Promoting Gender Justice in Legal Empowerment

Violence and conflict weaken the protection system for the most vulnerable especially women and girls. LAF understands equitable access to justice starts with supporting and promoting women and girls’ rights, which is why Gender Justice is echoed throughout LAF’s interventions. Over the years, LAF has spearheaded advocacy efforts in law and policy reforms to be gender sensitive, represented women and girls before courts of law free of charge and put in place several initiatives to promote gender justice in legal empowerment.

In the course its work, LAF has realised that several vulnerable women and girls are unable to afford to pay for scientific evidence such as DNA services that are key to access to justice. In order to bridge this gap, LAF entered into partnership with the Rwanda Forensic Laboratory (RFL), which uses mobile clinics to provide DNA services in different regions in Rwanda. As a result, LAF clients who require DNA testing are facilitated free of charge and those who are unable to travel to Kigali are oriented to RFL clinics, reducing transportation and facilitating access to justice.