IFES Practitioner Brief on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Elections Lesson 5: The use of ADR in elections can provide an opportunity to enhance the role of women, youth, and marginalized groups in electoral justice Formal dispute resolution mechanisms—courts and other EDR bodies, including EMBs in their adjudication role— are often led by men. Traditional or customary ADR mechanisms are often dominated by elders and community or religious leaders, and therefore are also likely to be led by men. The same applies to mediation led by political party leaders. As such, these bodies are less likely to be gender-sensitive in their treatment of complainants and of the issues in dispute. Studies have shown that women tend to face greater barriers in their access to justice generally, due to their family and child care responsibilities, lesser economic resources making it harder for them to travel to major cities to access courts, lower levels of education, and social and language barriers. 76 Women who identify as part of other marginalized groups—women with disabilities; ethnic minority women; or women from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) community—face even greater barriers in their access to justice due to compounding discrimination that results from these intersecting identities. 77 International law supports the elimination of discrimination and the equal treatment of women in dispute resolution bodies through the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), ratified by all but a handful of countries. CEDAW goes further than the principle of non-discrimination, providing that states have a positive obligation to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination, including the use of temporary special measures (TSMs). 78 The TSMs may include affirmative actions, such as numerical quotas, to encourage women’s participation in political and public life and achieve de facto equality. This could include targeted recruitment campaigns to encourage women to participate in ADR bodies and to join the judiciary and EMBs for conventional EDR. 79 Further support for increasing women’s participation in ADR and EDR mechanisms comes from Goal 5 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” 80 ADR mechanisms can mitigate some of the challenges faced by women and other marginalized groups in accessing formal justice. 81 However, ADR also carries risks: Evidence from ADR bodies outside the electoral field shows that Guaranteeing equal access of women to justice. (n.d.). Council of Europe. Retrieved from https://www.coe.int/en/web/genderequality/equal-access-of-women-to-justice; Report of the online roundtable on “framework to measure access to justice including specific challenges facing women.” (2021). Council of Europe. https://rm.coe.int/report-of-the-onlineroundtable-on-framework-to-measure-access-to-just/1680a33bc0; Turquet, L. (2011). Progress of the world’s women 2011-2012: In pursuit of justice. UN Women. https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2011/7/progress-of-the-world-s-women-in-pursuitof-justice 77 High-level Group on Justice for Women. (2020). Justice for women: High-level Group report. https://www.unwomen.org/en/digitallibrary/publications/2020/03/justice-for-women-high-level-group-report 78 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, December 18, 1979, 1249 U.N.T.S. 13. (Multilateral). Art. 7: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country … in particular … the right … to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government”. Article 4 provides for “temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality.” Article 15(2) provides that women shall be treated equally at all stages of courts and tribunals. 79 Trends in women’s representation on EMBs have improved but are still below equity expectations. See Electoral Processes Implementing a framework on gender policies for electoral management bodies in International IDEA, 2020 outcome report. https://www.idea.int/2020-annual-report/implementing-framework-gender-policies-electoral-management-bodies 80 As part of this, Target 5.5 is to “[e]nsure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.” 81 Issue brief: Navigating complex pathways to justice: women and customary and informal justice systems. (2020). International Development Law Organization. https://www.idlo.int/publications/issue-brief-women-and-customary-and-informal-justice-systems 76 36