where every woman and girl can live in dignity, safety, and equality. The task now is to take the lessons learned in the halls of the United Nations and apply them to the courtrooms, police stations, and communities where they are needed most.
