Making justice systems just: CSW70 policy recommendations on addressing patriarchal masculinities

This discussion brief explores how patriarchal masculinities-shaped by discriminatory norms and harmful gender stereotypes-undermine women's and girls' access to justice. Drawing on insights from an expert dialogue convened in November 2025 by UN Women, the Bahá'í International Community, and the MenEngage Alliance, the brief situates patriarchal masculinities as a structural barrier embedded in legal frameworks, institutional cultures, and both formal and informal justice mechanisms.

The brief highlights how gender bias permeates the full pathway to justice-from reporting and investigation to adjudication and enforcement-and how justice systems can be weaponized to police gender norms. It also examines how intersecting inequalities, including race, class, migration status, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity, compound barriers to justice.

Offering actionable recommendations, the brief calls for sustained institutional reform rather than short-term interventions, including integrating gender equality and human rights training into legal education, ensuring zero tolerance for harassment in justice institutions, bridging formal and informal justice systems with rights-based safeguards, and resourcing civil society and community-based initiatives.

By centring patriarchal masculinities as a root cause of discriminatory justice systems, the brief advances feminist, intersectional, and survivor-centred approaches to justice reform, supporting global efforts to strengthen equitable access to justice for all women and girls ahead of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70).

• Publication (PDF, 2.2 MB)

Tags

Related publications