Part II Protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls: NHRIs in action KOREA: PROMOTING AWARENESS OF AND ACCESS TO ITS COMPLAINT HANDLING FUNCTION The National Human Rights Commission of Korea translates all its complaint forms into the main languages of migrant worker communities in South Korea. Information brochures on the Commission, its complaint handling function and the rights of migrant workers are also produced in multiple languages and distributed in the suburbs and communities where migrant workers live. The Commission undertakes its awareness raising work in partnership with migrant associations and migrant communities.93 The Commission also explores proactive ways for marginalized groups to make complaints. Commission staff will visit those who may not easily be able to access its office – such as migrant workers and people with disabilities – and has established partnerships with translation agencies so that interpreting services are available to people who may wish to make a complaint. In 2013, the Commission opened a special counselling centre dedicated to victims of discrimination on the grounds of marriage, pregnancy or childbirth to create an environment where victims and others can easily source information, access counselling or lodge a complaint. 5.3. INTEGRATING GENDER INTO COMPLAINT HANDLING PROCEDURES93 NHRIs with a strong, well-structured complaint handling procedure are well placed to support women and girls whose rights have been violated.94 In other words, the integration of a gender perspective will be most effective when the complaint handling procedure itself is robust. Integration of a gender perspective into a poorly organized and poorly functioning complaint handling procedure is likely to yield little value to women and girls whose rights have been violated. The integration of a gender perspective into the NHRI’s complaint handling procedure should be based on a thorough understanding of how the procedure is currently working. This understanding can best be gained through reviewing the procedure from the perspective of the NHRI’s capacity to meet the needs of women and girls. There are a range of issues and questions to consider. Accessibility: To what extent does community awareness about the NHRI’s complaint handling procedure, and the requirements for lodging and handling complaints, support or prevent women from lodging a complaint? For example, in some countries, women do not have the same physical mobility as men. As such, they may require a range of options for making contact with the NHRI. There may also be cultural constraints on women and girls “complaining” of wrongs committed against them. This may require a carefully calibrated outreach program that specifically focuses on women and girls and explains the type of complaints that can be considered by the NHRI and the support that can be provided. Conducting interviews (adult women): Gender may be a relevant consideration in deciding how an interview is conducted. Women who are victims of human rights violations such as domestic violence and sexual assault may be highly traumatized and the NHRI must take this into account in deciding when, where and how the interview will take place. 93 APF, Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers: The Role of National Human Rights Institutions, 2012, p. 89. 94 For information on effective complaint investigation and handling procedures, see APF, Undertaking Effective Investigations: A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions, 2013; and Protecting and Promoting the Rights of Migrant Workers: The Role of National Human Rights Institutions, 2012; pp. 85-102. See also OHCHR, National Human Rights Institutions: History, Principles, Roles and Responsibilities, Professional Training Series No. 4 (Rev. 1), 2010. Chapter 5: Responding to complaints of violations of women’s and girls human rights | 57