A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO INCREASING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO ELECTORAL JUSTICE investment by UN Women and other entities, in partnership with the National Judicial Academy, have led to significant and ongoing efforts to increase women’s access to justice. For example, a 2022 judicial dialogue sponsored by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) focused on the elimination of discrimination against women and enhancing women’s access to justice.165 Notwithstanding this progress, one interviewee called the judicial system “hostile” to women, citing instances where people in the court system have made fun of women survivors of violence. Another respondent noted that court officials often ask women insensitive questions. Multiple interviewees stated that women do not want to file these types of cases for fear of being “re-traumatized” throughout the judicial process. Gender disaggregated data is not collected on filed and adjudicated complaints. While gender disaggregated data on voter registration, candidate nomination, and voter turnout are collected, gender disaggregated data on the gender of the complainants and respondents are not. These data could be used to determine how many cases women file compared to men, if women file different types of complaints, and if women’s cases are resolved at higher or lower rates. It is also important to collect data on women as respondents to analyze the types of cases filed against them, the types of remedies and sanctions imposed, whether the women respondents were present at a hearing (if there was one), and whether the party provided adequate defense. In the 2022 elections, the ECN collected data on pre-election disputes and shared with IFES that, in a total of 164 pre-election cases related to hate speech, candidate eligibility, abuse of office, campaign-related violations, and other issues, only nine (5.48 percent) were filed against women candidates. The ECN developed an electronic CMS in 2019. It could capture these data, but it has not yet been used as a live tracking and recording mechanism. Opportunities During elections, citizens can file complaints with the ECN at the polling station level on Election Day, at the constituency level with returning officers, with floating monitoring teams, or at ECN headquarters. Citizens can file complaints at any level of electoral body, even down to the polling station level with the head of the polling station on Election Day. ECN headquarters officials noted that poll workers, returning officers, provincial and district officers, and other ECN staff are empowered to resolve electoral complaints at the local level. However, some local election officials apparently do not feel empowered to make these decisions. A more localized approach to electoral justice is a positive step for access to justice, including for women, who might have less time and mobility and fewer resources to pursue electoral complaints. If violations can be adjudicated and resolved at the local level in a timely, transparent manner, access to electoral justice will certainly improve. But there is little reporting on cases handled at the decentralized level that would support understanding of the efficiency of the dispute resolution process on Election Day or during the campaign period. Moreover, the EDR training curriculum for officials is limited and does not include modules on disputes that affect or involve women. However, IFES’s support to ECN on the design of EDR training modules included scenarios featuring disputes affecting women voters or candidates. There is no fee for filing complaints with the ECN, and legal representation is not necessary to bring a case before the ECN. In Nepal, there is no filing fee for filing disputes with the ECN, and citizens do not need legal representation to do so. These stipulations reduce the resources required for complainants to pursue electoral violations. To file complaints, citizens can fill out paper forms, including copies that they can find (but not submit) online. Citizens with low or no International Commission of Jurists. (2022, October 6). Nepal: ICJ hosts a national judicial dialogue to promote women’s access to justice with trial court judges. 165 64