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Handbook on effective prosecution responses to violence against women and girls

11/9/2014

Violence against women and girls is rarely out of the media, whether it is the rape of girls in India, the shooting to death of his girlfriend by a high profile sportsman in South Africa, or the debate about how far a British professional footballer can be rehabilitated following a conviction for rape. Attracting far less publicity are the prosecutors across the globe who work tirelessly to bring about successful prosecutions in an especially challenging area of work. Not only do victims of domestic and sexual violence face innumerable barriers to reporting victimisation to the police, but society itself lacks the necessary understanding to distinguish between the impact of gender dynamics on victims and myths about how it thinks a victim should behave.

The Handbook on effective Prosecution responses to violence against women and girls is a welcome addition to the UNODC’s Criminal Justice Handbook Series. The handbook, a first draft of which was debated by a group of prosecutor  experts, many of whom were nominated to UNODC by the IAP, at a 3 day meeting in Thailand organised by the UNODC and the Thailand Institute of Justice, draws upon prosecutors’ experiences of tackling cases across a range of different legislative regimes and jurisdictions.  It is a valuable resource that both explores the context in which this type of offending occurs, and provides practical examples of how it is prosecuted within the constraints of different jurisdictions. 

Click here to access the Handbook under our Legal Guidance section