The Role of Law in Combating Gender-Based Violence: Challenges and Legal Reforms for Gender Equality

Abstract

The article discusses the rationale of legal frameworks concerning the fight against
gender-based violence (GBV) and gender equality. Despite this significant step
towards the actualisation of the fact that GBV is a severe violation of human rights,
many legal systems across the entire world have not been capable of giving real
preventative and responsive solutions to the vice of violence. This paper discusses
the existing legislations which aim at combating GBV and how the loopholes and
failures are hindering the implementation and performance of the legislations. It
further compares the socio-cultural or institutional barriers that affect access by the
survivors to the law. This research unveils effective measures and best practises that
have enabled legal intervention in GBV by comparison analysis of other legal reforms.
The significance of the research introduces the necessity of having such legal changes
so thorough not only to criminalise instances of gender-based violence, but also to
accommodate survivor-oriented measures, strengthen enforcement mechanisms,
and take it a step further to make the judiciary and law enforcers gender sensitive.
As a solution to these, the law can play a radical role in eradicating this inequality
(gender) in the system and creating safer and more equal societies. In conclusion, it
is suggested in this study that unitary law and a unitary law and policy system should
be considered in this study as one of the theories to be used in terms of fighting the
gender-based violence.