8. CONCLUSION For victims and survivors of sexual violence, justice is best served when they can easily access the local avenues of justice, participate in them and feel vindicated with the ruling or the judgments that are issued by the local institutions or courts. Different legal regimes have multiple avenues of justice that are open to the victim/survivor to access. For women however, access is fraught with several impediments. These range from lack of rights awareness, non-existence of substantive laws that recognise sexual violence as a serious crime, difficult procedural and evidentiary rules for litigating sexual violence, overall lack of resources; to gender bias of enforcement, and legal and judicial officers that discriminate against or generally work against women. Nevertheless, women seeking justice for sexual violence have little option but to work through these impediments for seeking justice nationally. Working through the impediments in the legal process nationally is also important to document and demonstrate having exhausted domestic remedies. In the event the domestic process is flawed and justice is denied, having exhausted domestic remedies opens up the possibilities of approaching regional or international human right mechanisms. Documentary and other evidence of sexual violence therefore needs to be appropriate, adequate and complete. While human rights mechanisms may take a liberal approach to evidence and difficulties of documenting evidence of sexual violence, it may need to also meet the high evidentiary threshold of an international criminal process. Regional and international human rights treaty bodies have advanced the realm of understanding of rights of women and recognised its violations as a serious breach. The articulation in the Women’s Protocol of the extent to which women enjoy or rather should enjoy rights and protection of law at all times, but particularly in times of conflict, is unprecedented. Yet, the fact that there is no petition sent to the African Commission alleging violation of rights in the Women’s Protocol is telling. Of all the human rights treaty mechanisms therefore, women victims and survivors of sexual violence from Africa need to explore sending communications for violations of rights in the Women’s Protocol and establish jurisprudence that women from around the world could benefit from. In the meanwhile however, the case law jurisprudence established by regional and international courts and tribunals and human rights treaty bodies are available to be used as a basis for litigating sexual violence. International criminal prosecution of sexual violence is possible only when it is committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack or during wars and genocide; and is therefore not available as an option for justice for an individual case of sexual violence. International law, as established in the statutes of international courts and tribunals and through jurisprudence, is, however, the standard for national law reform on prosecution of sexual violence in many countries. The case law discussed in this Manual shows that some of the human rights treaty body mechanisms have adopted a gender perspective when interpreting the provisions of the treaties in the general comments and made it clear that it is possible for women to approach these mechanisms. Lack of justice for sexual violence could form the basis of a petition to the CEDAW Committee. In the absence of explicit prohibition of sexual violence, the torture prohibition could be activated in petitions to the African Commission, HRC or the CAT Committee. Furthermore, such cases need not necessarily relate to violence committed by State officials: States have and will continue to be held accountable for a lack due diligence in preventing or responding to sexual violence committed by private or non-State actors. Breach of the rights to life or to dignity, are other protections that may be claimed in a petition of sexual violence to the African Commission or the HRC. These mechanisms however remain un-utilised or under-utilised to redress gender-based violations, including sexual violence. Advocacy and campaigns are important means to strengthen enforcement of existing laws on sexual violence that are gender inclusive or to initiate law reforms where the laws themselves are barriers to justice to women victims and survivors of sexual violence. Awareness and education at all levels is important to transform social attitudes of gender bias that effectively prevent access to avenues of justice or provide effective justice where access is not an issue. Women’s rights and human 80 CONCLUSION | REDRESS